Not me.
The frame is no semblance of a threat for someone of my height.
As we pile inside, it becomes clear Connak’s office is more of a closet. Half the room lies swallowed by a desk covered in parchment rolls and stacks of maps. The other sits consumed by a narrow slip of a bed, pushed against the wall below a long window.
There’s hardly enough space for the four of us to stand. My hip presses into the edge of the desk as Eve presses into my back. No doubt the door pushes against hers.
Gods let whatever this fae has to say be quick.
Squeezing between the bed and the desk, Connak throws himself into a plush green chair. He lifts his unlit cigarillo to his lips as he reaches, shuffling papers aside to reveal a metal cylinder bolted upright to the desk.
He plucks a match from the makeshift container and strikes it along the side. Upon lighting his cigarillo, with a flick of his wrist, the burning match dies.
“Now,” he says, opening a drawer. He drops the match inside and closes it.
Eve’s hand finds my arm and gives it a firm squeeze as I stand bewildered. This fae did not just drop a hot match into a wooden drawer in a deskburiedin parchment. The sheer chaos of the act leaves me staring.
Judging by Eve’s tightening grip, she feels the same.
“Will you be needing return fare?” Connak asks.
“Yes,” Ryc replies. “Eventually. We’re unsure how long we’ll be remaining on Illa Ysari.”
Connak’s brows raise as he pulls on his cigarillo, the scent of tobacco filling the small space. “Are we talking hours or days?”
“It could be either,” Ryc responds.
Connak nods in a slow motion, his lips becoming a fine line as he does. “It will be easier for us to ride out the storm at Illa Ysari’s docks. That gets you until tomorrow morning. After that…”
He falls silent, his brows creasing.
“There’s a beacon on the docks. Light it when you’re ready to leave. My crew should be able to spot it through the fog,” he says and Ryc nods.
Fog?
In addition to snow?
“It may take some time to reach you,” Connak continues. “But we’ll be trekking between Galyne and Point Jasper over the next three days. Should be easy enough to pick you up along the way. If you require longer than three days, I’ll only be able to return here after our trip to Nyluma.”
“Understood,” Ryc says with a firm nod.
“Which brings me to fare pricing,” the Captain says, leaning back in his chair as he folds his hands in his lap. “Thirty thousand.”
Eve’s grip keeps me firmly planted in place.
“You’ll be paid once you provide the service,” Ryc says.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Connak replies, grinning. “Pleasure doing business.” He gives his desk a firm, celebratory slap as he stands. “You and your lot are welcome to remain here, out of the weather, should you like. I apologize I don’t have more spacious accommodations. There’s more room below, but after Saren’s reaction, joining the crew is not a choice I recommend. You’re also welcome to enjoy the views theJaded Kelpiehas to offer abovedeck—just… stay out of the crew’s way. We’ll be dockside in roughly an hour.”
He swings around his desk, forcing Ryc and me to part. As I press myself into one corner of the room with Eve, Ryc and Cyran swing out of the room, allowing a blast of cold wind to enter. Connak steps out, vanishing out of sight as Ryc and Cyran return.
The instant the door closes, Eve pitches herself around the desk and yanks open the drawer. Ryc joins me, and Cyran takes post in the other corner.
Eve scoffs a dry laugh. “He’s got a box of sand in here,” she says, unamused. She flings herself into his seat and heaves a sigh.
“I’m glad I wasn’t the only one concerned,” Cyran says with a chuckle.
“Is it common to have a box of sand in drawers on boats?” I ask.
