“We missed our lesson last night,” he said as he passed the book to me.
The Magik and the Mirror: Life on the Other Sideby Cendry Puck.
I grinned.
“Take it to your berth, then be present on deck at five bells. We’ll need you to go over the side one last time here, in the Silence.”
“I will,” I said, clutching the book to my chest, and I stepped toward the door.
“Aro’el?”
I turned.
“Forgive me,” he said. His eyes were lowered, his head slightly bowed. “For my behavior on theAndomiehrearlier today.”
The breath caught in my throat.
“Behavior?” I asked.
I was not so innocent. I knew what he meant, but I’d be damned if I didn’t give him the chance to own it, to speak it, to see where it might lead.
“Touching your scars,” he said. “I was carried away by the devastation and the raw chimeric. It will not happen again. I swear to you.”
Just like theTouchstone, he had integrity in his bones.
It was admirable, I thought. Sweet, even. But I wasn’t looking for sweet. I was looking for salt.
“What if I want it to?”
I was looking for stakes.
He shook his head.
“It cannot. Not while you are under my command.”
I was looking for storms.
“But I’m also Navy, remember?” I said, and I arched a thick brow. “So notreallyunder your command.”
He glanced up quickly, and I could see this was something he hadn’t considered when he’d suggested it a lifetime ago.
I certainly had.
“No,” he said finally, and his lips twitched. “No. Perhaps not.”
“You said that’s my course to chart,” I said, a grin beginning to tug into my cheek. “And I told you that course led me square in front of you. What did you expect from a wretched woman from a lost frigate?”
He grinned now, giving me the courage to continue.
“Maybe it’s time to quiet your ‘ardent council,’” I said. “And maybe it’s time to ask yourself what youreallywant?”
His eyes softened as he considered my words.
“Besides,” I said, hugging the book in my arms. “Would I even be Aro’el if I wasn’t up for a little chase?”
“Ha.”
But he was smiling now, and it made me giddy just to see it. Clearly, it had been a long time since anyone had tried to pry that aloof, guarded heart from his steely chest. Clearly, I was the first one in a long time bold enough, or reckless enough, to try.
