“We don’t. We head for Rochland.”
“Rochland? But the Shrouded Isles are east,” Sage said, pushing her way into the conversation.
Hook raised his brows. “So we can poke about and get ourselves killed finding the scale of Leviathan? Much good it’ll do us.”
“But we have to get it!” Tink stood on the stairs, hair in disarray. Balled fists were planted on either hip, though she looked for all the world like she might hurl her guts out over the deck at any moment.
“Bloody hell, what are you doing up here?” he demanded.
She wrinkled her nose but refused to back down.
“We’re going in with a plan and guidance,” Hook replied, staring them each down in turn. “And if anyone doesn’t want to venture the journey, they can stay on land.”
Smee was the first to break the silence, pushing closer to his captain. “You can’t mean to see…her.”
“Aye, I do.” If anyone could help them navigate the Shrouded Isles and find the scale, it was the Green Witch.
Chapter 13
Tink
Holy revered elders. Tink would never get used to the sea. Always rocking, moving, swaying. She gagged, holding in her meager breakfast. Okay, the stiff wind was better than the last few days of idling along in the current and hoping for the slightest breeze to fill the sails. Faster meant closer to their destination, which was one step closer to the scale of Leviathan and to home.
And away from Captain Hook.
He’d spared barely a word to her since they left the merfolk and evaded theKraken. Not that she wanted him to, of course not. She rubbed her chest at the memory of the dainty ring. Did it belong to this Green Witch they planned to visit? Some other woman who would greet him the moment he stepped on land? Blast him for filling her thoughts. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d replayed their kiss. Kisses, to be more accurate. And how many times was he going to stare at her just to turn and walk away moments later?Annoying, weird, bloody—
“Hello?” Sage waved her hand in front of Tink’s face, snapping her back to the moment. “Little miss pixie is turning red in the sun, or is it something else?” She winked.
Tink rolled her eyes and adjusted the hat Barley had given her—a lifesaver under the scorching sun. Humans didn’t understand how lucky they were that their emotions didn’t color their skin so vividly as pixies. At least his crew were kind to her, though. They had no right to be—she’d gotten them cursed after all. Even so, they’d mostly accepted her as one of their own, a temporary member of the crew on this expedition.
“If everyone we did business with held it against us, I’d have died before I grew my first chest hair,” Smee had proudly proclaimed. A visual she could have done without. Not to mention their very different definitions of business.
“What do we do next?” Sage asked, gesturing to the ropes they had laid out.
The least she could do, Tink decided, was put her skills to use. Her mind whirled with possibilities for improvements to the ship. Honestly, she couldn’t help it; she was a tinker pixie after all. Carrying goods up and down the stairs when these pirates could use a pulley system to haul up multiple crates and barrels at once was just silly. She’d offered a few days ago, but the crew had been on edge when the wind stilled, always scanning the horizon for sails, especially those belonging to a certain pirate. Even without the waves, their concern had been enough to turn her stomach. But today they’d finally loosened up, and she’d jumped on the chance to explain her ideas and put them to use.
“Loop that end of the rope through there. Then we need to get some nails to attach the beam to the spot we marked over there.”
Sage beamed with delight. “We should have pressed a pixie into service long ago if they’re all this clever.”
A nervous laugh bubbled out. She couldn’t be serious, right? “Not all pixies are so inclined. We all have our own talents and skills, just like you.”
Sage slid her attention to two of the less than impressive crew members. “Some of us.”
Tink hid a grin.
“Land ho!” Someone called from above.
“Finally!” Sage leaped to her feet.
Tink cringed as their hard work clattered to the deck. Butland, now that was something she could get excited about. The breeze snagged at her hat and hair as she stood and caught sight of a speck of land stretching out on the horizon. Still far away, but close too. Oh so much closer than they’d been in days.
“Home sweet home!” Sage threw her hands up in the air.
“Home?” Tink’s brows drew together.
Barley reached her side, carrying the length of netting he’d gone to fetch for their project. “No one told you?” he asked.
