As Eira was taking her spot, Cullen stepped by and whispered under his breath, “Find me on the island.”
Her heart skipped a beat. He glanced over his shoulder, fighting a smirk. The rest of them seemed to miss the brief interaction. But Eira wore it on the flush that crept up her cheeks and the untoward thoughts racing to the forefront of her mind.
The only instruction Adela had given them was to be back by midnight. Otherwise, they had free rein on the island to do whatever pleased them. And, judging from the stories on the rowboat over to the docks from the other crew, there was a lot to find pleasing on a pirate’s paradise.
“I’m going to find new writing tools,” Alyss announced shortly after disembarking.
“I’ll join you,” Yonlin said.
“Us, too,” Varren added.
“Adela might have told us that there’s an understanding among all the pirates on the island…but it’s still an island of pirates.” Lavette side-eyed the bustling docks. People of all ages, all shapes and sizes, went about their business. TheStormfrostwas the largest vessel on anchor out on the horizon, but shewasn’t the only one. Three other tall ships with black flags and scarred hulls were in port today.
“You’ll be fine.” Ducot patted her shoulder. “There’s never fighting here. You’d be surprised how much better pirates are at keeping the peace than actual lawmen.”
Lavette rolled her eyes.
“Truly,” Ducot insisted. “Puck even has a wife with child here. Trusts her to be safer here than anywhere else while she’s in her more delicate months.”
“We’ll see.” Lavette still seemed skeptical, but slightly more inclined to believe him.
“Where are you two headed?” Eira asked Noelle and Ducot.
“There’s a marvelous beach on the other side of those hills and cliffs.” Ducot pointed. “It’s a quieter side of the island because the rocks prevent it from being an easy place to dock. But that means it has great views and some secluded tide pools.”
“Sounds wonderful, we’ll join you,” Eira declared for herself, Cullen, and Olivin.
Noelle was at her side, the men in tow, as they walked through the main markets. The town was somewhere between what Eira was familiar with on Oparium and the stilted houses of Ofok. Their roofs were thatched with large, woven fronds from the tall trees that swayed happily in the summer breezes.
“A moment!” Ducot shouted after them. Eira and Noelle paused in time to see him duck into a storefront, Cullen and Olivin behind.
“It was nice of Adela to give us some coin to spend,” Eira mused. The intense stare Noelle was giving her had an awkward and uneasy sensation crawling up her back.
“Adela,blah, blah, yes, we get it. She sees you as a little murder-baby to mold in her image.” Noelle tilted her head back and forth as she talked quickly, mocking the idea. It was comical enough that Eira didn’t immediately object. Though she wouldhave for the sake of keeping the conversation on that topic. “But what’s actually important is what is going on between you and Cullen and Olivin?”
Eira groaned and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“They want to get in your pants so badly they’re practically tripping over themselves.”
“Noelle!”
“It’s true.” She laughed. “And obvious. So I know you know, too.”
“No, I do, it’s not that. I—” Eira pressed her fingers into her forehead with a sigh. “I don’t know what I’m doing with either of them.”
Noelle’s expression shifted, becoming more serious.
“I always thought that, when you fell in love with someone, you just…knew. You met them and they had your heart and everything slotted into place,” Eira said softly as she watched the store for them to reemerge. “That’s how it is in the stories, at least.”
“You’re around Alyss too much.” Noelle grinned slightly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes and the expression fell off her face quickly, the muscles relaxing into something more somber and thoughtful. “Stories are simplebecausethey’re stories. But this is life, Eira. And it’s rarely neat.”
“I feel like I’m making a mess of it.” She sighed. Her lips still tingled from Olivin’s kisses a few nights ago. The feeling of his nails on her scalp sent shivers down her spine. The safety of Cullen’s embrace. The familiarity of the taste of his mouth that made the whole world stand still. “When I’m around Cullen, I feel stable, safe. I look up to him greatly, in many ways.”
“But?”
“But…he also drives me insane sometimes—and not in the fun way.” Eira grinned. Noelle chuckled. “Though, he’s working on it. He’s trying to live for himself and it’s admirable. He’sgenuinely…changing. And it’s fascinating to watch. I’m more intrigued with him by the day. But that also means I can’t be sure if I’ll love the man he’s becoming, or not.”
“And Olivin?”
