At my approach, he grabs the cloth and carefully wipes me down with a frown. “As much as I’d like you to be wearing my scent all night, you’ll sleep better like this.”
He then rolls right to the edge of the bed until his back is facing the wall, one arm outstretched in invitation. I nudge Aster, who seems to have fallen into a stupor, coming to still smirking.
The three of us arrange our bodies into the tiny bunk, squashed up against each other and I let out a low sigh.
Torin presses a kiss to my temple. “It feels better having you close,” he murmurs.
It really does. For the first time in weeks, I don’t feel a lingering headache, and I now just feel pleasantly wrung out and satiated. Theparts of me missing Kit and Noush are still raw, still aching. But every other sensation is currently drowning them out.
We shift a few times, getting comfortable until eventually, and almost in tandem, we fall asleep.
The next morning, the real world kicks in.
Chapter 30
Aster
Overnight, our ship picks up pace until it’s slicing through the water at a supernatural speed. We roll from side to side, making it impossible to walk straight, let alone think straight as we crash along as though we’re being tugged by some unseen force.
Torin’s strict about as many people staying below deck as possible, since it’s not safe to be wandering around while the conditions are like this. With every passing minute, we creep closer to Deadwood Cove, and it’s all I can do to keep myself from spilling my guts up.
Then late into the day, we hear the whistle from above, distorted by the wind, and Jack appears in the doorway to mine and Reva’s shared cabin.
His nose wrinkles up at the lingering scent in the air and I find myself fighting a smirk rather than embarrassment.
Last night was just about the best night of my life. It’s just a shame that real life had to creep in so soon.
“Hold on to your hats, lady and gent,” Jack says. “We’re coming in to land, and it’s about to get bumpy.”
He plops onto the ground with his back against the wall and then gestures for us both to do the same. Reva crawls from the bed, shooting me a bemused look before she takes a seat while I slip into the space beside her.
“How do you mean? I know Captain Finch said he was going to get as close to land as he could, but what—”
The entire ship whips forward and then back with a thunderous groan, jerking us along with it like rag dolls. I lurch forward, suddenly weightless, and then smack into the wall behind me with enough force to knock all the wind out of my lungs. Jack’s got his arm over Reva’s chest and is grinning widely at the expressions on our faces.
“Everyone all right?”
I’ve forgotten how to breathe for a moment and have to coax the air back into my lungs. Reva squeezes my hand before elbowing Jack sharply in the ribs.
“A bit more warning would have been nice. What was that?”
“That was our dear captain beaching us.”
Her eyes widen. “Doesn’t that damage the ship? What in Mother Ocean’s name was he thinking?”
Jack gets to his feet, and Reva ignores his outstretched hand to pull herself up using the wall.
“You’ll see in a moment. He wants to get as close to the action as he can.” He jauntily strides for the door, looking far too happy. “They’re here, though, right? We’re in the right place?”
Reva pulls the spectacles from her pocket, handing them over and rubbing at her chest.
“They’re here.” Jack nods to himself. “Well then, we’d better get this show on the road.”
The two of us follow behind him as he hurries up onto the deck, where the ship is surrounded by greyish sand. Over the seawall, I can just make out the town along the beach.
“Kit’s definitely been here,” Torin rumbles from low in his chest. “We shouldn’t have been able to get this far, right?”
Captain Finch shakes his head. “He cursed the whole damn place. But that was decades ago, maybe the curse faded or someone else managed to break it.” He shakes his head while his tentacles flailaround wildly as if they’re reflecting his agitation. “We should have just burned the fucking place down when we had the chance.”
