Page 116 of Take No Prisoners
"Thank you."
"I've also built myself a cabin below decks." She looked pleased with herself.
"Where?" Efren asked.
"Below yours, of course. Needed to get away from the rest of the crew."
"You obviously have no sense of smell, then." Niall couldn't help it. His nose wrinkled at the thought of being that close to the head.
"It's not that bad!" Olivia insisted. "Besides, I'll have our new crew members scrub the loo twice a day."
"You have death magic," Efren said to him. "It's worse for you. Vadim even struggled with a sail in the hold. Said it was too close."
"He slept with you for the fresh air?" Olivia arched an eyebrow at him.
"There were other perks."
Niall couldn't hide his flare of jealousy if he wanted to. Efren had a direct link to his core. Efren held his arm out in response, and Niall crowded against Efren's side, reminding him with his body that he was the only perk Efren needed from now on.
"We're ready to leave when you are," Olivia said. "The longer we stay in port, the more likely Elsie will conjure lightning to keep us here."
"She wouldn't dare."
"Beatrice pulled her away from shore earlier." Olivia shrugged. "She has no way to stop her now."
"Fuck." Efren shook his head. "The last thing we need is lightning."
Niall remembered all too well its effect on Coryn's ship. "We'll be there as soon as we're packed."
Olivia slid her hat back into place and tipped it to them in farewell. "See you then." She slipped out the window through which she'd come.
Efren turned to the dresser. He dug into a bottom drawer and retrieved a rucksack. "I'll get you a proper trunk in Hearthstone. This will do, for now."
"A trunk? Where will I keep it?"
"We'll make it a permanent addition to our cabin. It will serve as the table's other bench."
It would be crowded in the tiny space, but Niall was pleased Efren wanted him to have his own spot in the cabin. He accepted the rucksack and filled it with the new winter clothes delivered sometime while they were gone.
Niall fought off a wave of fear. He still didn't know what Coryn wanted from him, but it felt better to act than to sit on Aquarion and wait for her to strike again.
Efren squeezed his shoulder. "I'll give you a tour of our updates to the ship, too. You've yet to see the true hold."
Niall packed the few clothes he'd brought with him and the rest of the winter wear Gulde had made for him and still had room left in the rucksack. "Room for books," he teased. His grandmother had given him a stack from the library on Horseshoe Island, hidden somewhere in the tunnels beneath the sentinel oak. He stacked the large leatherbound volumes on top.
"We should get going." Efren pointed out the window to the west, where the red sun hung low over the horizon.
Niall was surprised to find Petri waiting for them at the dock. Efren motioned for them to follow them upStarlight Specter's gangplank. They wouldn't join until Efren swore no one would release her from her moorings until they were safely on the dock again.
"I'm not going with you," they said to Olivia when they boarded. "Do not make me swim."
"I would never," she said. "There are simply too many sharks in the water around here."
"Stop tormenting them." Efren draped an arm over Petri's shoulders. "My cabin. Now."
Niall didn't expect to be invited inside, so he was pleasantly surprised when Efren waved him in. He set his rucksack in the corner as Efren motioned for Petri to take a seat on the bunk.
"Do you know how to do a silencing weave?" Efren asked Niall.
