Adela continued as if Eira hadn’t said anything. “Now, to the hold with you. Since I know your channel is closed, there is no need for the shackle.”
“But—”
“Crow!” Adela called.
The door promptly swung open, revealing a young woman with raven hair, cut short around her ears. She had light brownskin and an ear that was more gold than flesh from all the cuffs and hoops she wore. “M’lady?”
“Put her in the hold and throw enough scraps down that she doesn’t starve.”
Eira stood as Crow approached. She could see she didn’t have a choice and wasn’t about to be manhandled. Shreds of dignity were all she had, but Eira was determined to hold on to them with all her might.
“May I go back to the other boat, at least?”
Adela waved her away. “I can’t be bothered to fetch you every morning. You’ll stay here.”
Every morning?Eira didn’t have a chance to ask before Crow was pushing her out with a shove on her shoulder. Adela clearly had plans for her. But what they were…Eira wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
The entrance to the hold on this vessel was very similar to the other—a board with some holes bored into it, lifted from where it rested flush with the deck. But the hold itself was much smaller and Eira could hardly sit up. As Crow replaced the opening, Eira was forced to lean back onto her elbows, wedged between crates and sacks.
“Sleep well,” Crow said with a smile, even though it was still morning.
Eira lay back and closed her eyes. She folded her hands over her stomach, feeling the rocking of the waves. Ducot was with their friends and he’d done a good job so far in looking after all of them. Eira didn’t have a choice but to trust he would continue to do so.
In the meantime, she would do her best to make the most of her time. She focused on the sound of the water lapping up against the hull.Ebb and flow. Just like the magic she reached out in search of.
7
At dusk, the opening to the hold opened once more. Without warning, a mostly empty bucket was turned over. It was a rain of sinewy and fatty discarded pieces of meat, cheese rinds, and the crusty ends of bread—half chewed.
“Enjoy,” Crow said cheerfully before replacing the hatch, the latch engaging. The woman didn’t immediately walk away this time. She leered from above as Eira propped herself up and rolled onto her side. Crow must have been waiting for Eira to protest at the quality of food, or beg for more. But when she didn’t, the deck creaked with Crow’s heavy footsteps. Eira could barely hear her speaking to someone else, but the words were lost.
Eira picked through the scraps, sorting by type. She’d eat the meat tonight, what little there was of it. It looked freshly cooked and wouldn’t keep. The cheese rinds could survive until the morning. The bread would keep the longest and that would be lunch. They hadn’t mentioned feeding her more than once a day so she had to be cautious and make the food last.
She picked up the first knob of meat, pleased to find that it had been cleanly cut—someone had used silverware rather than just digging in with their teeth. She wondered if these wereactually table scraps, or if they were only meant to look like it and the pirates were taking better care of her than they might otherwise let on. If her theories about Adela possibly hiding her lineage were correct, then that would make sense…
Slowly working her way around the connective tissue and sinew, Eira ate every bit of meat and fat that was digestible. What little remained she pushed through one of the holes in the opening above her. She didn’t want to share her tiny space with rotting food. Hopefully it would get knocked off into the water or a bird would eat it before the morning. She could already imagine Adela having something to say about her “daring to dirty the boat.”
The next piece of meat was marginally better than the first. The third far worse. There were only five morsels in total. By the time she was finished, she was far from full, but she refrained from eating her other provisions, instead pushing them as far to the side as she could. Out of sight and out of mind. Hopefully this way the pirates didn’t take them either.
Eira lay back down and stared up at the holes above her. Were her friends all right? Were Cullen and Lavette having a much-needed conversation after what had come to light? Even if there weren’t feelings of romance there, the situation was murky and Lavette deserved better than that from both Cullen and Eira.
She had to suppress a groan as she cringed inwardly. She hadn’t meant to spill everything like she had. Or at all… She’d been working so hard to move past Cullen and the memories they shared. She’d even been doing pretty well with it, all things considered.
Had she been doing well, or merely distracting herself?
Olivin’s stormy eyes flashed through her memories. Their night together, walking to the display the Twilight Kingdom had put on. He had been a distraction. But at least she felt like she had made the right decisions when it came to him. She had beenmore grounded in her approach and kept herself from rushing in with her heart, even if her body had other ideas…
As for Cullen, she was clearly still weak when it came to him.
Eira closed her eyes and sighed. There were so many more important things to worry about than her failed love life. Yet here she was, thinking about both of them. Feeling guilt, and shame…and longing.
At some point, she’d managed to fall asleep. Stomping overhead jolted Eira awake and was followed by the hatch above her being pulled open, revealing Crow.
“Good morning, Adela impersonator,” she said with a bitter note. If Eira had any doubts on Crow’s feelings toward her, there were no questions now. “The bane of the seas has asked to see you again. I hope you are appropriately honored.”
Eira got up without question or hesitation. But she clearly moved too slow for Crow’s liking. The woman hooked her arm with Eira’s and yanked her through the opening.
“Best not to keep Adela waiting; you’ve already offended her enough by taking her name.”
