“I can’t guarantee any more dragons, though.”
“That’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re more than enough.”
14
Kaspar
Max kissed me.
More than once.
He kissed me.
Every time I thought about it, my lips tingled, and my belly fluttered, or maybe it was my heart. Every time I thought about the way Max’s lips felt against my own, the way he’d held me protectively, the way his fingers brushed my cheeks, I wished I could go back to that moment and relive it over and over and over again.
It’d been perfect.
Too perfect.
So of course my brain had to go and ruin it for me.
Because Max lived on this ship.
And I was leaving.
Not yet—we were still weeks away from Asteris—but too soon.
Every time I thought about the best, most perfect kiss I’d ever had, my heart fluttered.
And then it broke.
Every single time.
Because I didn’t want to leave, not anymore. I’d finally found someone who liked me, who cared about me, for me. Not for what I could do for them, not because I was a fluxweaver.
Max likedme.
And I couldn’t keep him.
Because as much as I wanted to stay with him, I couldn’t. I had to think about Kayla and Cody. I couldn’t leave them alone in Embergate City, no matter how badass my sister was. I needed them, I needed my family, and I knew they needed me too. But there was no way in hell I could bring them aboard a pirate ship either. Not with Viper in charge.
No way would I ever let that evil man anywhere near my sister and nephew.
But that meant Ihadto leave… I had to leave Max behind.
With a sore heart, I made my way to the main deck to start my scrubbing. The crew had gone hunting earlier—some of the birds in the sky made for good stew, apparently—so the deck and the sloops were an utter mess. Honestly, it was disgusting, but since living with this crew for the past several weeks, I’d kind of gotten used to the grime.
I was on my hands and knees, scrubbing bird blood off the wood, when I heard his voice from across the deck. My eyes were searching before I even told them to, and the second I saw him, standing on the quarterdeck, hands on the railing, calling out orders to the sail master, I had to duck my head to hide my smile.
He was so gorgeous with the sun making his brown curls shine, with his tanned skin that I now knew was soft to the touch, with those brown eyes that showed the true nature of his soul. The man himself could act hard and mean all he wanted, but he couldn’t hide the way his eyes dimmed when he yelled at another or how they lit up when he was able to teach one of the younger crew members a new skill.
Or the way they burned with anger every time Viper did something out of line.
Or how they shined with sadness when he looked at Willy, clearly remembering—and regretting—his flogging.
His eyes told the truth of the man, and that truth was beautiful.
That truth was who I’d been lucky enough to get glimpses of when the two of us were alone. That truth was who I was getting to know, who I already cared about deeply, who I… who I didn’t want to leave behind.
