“I found my purpose in life at this gravestone,” he explained as his gentle eye studied me. “If what Baba says is true, you can’t return to your past. You need to look elsewhere for your future.”
My face drooped. “And you think I’ll find it at a grave?”
He chuckled. “A grave is only bad luck if it’s yours.”
I returned my attention to the slabs of stone. My thoughts wrapped around what he had told me. My purpose. A new purpose. No more dreams of singing for large crowds. No more Tim. That’s what I regretted the most. I missed him already.
I distracted myself by studying the trinkets left by the grateful sailors. I knelt and plucked a piece of scrap paper from the mess, one of dozens of others. Both sides were blank. “What are these for?”
Torvus chuckled. “To convince the captain to draw his treasure map on them. None of his spoils were ever found, and sailors hope to bribe his soul to draw a map that leads to his loot if they offer him drink and smokes.”
I couldn’t lift my eyes from the trinkets. “Did you put one here?”
“When I was young.”
“Did the captain answer your paper?”
“No, but-” I heard a rustle and looked up to see him reach into his coat. He drew out a small, blank piece of paper and tossed the slip onto the pile. “Here’s to hoping the captain blesses my paper, or at least my sails.”
I stared at the blank paper. My mind swirled with questions, but one floated to the surface. “Why are you doing this for me?” I looked up at him and searched his face. “Why bother showing me this? Telling me these things?”
A bittersweet smile slipped onto his lips. “You mean, why do I care?”
I winced. “I didn’t want to put it like that.”
“Put it like that if that’s how you feel,” he gently scolded me as he studied the grave. His eyebrows knitted together. “Maybe I want to use you.”
My mouth dropped open, and a few strangled words came from me. “What now?”
“There’s something important about you,” he commented as he looked down at me. “Something important enough that you were dragged from your world and into mine. There’s a reason for that, and I want to know what it is.”
My heart fell, and I turned my face away. I wrapped my arms around myself and tamped down some tears. “I. . .I see.”
A hand came into my view again. I dared to look up and found him with a small smile on his lips. “That’s why I’m offering you a place on my ship.”
I whipped my head up and blinked at him. “Say what?”
“It won’t be an easy life, and it most definitely won’t be a safe one, but it might help you find your purpose.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What about the bed?”
His face remained stoic. “As a member of the crew, you should sleep below decks in a hammock.”
My face drooped. “Really?”
He burst out laughing before he grasped my hand and pulled me to my feet. I fell against his chest and found myself staring up into his blue eye. “Do you really think I’d give you to anyone else?”
A heavy blush accented my cheeks, and I dropped my gaze to his chest. I toyed with one of the frills on his shirt. “Could I. . .could I have some time to think it over?”
“Yes, but don’t dawdle too long. The rest of the crew won’t like it.”
I cocked my head to one side. “Why not? They want me below deck?”
“Part of the reason for your going ashore was for Baba to take a look at you.”
“And the other one?”
“We had to get you off to cleanse the curse of a woman from the ship.”
