Nikella’s face was unreadable, but Aiden... The intensity of his stare flayed me open like Korvin’s knife. A muscle in his jaw pulsed, and his throat clenched as if he were barely containing the words he wanted to say.
But I couldn’t handle any more. I rushed for the door, expecting someone to stop me, but no one did.
I hurtled through the dank passageways until I emerged topside. I stumbled to the back of the ship and gripped the railing, heaving in the briny air and looking south. Toward Aquinon. To the only family I had left, if they were still alive.But perhaps they hated me now, too. Just like everyone else I’d betrayed.
Maz’s wounded expression and withdrawal from me battered at my bruised heart.
I bent over the railing and closed my eyes.
“Mind the draft if you’re going to puke again.”
I jerked sideways, staring wide-eyed at the red-haired man I hadn’t noticed a moment ago.
Skelly, the captain ofMynastra’s Wings, stood with his boots planted wide as he steered the ship.
I scowled. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
He shot me a smirk behind his bushy red beard. “All out, are ya?”
My scowl deepened, and he guffawed. “Ah, don’t take it personally. Most of you land lovers take days to find your feet... and your stomach. Mighty Mynastra must have a soft spot for you.”
“Or she was tired of me sullying her waves,” I grumbled.
The weathered skin around his gray eyes crinkled. “My money’s on that.”
I slowly joined him at the wheel. “You have a daughter, right?” I asked, digging through my memories.
He nodded. “About your age.”
“Where is she?”
“Home, at last, with her mother. I sent them back to Eloren after I paid off all the debts I owed there.”
My lips parted.Allof his debts? Ruru had mentioned Skelly liked to gamble. But where had he suddenly gotten enough money to?—
Aiden. The gold from the heist. No doubt, payment for the risk Skelly was currently taking.
My heart twitched at discovering at least one answer it craved.
Skelly glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Of course, I left them with a large share as well. My girl will need something to take care of her mother when I perish in this foolish quest of Aiden’s. Mynastra will, at last, have her wings,” he added morosely, as he gazed at the billowing white sails of his ship.
I frowned. “Why help him then if you’re so sure of your demise?”
Skelly looked at me as though I’d asked who Mynastra was. “Because he saved my family. He found medicine for my wife when she was ill, and he ensured they could return safely to the home they missed dearly. I don’t care which Rellmiran rules. I owe Aiden a debt, and that is something an Eloren never forgets.”
I pursed my lips and looked away. Aiden always seemed to get what he needed from other people. Whether they did in return was another story.
“What of the rest of your crew? Do they also have such debts with Aiden?”
Skelly shrugged, keeping his hands wrapped around the spokes of the wheel. “Their stories vary. But each includes the choice to stay on this ship and to obey their captain.”
More blind loyalty. What inspired such a thing? Surely, they could see it only ended in early death.
Skelly nodded to where I was watching the sun sink beneath a mountain of pink and purple clouds. “That’s a good omen. Means calm weather ahead. By my reckoning, we should draw abreast of Calimber soon. Then it’ll be three more days to the Yargoth camp.”
My thoughts stuttered to a halt.Calimber.The sunstone mine where Aiden and Maz had been imprisoned. I’d also overheard Lord Garyth mention it to Melaena.
I grimaced. Two more people whose fate I didn’t know.
