“That’s the king’s business, Blue,” he said. “Not yours.”
“That’s convenient.”
“That’s the crown.” He turned to let the light dance along the wind again.
I leaned my back against the rail. “It doesn’t matter. I will tell everyone at Hodgetown that you’re spies, and I will keep telling them until they send a fleet to sink you hard.”
“Eight months at sea, and you know more than the king.” He laughed, and I had the sudden urge to kick him in the shin. “Perhaps we should drop you at High Temple instead. I hear his court is easily breached. Wasn’t a princeling stolen once?”
I bit my tongue, cupping my rum so tightly that I thought I might turn it to sugar in my palms. The Stolen Prince of Oversea was old news, a far-fetched fable for cold nights and warm beer. It had been one of my mother’s favorites, however, and likelywhy I had no patience for the telling.
“Trust me, Blue,” he said finally. “We would keep you if we could, even just to teach you a thing or two about seeing.”
I studied my feet. Sparks from his magik flickered against my boots. He was clearly a mage but, like the rest of them, wore no sash.
“How do you spin the light like that?” I asked, and he looked back at his hands, appearing relieved at the change of topic.
“It’s a basic luminary line with aCarmenincantation. A bit beyond the skill of a blue.”
“Teach me,” I said.
“I can’t.”
I narrowed my gaze on his. “You mean you won’t because I’m Navy.”
He shrugged. “What I mean is, Blue, there’s no point.”
“Why?” I growled. “Because the captain thinks I’m too proudfor a privateer ship? Or because he knows I’ll kill him when his back is turned or when he’s tucked deep in his bed?”
“Because we’ll be at port by morning…and learning half a spell is worse than learning none at all.”
I wouldn’t lie. That made a bit of sense. Though I was still mad as hels he wouldn’t teach me half anyway. Anything to keep my thoughts from drifting to the man in the cabin below.
“You should kill him and be captain yourself,” I said, a corner of my mouth turning up before I could stop it. “Maybe I’d follow you, then.”
“You’d follow a mutineer who killed his captain? That’s low, even for Navy.”
Any semblance of cunning was instantly replaced.
“His people sank my ship!” I barked, my chest heaving as I spat out each word. “I couldn’t save any of them. I watched my powder boy get swallowed by the sea. Corwen was twelve.Twelve!”
It was his turn to look away now, and I was glad, for tears were stinging my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment.
I sank back into the shadow and wiped my cheeks, marshaling my emotions and sending them down deep like Corwen and the cannon.
He added, “And I’m almost sorry you need to leave, but wehavea commission.”
“Commission?” I scoffed. “What commission can you have when you’re captained by the enemy?”
He said nothing.
“What commission can a ship of traitors have for a king?”
“Remember when you came aboard and didn’t want to say anything?” he said wistfully. “That was nice.”
“The King of Oversea pays an enemy captain to dowhatexactly?”
