Page 37 of Tell No Tales
"No. You like stinky cabins below deck better than the big cabin on deck, for some reason."
She tossed a bit of knotted rope at him.
He ducked with a laugh. "I'm sorry!"
"You should be. I always thought I would train to be first mate here, and then I could switch to Nola's ship when I could teach her a few things." She laughed. "I know now, Nola can't be taught, and I'm better off here. I just wish she'd hire another water weaver and fire this showoff."
"What is he?" Without Klaus on deck, Vadim was clueless as to others' elements.
"Earth."
"Strange. They're supposed to be the most stable of us." Vadim tucked Hesse's journal into the inner pocket of his jacket and buttoned it against the cold wind.
"Sorry if I kept you from reading." Olivia didn't look the least bit sorry.
"Why isn't your sister on deck?" Vadim asked.
"She's probably doing the same thing as Captain Efren."
"What is Efren …" Vadim had been so engrossed in the chapter on pathogens, he hadn't paid attention to anything else.
She laughed. "You can't hear them?"
Vadim listened. The soft rhythmic thumping continued. It was a sound he recognized, so he hadn't thought it out of place. When he realized what it was, his face burned, and he couldn't get the image of Efren and Niall out of his head.
"Fuck. You have to listen to that all morning?"
She smirked. "No different from when you were aboard."
"We were quieter than that!" he lied.
"You were louder. Gods, Vadim. Does Klaus know you—"
"Do not finish that sentence."
She shrugged. "He'll find out soon enough."
"Doubt it." Vadim had made a mistake and lost control the day before. He'd kissed Klaus and instigated their frotting session, but it wouldn't happen again.
She studied him for a long moment before she spoke. "I warned him to stay away from you, but you've changed."
"I have?" He hadn't changed. He was still hellbent on rescuing Hugo, even if it started a war with Coryn.
"You care about Klaus in a way you never cared about Efren."
"Efren can take care of himself." Efren's independence had been a huge turn-on when they'd been younger. Efren ran his ship his way, and Vadim was content to follow his every command.
"Klaus can't," Olivia said. "You've rescued him at least twice. Once with the life bond you had, and then when you and Efren chased down Coryn's ship."
"That was all Efren."
She shook her head. "We would have been too late, if you hadn't ended your trial early and demanded to leave."
Vadim shivered. He could have lost Klaus in so many ways that day. First, he'd released his life bond with Klaus so Niall could heal him, and then they'd escaped the sinking ship with the aid of a shark. Vadim had feared Efren's favorite sea creatures, but he'd been grateful to see the giant beast swim up to the ship with both Niall and Klaus clinging to her notched dorsal fin.
"I've seen how he looks at you," Olivia said. "Every day, there's less fear and more interest. He's intrigued by you. Curious. It might be interesting to see where that leads you."
Vadim shook his head. "That will only lead to heartache and regret."
