He sniffed at his arms as he sat on a large boulder, legs spread and elbows propped on his thighs. “Actually, I’m clean as I’ve been in weeks.”
Tink turned her back on him. “Leave.”
“We’re to be allies now. A team. Shouldn’t we get to know one another?”
“Allies don’t lock each other up,” she snapped over one shoulder.
“They don’t steal from each other either.”
“Tink!” Barley’s shout carried to them through the trees.
Great. Just great.She sunk lower in the water. Even more of an audience. So much for a relaxing soak before more days of misery on board theJolly Roger.
“Barley,” Hook said, his tone sour.
“Uh…Captain?” Barley skidded to a halt next to the spring.
Tink glanced over her shoulder. Barley’s gaze traveled from her to Hook and back, lingering over her upper wings that stretched above her head.
“All’s well,” Hook said. “Go on back—”
“Like hell,” Tink said. “Take him with you and leave me be.”
Hook stood. Not the easy, lithe movements of earlier, but the stiff posture of a captain. Tink hugged her arms tighter around herself. All at once, he seemed taller, stronger, menacing in the specks of twilight and glowing moss.
Barley looked between them again, clearly on edge. “I’ll go back to the beach.” His attention shifted to Tink. “Yell if you need anything.”
Tense silence threatened to chill the waters as Hook watched Barley retreat into the forest. “You’ve made a friend.”
Tink huffed and blew the hair out of her face. “Not all of your crew is as irritating and unreasonable as you.”
“Perhaps. But let’s get one thing straight.” Hook crouched by the edge of the water. One step closer, and he’d fall in. “No one commands my crew but me.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Sarcasm laced her voice, but if Hook noticed, he chose not to comment.
She turned her wings to him. Maybe he’d finally take a hint and leave her be.
He was silent so long, she almost thought he had until he spoke again. “What do you need a pearl for?” he asked. “Can’t be a normal one. You could have stolen that from me instead of the Heart of Fire.”
The bracelet on her arm suddenly felt like a lead weight, dragging her into the depths. “You’re not going to leave until I tell you, are you?” When he didn’t respond, she sighed. “It’s a black pearl.Theenchanted black pearl. It fixes something that is broken. Anything.”
“That’s worth all this trouble? What do you have that needs fixing?”
She glanced back at him through the steam. “PerhapsI’mbroken, Captain.”
“You don’t look broken.” He’d perched on the edge of the pool. Deft fingers trailed across the water, stirring up little ripples.
Beryl’s wings, will he not just leave?
“Oh really? Besides the fact that I’m stuck here and can’t return home?”Insufferable pirate.“No, not broken at all. Wouldn’t you want to be whole again?”
He stiffened.
Instant regret coiled through her belly.Why, oh why, did I say that?Mentioning his hook of all things…
“Captain Handwouldn’t have the same ring to it.” She caught the hint of a smile, but his voice lacked playful mirth. “No. It’s part of who I am. I wouldn’t change it.”
Figures. He wasn’t the type for self-pity. No, the great and glorious Captain Hook likely had a higher view of himself than the gods. Though his comment stirred a question she couldn’t help but ask. “What did they call you before you gained your hook? Surely you weren’t born with that attached to your arm.”
