Page 105 of The Sea Witch
“The kraken and leviathan don’t care who’s aboard theSea Witch,” she fired back. “If this ship goes down because of them, you go down with it.”
“I didn’t know theJupiterwould come to theAjax’s aid. The way you escaped from them, and their creatures... that scream... theragewithin it.”
“The crew aboard theSea Witchhave reason to be angry.I’mangry.”
Doubt vibrated between them. “I couldn’t be certain if... if I could trust you with the information about the beasts. Especially with these bars between us.”
“And now?”
“Now...” He drew in a ragged breath. “To think of the Royal Navy exploiting those creatures... giving their might to help bastards like Kinnear... stealing the freedom of those women, and others like them...”
They regarded each other in silence.
“The poles have reversed,” he went on, “and I’ve no idea what side of the globe I’m on.”
She studied him for a long moment, even as her blood seeped through the bandage. His expression mirrored the pain she felt.
“I believe you.” She unlocked the brig. When he continued to stand within its confines, she pulled the door open.
He took a tentative step forward. She grabbed a set of manacles from where they hung on the bulkhead; he didn’t look surprised.
“Because I didn’t tell you about the other creatures?” he asked heavily.
“I don’t know if you’re keeping anything else back from me,” she said.
He said nothing, and in that pause, she had her answer. Yet he held still as she fastened the manacles around his wrists.
“To my quarters.” She jerked her chin toward the door.
“I could carry you,” he offered.
She shot him a look that would castrate a minotaur. “My crew only sees me on my feet, and it stays that way.”
“Aye, Captain.”
He stepped into the passageway, and she followed.
“It’s critical we find the fail-safe,” she said, limping behind him. “If we don’t, disaster follows for anyone seeking to live free upon the water.”
“Subjugating not one but two creatures to the Crown’s will.”
“How many more will they control?” she pressed.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I didn’t join the navy for this.”
Hobbling to her cabin made Alys’s head spin. They passed many crew members, some of them bearing evidence that Fatima and her helpers had worked on them, while others still bore a residual glow from having been recently balanced. They all saluted as they passed. Alys did her best to stand as straight as possible, and not let her face contort with the agony she felt.
Only when she was safely inside her quarters, easing herself down onto a chair, did she allow herself the luxury of groaning. Manacled, Ben awkwardly poured a mug of rum, then handed it to her. She drank it down in one swallow.
“From the porthole in the brig,” he said, refilling the cupand handing it back to her, “I saw the seamen and captain of theAjaxin the cutters and jolly boats. You spared them.”
“All we had need of was the ship.” She gripped the mug tightly. “Killing the captain and crew served no purpose.”
“No purpose to spare them, other than mercy.”
She shrugged. “Death’s messy and often not necessary.”
“Few in your position would see it that way.”
