“They transferred it once. I don’t see any reason it couldn’t be transferred again,” says Charlie.
“Except the first time, Peter was a willing subject,” I say.
“You never know,” says Charlie, taking a swig out of her flask. “Peter might be tired of his Mark. He might want out, the same way the captain thought he wanted it gone. It was driving him crazy, you know. Can’t imagine what it would do to a lesser man.”
I bite my lip, thinking. “I wonder if it would kill him. The same way it’s killing Nolan.”
“Wouldn’t that be a bonus?” says Maddox.
Charlie shakes her head. “Wendy has a point. If Peter has any inkling removing the Mark even has a chance of causing him to contract the same illness the captain has, I doubt he would go for it.”
Maddox shrugs. “So we make him.”
Something twists in my stomach.
“Uh-oh,” says Maddox, glancing at my hands, which I only now realize that I’m wringing together.
“He doesn’t deserve to live after what he did to you,” says Charlie.
I shake my head. “No. I know. It’s just that I’ve had my life traded for someone else’s before. For someone more loved. Or at least, that was the intention. It feels wrong, doing that to someone else. Even Peter.”
Charlie and Maddox go silent for a moment.
“You have an annoyingly tender conscience, you know,” says Charlie.
I swallow. “I’m not sure that’s what it is.”
After another drawn-out silence, I say, “I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it for Nolan. It just gives me a bad feeling, and I’d rather find another way.”
Charlie taps her fingers on the table, thinking. “As much as I’d like to see Peter dead, it’s the riskiest of the plans. You’re right. I doubt he’ll give up that connection to you willingly, especially if he gets wind that it could endanger him. And even wounded, I wouldn’t want to bring him into our predicament if we don’t have to.”
I nod, shoulders sagging in relief, glad that my friend understands. That, when Peter’s involved, you’ll always be giving up more than you bargained for.
“So that’s all we have?” I ask. “A Fate with a wounded pride who will revel in my husband’s death…”
“And a scorned lover who would enjoy it even more,” says Maddox grimly. Then, his face softening, he places his large hand on top of mine. “You know, maybe we should take a break. I bet the captain’s awake again and would like to see you.”
Something about the resignation with which he says it, the implication that he thinks Nolan is right, that an attempt to save him is futile and I might as well just stay by his side waiting for my husband to die, has my insides flaring.
“What? You’d rather just give up on him?” I snap.
Maddox snorts. “Give up on him? Who do you think has been wracking their brain, bribing every rumor peddler at every port for the past two years looking for a cure? Do you think I enjoy watching my best friend succumb to slow death? But I’ve come to terms with it. Come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t there to stop that dagger from coming down, and I’m just as helpless to find him a cure as I would be trying to sew his hand back onto his body.”
Shame washes over me. Maddox is right. It’s astounding that he doesn’t hate me, the person whose fault it is that he’s having to watch his best friend fade.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I say, choking on the lump in my throat.
Maddox swallows, then nods, but he doesn’t look at me as he stands from his chair. “I’ll be needed back on deck,” he says.
When he leaves, Charlie puts her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t mind him. He’ll be over it once he does his hundred push-ups for the day. You two will be the best of friends by dinner.”
Something numb crusts over in my heart. Charlie’s probably right, and that only makes me feel worse. Maddox has no reason to forgive me.
“You two are fighting, aren’t you?” I ask.
Charlie rears back. Her response is much too exaggerated to be honest. “What? Us?”
“You hardly look at him. When he asks a question, you don’t answer him. The two of you are usually cutting up. What happened?” I ask.
