Page 87 of Ship of Shadows
“Oh, fine. You ruin all my fun.” He followed Leoni as they walked toward the other side of the ship while Mia stepped up next to me.
“I know he’s protecting me,” I said. “But I’m a grown woman. I don’t need protecting, and I’m tired of chasing after him. A woman can only be rejected so many times.”
Mia turned, leaning her back against the railing, elbows perched on it. “You know, I tried to hate you. When Bastian first told me about you, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My big brother, the formidable pirate lord, had fallen for some princess?” She peered at me. “But I get it. You’re two sides of the same coin. You both crave adventure, you both live for danger and excitement, and you both carry so much guilt, so much responsibility, on your shoulders. Bastian is at war with himself,” Mia said softly. “He blames himself for me and Kara getting trapped on this ship with him. He blames himself for making that deal with you, for involving you in this and sucking you into his world.”
My brows furrowed. “How did your shadows get taken?”
She took a breath. “Kara and I tracked him to Sorrengard. It’s where we found his ship. He was delivering some boy to the shadow court. We were horrified when we found out, tried to go after the boy, save him from what was about to happen. And we did. We got him before he crossed through that jungle. We gave him our boat to escape, but we didn’t realize how we’d fucked over Bastian and his crew in the process. We boarded Bastian’s ship, ready to tell him the truth, but the shadow king had alreadyfound out what we’d done. I think the pixies might have told him.”
That was the third time. Bastian had said he’d seen the shadow king three times, but he never told me about that final encounter.
Mia gazed up at the sky as a flock of birds flew overhead. “As punishment, the shadow king took our shadows, and that was it. We couldn’t leave the ship. Bastian didn’t speak to us for a month. We thought he was angry the entire time, but it turned out he was ashamed.”
“Oh, Bastian,” I said.
Mia placed a hand on my arm. “Go easy on him. I know his moods are difficult to withstand sometimes, but he carries the weight of every soul on this ship, of so many souls on that island. He’s tried to do the best he could, only taking boys who wanted to go. He sells the dark magic so we don’t have to pillage and plunder. He guards the island so others can’t come and get their shadows taken, attacks any ships who come near it and makes them turn around.”
I straightened. I’d never realized any of that. I stared at his cabin, door closed, Bastian inside hiding away. “Thank you for telling me all of that, but I can’t keep putting myself out there. If I haven’t changed Bastian’s mind so far, then nothing will at this point. He’s made up his mind about us, and I just have to accept it.”
Mia opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but just nodded and walked away.
From inside his cabin, Bastian yelled out, “Will someone get me a bloody pen that works?”
At least I wasn’t the only one feeling murderous. That was, at least, one thing Bastian and I shared at the moment.
Chapter Forty
Istared down at the plank that lay against the wall. Bartholomew stood next to me, also staring at it.
“What am I supposed to do again?” I asked.
Driscoll, Leoni, and I had been sitting on the main deck, poring over the books we’d brought. So far, we hadn’t learned much more about the shadow court, certainly nothing that could prepare us for what was to come. We still hadn’t had any official meetings, no plans made.
Mia claimed that’s exactly what the pirate lord was doing in his cabin: looking at maps, reading through the books we’d brought with us. At some point, he had to discuss the plan with me, with everyone who would be stepping foot on the island. My gaze narrowed in on his cabin door, anger whipping through me. He was acting like a child about this. He’d been the one to make the decision, so why was he acting like it was he who’d been rejected?
Bartholomew had interrupted our reading session and asked me for help with the plank, but it looked just fine to me. When I told him that, he laughed.
“Well, we won’t know until someone walks out onto it.”
My eyes bulged. “Excuse me? The plank is damaged and you want me to get on it?”
Bartholomew frowned. “It’s not damaged. I fixed it. Well, I think I did. We’ll find out once you’re on it. You have water magic. Out of any of us, this should be the least dangerous task for you.”
“I almost died last time. I would have if it hadn’t been for...”
The man I was currently refusing to name. Out of principle. If he could act immature about this, then so could I.
Bartholomew’s gaze softened. “Young love. Ah, I miss it.”
“We’re not exactly young, Bartholomew, and whatever is between us—it isn’t love.”
Amusement flashed across his face, and I noticed the ship slowing significantly.
“Who in the bloody hells took my map?” Bastian roared from inside the cabin, making me wince. Something had to change. He couldn’t keep on like this with these foul moods and temper tantrums. He’d made poor Cook cry the other night when he’d tasted his newest creation and dumped it in the sea.
To be fair, even the fish wouldn’t go near it, but still.
“See?” Bartholomew gestured to the crew members tugging on the lines and reeling up the sails. “We’re slowing down so there’s no risk involved.”
