Page 57 of Found at Sea
“I feel it too,” Alek said, moving his stare amongst our surroundings before going still. “Fletch?”
I followed his line of sight and froze as well. The same merman we’d seen in Stonebridge—the one who’d been so close to us when we were swimming—was now below us in the water, right beside the ship.
His hair had a silvery look to it, as if it was neither blond nor white, but somewhere in between. The crystal clear water gave us a view of his tail beneath the surface, hues of green and blue with hints of violet. Beads of water rolled off his creamy skin, and his green eyes were radiant, appearing as if they held a slight glow. Unlike before, he didn’t dive back under the water when catching us looking at him. He cocked his head, as if he was just as intrigued by us as we were of him.
Then he smiled.
Some of the men on shore laughed, causing the merman to snap his head toward them. Fear flashed across his face, and in an instant, he was back under the water and out of sight.
“I wonder what he wants,” I said, looking at Alek. “He’s been following us for a while.”
Alek didn’t respond. He wrinkled his brow and continued staring at the water.
“Al?”
Silver flashed in his eyes before he blinked and focused on me.
“Do you want to play cards?” I asked. His expression worried me, and I wished to distract him from whatever plagued his mind.
He nodded, but still said nothing.
After we played a few hands of cards and talked a little nonsense, he seemed to be back to his usual self. During the moments of quiet, though, I suspected both of our minds were still on the merman.
Later that evening, I was back in the captain’s quarters. Not yet ready to sleep, I sat at the table in his study writing in my journal, while he sat at the large wooden desk looking over maps. The mood was different between us.
I still didn’t fully trust him, and yes, I’d sassed him several more times that night. ButIfelt different; not as angry and mainly just rebelling against him for fun.
He seemed to pick up on the change, too, for he no longer seemed as grumpy when I back talked him.
“What are you writing?” he asked, slightly turning in his chair to look at me.
“Words,” I answered, suppressing a smile.
Kellan grumbled something under his breath, and the hold on my smile slipped.
“If you must know, Captain,” I said, placing my quill on the table before looking at him. “I’m writing another song. This one tells of swimming in the sea and feeling weightless as I move through the waves.”
Kellan came over, placing one hand on my left side and peering down at the page. “Will you read it to me?”
“There’s no music for it yet,” I said, feeling self-conscious. “But if you insist…”
“I do.”
He was quiet as I recited it, and afterward, he went over to his desk and snuffed out the lamp’s flame. I knew that meant it was time for bed. Leaving my journal open on the table, I placed the cap back on the bottle of ink before following him into the sleeping quarters.
“I enjoyed the song,” Kellan said as we got beneath the blanket. “When you have music, I’d like to hear it again.”
I smiled, despite still feeling a tad uneasy around him. Sharing pieces of my heart with someone—my heart being my love of song—was nerve-wracking.
“Thank you,” I said. After fluffing my pillow, I laid my head down and closed my eyes.
In Helmfirth, I could only ever play for Ned, and even then, I’d become nervous and often made mistakes. Since being aboard theCrimson Night, my confidence had grown. I sang shanties with the crew now, and sometimes I played my lute for Alek. I’d even played it once in front of the captain before too.
For the first night in over a week, I didn’t shove him away when he pulled me into his arms. I was too exhausted to fight him, and although I wouldn’t admit it aloud, I was too vulnerable to resist him.
In the darkness, I remembered the woman in black, and I scooted closer, laying my head over his heart.
His left arm was like a protective wall around me, and as I drifted off to sleep, I felt as if I’d always be safe as long as I was in his embrace.
