“And Smoke’s dory is sounding very good right now, too,” he said. “Drop her in, push her off. Farewell and safe seas, Honor Renn, Bluemage of the Navy. Bye.”
My gaze narrowed on his. “What are you hiding?”
“Hiding?” He glanced down at me now and stared for a long moment, but I got the feeling he wasn’t seeing me at all. It was like he was caught on the wrong side of something far bigger.
“I’ll square you a deal,” he said finally. “I teach you theCarmen, and you hold your tongue when you get to Hodgetown.”
I wasn’t expecting that. I scowled at him.
“What good’s aCarmenspell if I can’t use my hands?”
“Well, if you’re afraid to try…”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” I lied.
“You’re going to fail miserably, and the shame will haunt you for the rest of your days, but I suspect you thrive in small, dark places.”
He grinned now—teasing, mocking, I didn’t know—but it sparked something deep inside that had nothing to do with chimeric.
I sat forward, countering his dancing eyes with the daggers that were mine.
“How about I squareyoua deal?” I said. “Teach me the spell and drop me at Hodgetown, and Istilltell everyone that you’re spies. The Navy would sink you hard, but I would have a new spell to flash for some coin. Win for me, while you swim with the fishes. So, win-win.”
He crouched down now, draped one arm across his knee.
“Are you really so reckless as to threaten a ship of spies?”
“Recklessandproud,” I said. “Far too proud for the Ship of Spells.”
His grin crooked like the slash of a knife. “Here’s the thing. You’ll be gone in a few hours, marooned in the wasteland they call Hodgetown, lost and forsaken and looking for coin…”
So close, I could feel his magik tingling across my skin. It didn’t feel like the captain’s magik, though. The captain’s was deep and dark, a riptide that pulled you out to sea and drowned you in sorrows. This skimmed the surface—warm, easy, like an old friend who knew when to stay on the shore.
“But until then…”
He held out his hand.
“Let’s make some light.”
It wasn’t until much later that I realized he’d changed the subject.
I tossed back the rum, loving the rush as the sugar and lime ran down my throat. I took his hand, bracing myself against the shock that rattled my teeth. Fahr hissed as he pulled me up to stand, snatching his palm away immediately afterward.
“Bells, that hurt,” he said, and he eyed me for a long moment as he shook it out.
“Pain is life,” I grumbled.
“Life is life,” he said. “Pain’s just an eager bystander. Right. Stand here. Brace your feet. Balance is everything.”
I did.
“Deep breath, hands together.”
I paused, realizing the gloves prevented the raw skin necessary for magik.
“Take them off,” he said. “But try not to burn down the forecastle, please.”
I pulled the gloves gingerly from my hands, tucking them into my sash. The gashes had all but healed, and the runescars glowed like spells themselves. I wondered when they would stop.
