“Sadly,” grumbled Kol.
“For the best,” Alaric said warningly.
“Maybe.”
“Goddess, is this why they call it the River of Sorrow? Look at you,” Kol teased.
“What?”
“You’re actually pouting.”
But Calytrix chose that moment to cross the deck and join us.I cut them both a stern look and swerved the conversation back to safer ground.
“All I’m saying is, with our luck, the River of Sorrow seems a bit ominous. I’m not sure we should be taking the chance.” I held up my hands.
“You think it’s ominous?” Calytrix asked, meeting my gaze.
“You don’t think so?” Did this mean we were playing friendly? Or maybe it was a truce. We hadn’t spoken since our moment last night. We didn’t have time this morning between deciding what our next move was and Nyx still being cross with us.So it was hard to tell if she was feeling any way about it all. Did she even remember? That much Aquatic Absinthe was enough to put me on my arse, so in a small fae body I could only imagine.
“I don’t believe in chance. I believe the Gods have our lives in their hands and our fates decided. The name of a river will not have any bearing on our journey.”
Alaric shot me a look that said, ‘that told you.’
Well then.
“Are there crocodiles in the river?” Nova edged backwards, shifting the subject and coming to join us.
“Probably,” Calytrix replied. “They love the tropical shores of the River Kingdom.”
“I guess I’ll be staying far away from the rails.” Nova chose a seat between Calytrix and Kol.
“You don’t have to worry. I think dragons win against crocs,” Kol whispered.
“They might win against crocs, but can they win against hippos?” Alaric asked, and I couldn’t tell if he was serious.
“Hippos? Seriously? I thought those were a myth,” I said, side-eyeing the water.
Alaric shook his head, holding back a laugh. “They are very real. You nervous now?”
“I can’t figure out if you’re serious…” I risked a full-on scan of the water. “If they are real, aren’t they supposed to be able to bite a boat in half?”
“Smaller boats, sure, but I’m sure the crew is experienced.” He gave me a confused look. “Don’t you know all this after crewing ships?”
“Not river ships! I stayed in the ocean, thank you very much.” I took another gulp of my drink.
“There are just as many dangerous things in the ocean as the rivers…” Calytrix started.
I held up my hands, cutting her off. “Nope. Don’t tell me. I need some peace when I’m done with this mess.”
“Isn’t that more reason to tell you?” She popped a brow.
I made a rude gesture at her. “Enough trouble from you, Trix.”
She giggled and nearly snorted her drink up her nose, which made her laugh harder and cough.
“Goddess.” I jumped to my feet. “Don’t choke.”
She tried to speak, but that only made it worse.
