Page 52 of Suffer No Fools
"All right." Hugo couldn't think of any other reason to stay, so he hurried after Tim.
When he arrived in the galley, Tim had already found the necklace and amulet he'd tucked away in a tin cup for safe keeping. He dumped the cup into his hand. "Checking for magic residue," he said. It didn't shock him the way it had when he'd removed it.
Tim dropped the chain and glass amulet into Hugo's outstretched hand, also with no effect. Hugo had expected it to be cool to the touch, the way it had always felt against his skin, but it was almost as though it had broken when Tim unclasped it. Now, Hugo understood what Fanidra had been trying to tell him. The chain and amulet worked together as one enchantment. To break the enchantment, he needed only to heat it at the weak clasp to sever the connection, and the magic would fail.
If only defeating Coryn could be that easy.
#
Stan
"That was close." Tovey pulled the delicate silk material from the waistband of his pants, where he'd hastily shoved it before Hugo's head popped around the corner into the hold. "Do you think he saw it?"
It was too dark in the hold to see much of anything, but Stan couldn't say for certain what Hugo had seen and what he hadn't. The look of stern accusation, and then surprise, had told Stan everything he needed to know. Hugo had expected to find them in some state of undress, or maybe well into a sex act, when he'd come around the corner.
"We need to discuss boundaries for our dates." Stan pulled two more silken handkerchiefs from his trunk. They weren't as nice as the shirt Tovey found in his stash, but Gulde had proved her skill time and time again. She was also tutoring Trin on the different fabric weaves. Soon, Trin could take the grass growing behind the barracks and turn it into a canvas sail for the ship.
"Do you think Trin can create silk?" Stan asked aloud.
"You're bouncing all over the place," Tovey said. "First things first. Why do we need to set boundaries for our dates?"
"You kissed me on our date," Stan said. "Did you and Hugo kiss?"
"Not until we were back home."
"We haven't kissed alone, either," Stan said. "I wanted to, but it didn't seem right without you."
"That doesn't seem fair to him, or to us." Tovey met his gaze, and then hung his head. "It's my fault. I said we needed to do this together, but Hugo is right. This is bigger. We each need our separate relationships."
"What did you do on your date yesterday?" Stan asked.
"Nothing." Tovey grinned. "We walked to the rocks along the western shore, found a particularly warm one large enough for both of us to sun ourselves on, and then we did absolutely nothing except lie back and examine the clouds. It was glorious fun."
"Look at us now," Stan said. He couldn't help but laugh at himself. "We're trying to find Hugo the perfect Solstice present. This is supposed to be a time for us to get to know each other better."
"Don't get me wrong." Tovey grabbed Stan by both shoulders and pulled himself in close. "I think I know you pretty damn well by now. I'm certain Hugo is the best thing that hasever happened to us. He's all I can think about. Is that true for you, too?"
"Aye."
"Then this is the perfect date for us, as long as we don't meet our sweet Hugo again before we return home."
"It was easier when he stayed home," Stan agreed. "Though our crew has always meddled in our business."
Tovey's musical laughter caught Stan off guard, and he met Tovey's open and jovial gaze. He loved Tovey, had loved him since the day he'd joined the crew ofStarlight Specter, but now more than ever, he was afraid that those three little words would push him away. He bowed his head and took a step back, out of Tovey's grasp. Then, he returned his focus to the meager items in his trunk. The handkerchiefs they'd taken from a particularly dashing merchant captain were the richest items in his possession.
"I should check the trunk in my room," he said. Petri had brought their belongings from the boarding house the day after they'd moved in.
Stan followed Tovey back above deck, wondering when he'd reached the point in his life where he didn't give a fuck about his material possessions. They'd been home for a week, and he hadn't thought to open his trunk from the boarding house.
"Stop looking so shocked," Tovey said when he mentioned it. "It's not like we're strapped for clothes. Gulde gave us new wardrobes when we became Hugo's bodyguards."
"Aye, but I have jewelry from my mom in that trunk. And a little compass my dad gave me, 'for when I captain my own ship.'" Stan's dad hadn't cared even a little that Stan was an earth weaver. He was certain his son would be the first to run his own pirate ship with a crew of air weavers and a suppressor or storm caller to keep the navy away.
"I know." Tovey's voice was soft as he turned back to Stan. In the sunlight, his hair sparkled like spun gold and his white teeth glistened when he smiled. "We'll make sure it's all there when we get home."
Tovey leveled Stan's emotions. Whenever he was feeling too good about life, Tovey would yank him back down to the ground with some insult or other. Tovey was just as good for buoying Stan when he needed it, too. When Stan was down on his luck, Tovey had always been there to cheer him with a word or a smile, or both.
Stan lifted his feet from his normal shuffle and tried to straighten his back so he wasn't leaning forward like a slouchy grump. He needed every bit of his height to approach Gulde's shop. She was tiny, but she was fierce when she told him to stand up straight and display her clothes the way she'd intended when she'd made them for him. Thankfully, she was distracted today. She buzzed around her shop like the emperor himself had just been there.
