“There,” Odi smirks. “Now you can’t say no.”
With four sets of eyes on me, I know I’ve lost this fight. But for once I don’t care. Odi is the riddle keeper, and without her I’ll likely never find the key. And truth be told, part of me wants her there. The thought of her at my side steadies something in me. It’s a comfort I’ve not felt in longer than I can remember—if I’ve ever felt it at all.
I run a hand through my hair and release a soft sigh. “Fine, but change quickly. Once that sun is fully set it’s going to make it even harder for you to see underwater.”
Odi doesn’t give me the opportunity to change my mind. She dashes off after Tavi while I’m left standing on the deck wondering if what I’m doing is utter lunacy.
“Will you be alright to play captain while I’m gone?” I ask Elio.
He nods once. “I’ll be fine. I doubt the crew will do anything more than rest tonight.”
“Keep an eye on Bear, too.”
Elio nods again. “I always do.”
Tavi returns alone, shoulders tense.
“Everything go okay?”
She nods. “She’s changing. But I think she caught a few whispering as we passed. It’s been going on all day. I was going to bring it up sooner but it didn’t seem like the time.”
“Whispering?” I ask. “About the Sotor? The keys?” The crew’s morale is at an all time low. I’d be surprised if mostof them didn’t have something to say about how the last few days have gone.
But Tavi shakes her head. “It’s Reid.”
“Reid?” I ask slowly, waiting for her to explain how the man was causing me more grief from beyond the grave. I took no pleasure in his death, but he was one of the last I’d expect the crew to grieve heavily for.
She steps closer to me, lowering her voice further. “There were no roc marks on his body. His only wound looked like he was stabbed . . . By a blade,” she clarifies when I don’t say anything. “It went through his ribs so clean I would have missed it if I hadn’t seen the blood on his shirt.”
“You think he was murdered in the middle of the storm?”
“If he wasn’t, it was one hell of an unlucky accident.” Tavi’s expression is even, hiding her thoughts, but I already know where this is going.
The crew will blame Odelia without question. Images flash in my mind—Reid’s flushed face, spitting curses at her. Her calm control, the way she’d ignored him, shamed him, cut him down with words but never reached for any number of the weapons she always had hidden on her body. She wouldn’t have let that control slip, not when killing him would risk the map. But few on this ship would follow the same logic. She’ll be held guilty by default.
I sigh. Just another thing to keep an eye on.
The sound of boots thudding on the deck draws near, pulling me from my thoughts. When I see her, my jaw hits the floor, and it takes every ounce of self control to not let bloodrush to my cock.
Odi is donned head to toe in black, tight leather. It's matte, like snake skin. A tiny part of me reacts to the image. A viper. Like the one wrapped around her wrist. A reminder of the crew she belongs to.
But the image is hastily replaced by the fact that she is most definitely the most beautiful pirate I have ever laid my eyes on. A long braid hangs over one shoulder, swaying with each step, a dark rope I can’t stop my eyes from following.
I shouldn’t stare, but I do. Curves where they ought to be, the oil lamps attached to the mast throwing a golden glow over her in all the right places. She waltzes up to me, hips swaying like she knows they’re a weapon to be used against a man.
She’s got me. I’d drop to my knees right here and beg her to use me in whatever way she pleases if I weren’t surrounded by folk who wouldn’t care to see their captain devote his soul to the woman they blame for our recent tragedies.
Heat prickles at the back of my neck, and I curse under my breath. I’ve faced down storms, monsters, blades at my throat, and yet one woman walking towards me in leather near undoes me. There’s no softness in her stride, but there’s a tease in it, too—like she knows exactly how good she looks and isn’t shy about letting me drown in it.
Andvicious seas, I want her all the more for it.
“Ready when you are, Captain,” she coos, running her eyes over my frame.
I straighten and clear my throat. “Let’s get to it then.”
Soraya slips the faintly glinting sea stone from around her neck and loops it over Odi’s. It sits close to her throat like a choker. A black satin strip to complete her look.
A twang tugs my chest at the reminder of her necklace lost to the sea. Should I tell her the truth? That I hadn’t thought she was worthy but couldn’t bring myself to return it to the sea? That it was lost all the same, simply because it confounded me?
