Page 94 of Take No Prisoners
"Air weavers?" In Efren's experience, they'd all been high strung like Tovey, but that was to be expected, since anger fueled their weaves.
"Sadistic bastards. Coryn has twisted their anger into cruelty. I recruited the worst of them to my ship, hoping to get rid of them. I didn't know how dangerous it would be for Klaus when you sank her."
"Klaus is stronger than he looks. He's also smart and resourceful."
"He knew I would track him. He stayed with Niall so we could find them both."
That didn't quite match the story Olivia gave them, that Klaus was still asleep when they first saw smoke on Aquarion, but he let it go. They were together, and Efren and Vadim would rescue them from Coryn together. "We'll get them back."
"We will."
Vadim raised his hands above his head to stretch. Efren took advantage of his vulnerable position to crush him in a hug. Vadim stiffened and then wrapped his arms around Efren's ribcage and hugged him back. It wasn't at all like the old days. This was new and fragile, but far more real. Efren could be friends with Vadim now that he knew the grim truth. Vadim had saved Efren and his crew. He couldn't be angry about that.
He returned to the helm, and Vadim leaned against the inner railing behind him, the one that kept him from falling from the elevated deck.
They stayed like that for hours, Efren correcting course now and then. He still sensed the direction of Niall's heartbeat, but nothing beyond that. He wished he could hear Niall's thoughts the way Vadim could hear Klaus's.
Vadim nudged his shoulder. "We're veering off course to the south."
Efren shook himself awake. He'd been asleep on his feet.
"You should get some rest," Vadim said. "I'll wake you when we reach the inlet."
His heart protested, still certain Vadim couldn't be trusted, but when Efren closed his eyes and sensed Niall's location, Vadim was right. They were headed too far south.
"Thank you," he said instead, and retired to his cabin bunk. He only had a moment to savor Niall's scent lingering on his pillows before he was dead to the world.
∞∞∞
Niall
Niall sat. And sat. At one point the cook deposited a water skin through the solid metal flap at the bottom of the door. After what felt like hours, a child wearing a chef's hat left them a tray with two sandwiches, two tins of fruit, and a wedge of hard cheese.
Niall slipped a hand free and reached for the tray the moment the child was out of sight, but Klaus slapped his hand and shook his head, motioning for him to put the cuff back on.
Klaus then proceeded to feed him a sandwich and almost drowned him when he poured the fruit into his mouth.
"You can have the cheese," Niall said when Klaus broke off a corner.
"You sure?"
Niall nodded.
He grinned. "Thank you."
"I wish it was Petri's bread bowls."
"Brigham didn't let me finish mine." Klaus stuck out his bottom lip in an over-dramatic pout.
"He destroyed mine before I got a taste." Niall grinned. "I'll beg Petri to make stew when we're back on the island."
"I got you into this mess," Klaus said after taking a bite of cheese. "I'm so sorry."
"I waited for you this morning," Niall said. "That was my fault, not yours."
"I meant before then, in Landale." Klaus blinked. "You aren't mad about that?"
"I was," Niall admitted. "You said you would turn me over to Coryn, and I believed you."
