I can only pray that the goddess keeps us in her arms.
Chapter 48
In the morning, before the sun has even risen, the ship is filled with the smells of breakfast.
Beka has made fried eggs with shrimp and mushrooms, and Conred has squeezed fresh oranges to drink.
The ship crew eats inside while our group takes to the deck to eat our meals. The sun is just rising at this point, the air crisper than the previous day.
After eating, Thane and Rynthea find a corner to train with their weapons. From my seat on the bench, mist sprays on my face and collects on the lenses of my specs. I’ve unbraided my hair to let the wind blow through my unruly tresses. I run my fingers through it and feel a few kinks. I cannot wait to use one of Analla’s hair masks, give it a thorough wash, and then braid it. This journey has not been kind to my hair, but I’ve kept it pretty clean.
I stand from the bench and walk to one of the ship’s posts. I lean my arm against it, steadying myself, as I soak in as much of the sea as I can.
To my left, I spot Algar rise from the bench as well with Zephra on his shoulder and make his way toward me. “You know something, Zaira,” he says, eyes on the ocean, too. “I’m going to miss being around you when this is all over.”
I smile at his statement. “You know, I’ll miss you, too, Algar.”
He gives me a lopsided grin.
“Will you miss Thane?” I ask.
He looks from the sea to Thane, who has his back to us as he performs tricks with a dagger. When he rapidly throws the dagger into a post with a spark of gold, Algar sighs and turns away again.
“That’s a good question.” He pauses, reaching up to give Zephra a piece of shrimp from breakfast. “I’ll always care about him, you know? We grew up together and were like brothers for a while. But it’s hard for me to connect to this new version of him.” He shrugs his free shoulder, lowering his gaze. “I’m not sure I’ll missthisThane.”
“I honestly don’t think he can help who he is now—and I’m not saying that to defend him.”Or because he blew my mind with two incredible orgasms last night…or because he opened up to me about his brother.“I just don’t think he knows how to be anyone or anything else. He was trained to become aweaponat such a young age by The Divine.” And I can’t begin to imagine what he was trained to do if he spent time with The Shadow Guild.
“No. I suppose he can’t.” Algar sighs.
“Anyway, I hope you don’t go back to being a conman again,” I tease.
“Oh, but that’s all I know, sleeping princess.” He gives me a wink.
“That’s not true. You know a lot about water dragons. Why don’t you become a sea biologist? Fulfill your dad’s dream?”
“I’m considering it.” He pushes one of his plaits out of his face. “It takes a while for sea biologists to get their feet off the ground when they first start. You need a ship. Tools. Resources. A crew—which you have to pay. There’s a lot to it.”
“But you seem to be very good at turning nothing into something,” I offer. “Plus, once you have all that treasure from The Shallows, you’ll be able to buy your own boat and pay people. You could even open your own research laboratory.”
“Maybe.” He pauses, throat bobbing as he looks at his feet. “Sometimes I think about myself—about how I’ve spent my life so far—and I know he’d be disappointed in me. Heandmy mother.” He hands Zephra another piece of shrimp. “I feel so lost without them.”
“Oh, Algar.” I reel him in for a hug. He chuckles over my shoulder as Zephra pounces on top of his head. “If it makes you feel any better, you’re more than welcome to visit me in Meriva. You’ll always have a friend to call on there.”
If we live through this.
I pull away, holding on to his upper arms to look him in the eyes.
“You’d really want to keep being friends with a person like me?” His voice is full of surprise.
“Of course. We’ve all done bad things, Algar. That doesn’t make us bad people.”
He gives me a wider smile, his teeth catching a wisp of sunlight. “A kind heart like yours is a rarity these days.”
I smile wide, but it’s just then that I notice the ship has stopped moving.
“Drop the anchors!”
I press a hand to my chest as Captain Solyen’s voice booms in the air. “Oh my gods. Hehasgot to stop doing that,” I grumble.
