Page 54 of Of Magic and Rum
Two crabs scuttle sideways past our feet with their claws open, and I lift my boot to keep from accidentally squashing one.
“Pretty sure he’s got all the proof he needs.” Mary squeezes my hand, and I lift my gaze to hers. “I’m lookin’ at her.”
My face warms, and I can’t help the sheepish smile edging my lips.
“There she is.” Mary cackles and pinches my cheek. “Captain cock looks good on ya.”
Laughing, I shove her forward. “You’re salaciously filthy, you know that?”
Mary shimmies, and we join the crew surrounding a tree. Jack has his hands on his hips. He winks at me but keeps his expression neutral.
“Someone marked the tree, pointing at the lake, and when we searched the water’s edge—” The crewman opens his palm, the sun peeking through the canopy, making what’s in his hand shimmer.
“More Spanish gold,” Jack says, his voice trailing as if distracted by the gold’s glitter. He picks one up and holds it to the sky, inspecting each side.
Bubbles swarm my stomach as I watch him stare at the treasure covetously, mainly because I’ve only seen him gaze at one other thing in the same manner—me.
“Is it possible the treasure is hidden somewhere at the bottom of the lake?” I ask, resting a hand on my sword’s hilt.
Jack offers a warm grin and nods.“It’s possible, but it isn’t a small body of water to search.” He closes his hand around the coin.
When he looks back, I’m already undoing my belt and yanking off my hat. “Good thing you have me, then.”
Jack cups my elbow, halting me. “Anne, wait. It could be dangerous. That thing is after you, for one.”
It’s a strange mix of appreciation and irritation that someone worries about my well-being besides my family.
“The Charybdis?” I snicker. “Jack, it’s bigger than thisisland. It’d beach itself trying to attack me through alake.”
Frowning, Jack rubs my arm before letting go. “Fair point. But I refuse to let you go in by yourself.”
“Why am I not surprised?” With a sly grin, I slip off the rest of my gear, leaving only the shirt.
Jack grasps my chin with two fingers and wiggles it. “You’re incorrigible, Bonny.” He kisses me, ignoring the surrounding crew’s snickering.
“Red, you’re our best swimmer next to Jack. Go with them,” Ragnar orders, gesturing toward the lake.
“Why,thankyou, Raggie.” Red balls his fist at his mouth, feigning tears.
Ragnar sneers at the nickname but turns to the remaining crew. “As for the rest of you, keep searching. There’s a lot of ground to cover.”
Mary scoffs, shoving a reed she’d found in the sand in her mouth and chewing it. “You get to splash around in a lake while I traipse in the heat searching for a tick on a horse’s ass.”
“When you can sporadically grow fins and gills, we’ll switch roles,” I reply.
“Nowyou’rethe ass.” Mary points at me, her narrow eyes forming slits.
“Read,” Ragnar barks, whistling at her. “Lad os flytte.”
Mary waves, smiling and mumbling through her teeth, “As if I understand Danish. Coming!”
Moving to the lake’s edge, I dip my toes into the water, wincing at its coolness, shocking and comforting given the stagnant heat. Jack and Red flank me as I wade into it, cursing once the water reaches their hips.
“This goes pretty deep. I can cover more ground, but don’t want to startle you.” My toes no longer touch the sand below, and I tread water.
Jack sputters and slicks his long hair back. “What would startle me?”
Sucking on my bottom lip, I will my legs into a tail, the blue and green iridescent scales catching the fractals of sunlight piercing the water.
