Dead eyes stared at me, an ashen face with dark hair blowing in the wind.
I shook the memory away—I wasn’t ready to deal with the fact that I’d actually killed a person—and focused on my treat.
Sage needed to use the apples up quickly before they went bad, so I shouldn’t have been surprised by this. But I didn’t realize he knew how to bake.
My gaze moved up to the man in the crow’s nest, and suddenly, all I wanted to do was share this little treat with him. I stared at the rigging attached to the mast—the rigging I’d have to climb,eep—biting my lip as I thought.
Should I go up there?
Would he be angry?
Maybe bringing the treat would help.
But what if it didn’t? What if he got so mad that he tried to throw me over the edge?
Would Reaper really do that?
I glanced up again, walking slowly around the mast. I… didn’t think he would. Not after I saw a glimpse of the real him earlier today. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he was different from the other pirates onThe Black Wraith. He tried to hide it, but it was there, just under the surface.
After I spent a good five minutes hovering near the mast, Reaper called down, “What are you doing, Ghost?”
I winced. “Um…”
There was a pause, then a long sigh, then a quiet, “Come up if you need to talk.”
I didn’t exactlyneedto, but I kind of wanted to. So I shoved the treat back in my pocket and carefully made my way up—it was just as difficult to climb up as I’d expected it to be. Then I stood there, unsure of what to do until Reaper jerked his head toward the spot beside him, saying, “Sit down.”
After pulling myself onto the crow’s nest, I sat, gingerly putting my legs through the railing and letting them dangle over the deck. Reaper was quiet, and I took a minute to take everything in.
The sky was dark, but there were so many stars that it made it seem kind of bright out here flying above the sea.
Below us, there were unimaginable dangers lurking in the depths, things I never ever, ever wanted to come across. But above us, it was tranquil and soothing, and the soft breeze made a sort of peace fall over me.
I closed my eyes and soaked it in for a long moment, pretending I wasn’t stuck on a pirate ship in constant fear of being killed and used as monster bait.
I was surprised when Reaper was the first to speak. “Thank you for saving me earlier. I know… I know your first kill is difficult.”
I opened my eyes to peer at him. “I… thanks. Yeah, I’m…” I trailed off, unsure if I should be honest about how guilty I felt every time I pictured that man.
“The guilt will get easier.”
I wasn’t even surprised he’d read me so easily. Kayla always told me I wore my every thought on my face, and apparently, she was right. “Will it?”
He nodded. “It’ll take time, but… you saved my life. If you hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you right now. So… I’m not sure how much comfort that can give you, but knowing I’m grateful should help.”
“Thanks.” I wanted to say more, but being vulnerable in that way with Reaper seemed like a bad idea. So I changed the subject and pulled out the treat. “Sage gave me this for helping you. I thought that maybe we could share?” It came out more as a question than I meant it to, but he took it in stride.
“Thank you. Anything Sage makes is delicious.” He reached over and pinched off a piece, put it in his mouth, and let out a small moan that made me squirm a little to prevent him from seeing exactly what he was doing to me.
I pinched off a piece and tried it myself, holding in my own moan at the taste. “Holy phoenix tails, I haven’t had anything this good in weeks.” I took another bite and muttered under my breath, “Unicorn horns, this is delicious.”
To my surprise, Reaper chuckled. The sound was so unexpected, I sat up straight and turned my full attention to him. His smile was wide as he shook his head and met my gaze for a brief moment, taking my breath away before he spoke. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” I sounded breathless, and I cleared my throat, trying to hide my reaction to him.
“Say those ridiculous things instead of cursing?”
“Oh.” I took another bite and looked out at the sky while I thought about how truthful I should be with this man. In the end, I figured it didn’t matter if he knew this about me, so I went with the truth. “My parents always said it. Growing up, they never cursed around my sister and me, and when she had Cody—that’s my nephew—we both automatically followed suit.”
