“Most of us have got history with the king’s men,” Cookie continued with a shrug, gesturing down to his twisted fingers. “You know who he and his father before him used as fodder for his wars? Us beast-borne folk.”
“We’re cast-offs,” Bones slurs. “Used to be one of the king’s forces myself.”
“We’ve got some strong wards onboard, which means we’re masked from view when their ships get close enough to catch a glimpse. Means we’re a surprise to them every time.” He gives a low chuckle before helping Bones to take another swig of alcohol.
“Oh.”
I finish stitching Bones’ flesh in silence before giving it a careful inspection. Now that I’ve stopped stabbing at him with a needle, Bones lays back, fisting the bottle of booze in a tight grip. Cookie gets to his feet, muttering something about checking the passageway while I slump against the wall.
“What did you think of our resident murder bear?” Bones asks, peering at me. “One swipe and your guts are hanging out. Pretty efficient, ain’t he?”
It was terrifying. A true monster with those spikes sticking out of it. But something in the way it moved seemed almost... familiar.
I cast my mind over the different members of the crew that Jack pointed out to me and there’s only one face I can think of that would fit. Something about his presence has all my instincts going haywire. And while initially, I’d thought it was thanks to there being an unwanted bond between us, now I’m questioning that.
“The bear was Torin, wasn’t it?”
“Ding, ding, ding,” Bones replies with a wet chuckle. “I’ve never met a human that looks more like a bear in my life.”
“You know what they say happened to his last crew before he joined with the captain, though, don’t you?” He twists his head so he’s looking at me when I shake my head.
“Mutiny,” he adds gravely. “Every member of that crew wound up dead, along with their captain. They say the captain was planning on selling off some of his more valuable crew, and I guess things got messy. Anyway, only two people came out alive.”
“Torin,” I breathe. “And who was the—”
I don’t get to finish my question as Cookie reappears in the doorway, supporting another crewmember.
And that’s how I find myself the temporary ship’s surgeon, despite having no qualifications and no idea what I’m doing. Cookie slaps me on the shoulder as he scoops Bones into his arms, carrying him out of the room.
“Welcome to the family, pet.”
Chapter 16
Torin
It’s well after midnight by the time the deck’s cleared. Most of the crew are below, having burnt off enough steam to last them at least a week and I’m left doing the final bit of clean up. I drag my knackered body across the deck, eyeing the couple of crew unlucky enough to be on the night shift and stretch out my aching back.
It’s going to be another long night. I need to slather myself in the potion to soothe my joints, lie flat on my stomach until my flesh knits itself back together, and hope I’ll be able to get up in the morning.
I’m just contemplating the stairs when a face appears, one that’s a lot more appealing than most of our crew.
“What are you doing up here?” I grumble.
Reva’s got a smear of dried blood on her cheek, something that has me gritting my teeth on an instinctive growl. Before I can stop myself, I’m reaching out to brush one rough finger over her smooth skin.
“What’s this? Are you injured?”
She grimaces, batting my hand away and rubbing at it with the base of her palm. “Not my blood.”
“Whose then?”
“Didn’t you hear? I’m the highly unqualified new ship surgeon,” she replies brightly before huffing a tired sigh.
“You’re the what?”
With a snort she tells me the bullshit Cookie spouted about his fat, broken fingers, her expression narrowing in suspicion as my lips twitch.
“You think the crew were messing with me?”
