Page 23 of Suffer No Fools
Hannah stumbled forward, proving his point, and Tovey caught them with a weave of air, hoisting them into his arms. "I'll get you as far as the galley, unless you want your bed first."
"I was serious," they said. "I'm not fucking you. Not now, not ever."
"Not even if I bring you breakfast?" He flashed them a cheeky grin.
They slapped his cheek, just hard enough for it to sting without really hurting. "You really are the worst."
"You still love me, though, aye?"
"Aye, and I can sit on my own bench in the galley, if you don't mind." They let him carry them to the door, but struggled to the floor as Stan cranked the door open for them.
"You're a reliable cart horse," they said, patting his chest.
"You're lucky you're balanced." Tovey grinned to show he was only kidding, but Hannah flinched as though he'd struck them. "I'm sorry. You're tired. I shouldn't be joking around."
"No." They grinned. "I'm glad you're finally treating me like a crewmate, and not the weirdo in the crow's nest. I'm tired, that's all."
"We're the lucky ones," Stan said, handing them a bowl of sausage gravy over hard tack.
Tovey left them to pat each other on the back about the night's events and grabbed his own bowl. He would never be at ease with the crew, unlike Stan. Everyone was Stan's friend, even Vadim.
As hard as Tovey tried, he wasn't good with people. He always took his jokes a step too far. He wasn't finished until he'd hurt someone else's feelings along with his own. Foremost, he hurt himself with the knowledge he would never be good enough to hold Stan's full attention, and he would never be Efren's first choice of air weaver on his ship. Stan had vouched for him, and he and Efren were best friends.
He shouldn't have taken the offer to become part ofStarlight Specter'screw, but that ship had sailed fifteen years ago.
Chapter 4
Hugo
Hugo had plenty of memories of his afternoon with Stan and Tovey to fill his mornings without them for the next few days. Jermain was hard of hearing, and Frost couldn't see past his nose, so Hugo did his best to stay as quiet as possible while buried under every extra blanket he had.
Jermain caught Hugo snoozing. "Are you ill?"
"I think all the healing is catching up to me," Hugo said. "I feel drowsy today."
It wasn't a lie. Between learning ice weaves, literal sword practice, and figurative sword practice coupled with his fantasies of Tovey and Stan, Hugo was bone tired in a way he'd never experienced, not even when he was a child playing outside all day.
"We're almost to Equis Island," Jermain reminded him. "You'll need your strength."
"How soon?" he asked.
"We should arrive this afternoon," Jermain said. "Captain Efren said we only lost a few hours to the storm." He took a step back and bowed. "Rest until then, Your Majesty. I'll come get you when it's time."
"Thank you." Hugo wanted to sink through the ship boards and drown, but that wasn't a possibility. Frost neededhis help in a few hours. He cleaned himself off with the already crusty hand towel and fell back asleep.
He woke before anyone came to get him, but he sensed the change in speed. Instead of skimming along with the waves, the ship was now rocking from side to side with them. They were slowing, or stopped. He couldn't tell which.
The air in the hold wasn't as cold as it had been the past few days. It felt almost humid, like springtime in Hearthstone. He dressed accordingly, but when he walked above deck, he realized he was still overdressed. It was balmy, the sleet from the storm Hannah had told him about a couple days ago long forgotten. He didn't know how he and Frost were expected to freeze the ocean around them and keep it frozen.
"We'll freeze just enough that it will retain its own temperature," Frost said when he asked. "It's quite warm here for this time of year, but winter will catch up with us and do the rest of the work."
Hugo had never been in a lifeboat before, but he was certain most people put the boat in the water before getting into it. Instead, Stan ushered him to the middle bench beside Frost, climbed in beside Tovey, and then hoisted them over the side of the boat with an earth weave. At the prow, Tovey erected a makeshift sail, and soon they were jetting toward the beach whileStarlight Spectercontinued around to the far side of the island, skirting the southern shoals.
Hugo studied the shore, but he didn't see any wild horses.
"They're on the northernmost island," Tovey said when he asked.
"Niall's grandfather had a hut on this island," Stan said. "We'll see what's left of it when we portage across."
