He exchanged a glance with the other man, whose coat designated him as the first mate. “As long as you have the coin, I’ll take just the one mortal, but I want to know what’s happened to the others. Are they all dead?”
“Most survived. They’re in Endir. And when given the choice, they decided to stay in Aesir rather than journey to a foreign land.”
His gaze narrowed before he turned to the sailor standing beside him. They were both short and squat, and Alastair and I towered above them, but you wouldn’t think it by the way they carried themselves. An air of unwavering confidence lifted their shoulders and told me they were powerful men, wherever they came from.
“I find it difficult to believe that only one mortal from Teine wants to get out of these hellish lands,” the captain finally said. “Aesir is full of cruel fae and hideous beasts and so much fucking mist. It’s spread even further now, did you know that? It’s come into the sea. And that damn comet in the heavens above. That can’t mean anything good.”
Val started to move toward them, and I pressed a hand against the small of her back to urge caution. If these mortals didn’t know the full truth about the comet, then I didn’t think we should be the ones to fill them in. They might very well flee from these lands before we could board that ship.
For a moment, I struggled to find the right words, so Val found them for me.
“I’m not here to escape Aesir,” she said. “I’m seeking answers about our past, and answers about the gods and what they did to this world. We worry they’re coming back, and we need to know how to fight them. All our answers are lost. We’re hoping we can find them in Talaven. It could mean this world surviving. Or not.”
I held myself still as the captain and his sailor scanned our trio with hawkish eyes. They didn’t trust us, despite Val’s words, and I didn’t much blame them. We were strangers talking about gods and death, and this had never been part of their ship’s plan. They were here to rescue a hundred humans, and those humans weren’t here.
“You want passage to Talaven to do research on the gods?” He cocked his head. “With two fae armed to the teeth? One might think you were hoping to find a way to bring them back.”
So they truly didn’t know what the comet meant, then.
“That’s the last thing we want,” Val insisted, the sea breeze transforming her hair into a tangle of fluttering red ribbons. “We want to stop them, not help them. And you’re the only ones with answers as to how we can do that.”
The captain shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, considering the three of us. I didn’t like the way he looked at Alastair and me, like we were wild animals that needed to be leashed or else we’d rage through his lands hunting for prey.
“How about the girl here comes with us on her own?” the first mate asked.
Alarm jolted my heart, and I stepped protectively in front of Val. “Absolutely not. I’m not sending her to a foreign land alone, and don’t you even dare look at me like that. You wouldn’t do it, either.”
It was a gamble. They knew we needed the information, and they could easily turn us away. But I would not see Val step on that ship without at least one of us going with her.
Alastair clearly shared my thoughts. He took a step closer, hand on the pommel of his sword and a sneer curling his lips. “One might ask why you’re so keen to get her on your ship without us.”
The captain’s expression remained blank and unreadable, but his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “All right, all right, no need to get aggressive. We’ll let you come on board, but you’re going to have to hand over your weapons.”
I narrowed my eyes, but I’d expected as much. After elbowing Alastair in the side, I dropped my bow and arrows into the outstretched arms of the first mate. Alastair followed suit by handing over his sword. Val didn’t move, but after a long, lingering look from the captain, she sighed and yanked the dagger out of her back waistband.
“Good.” The captain gave us a tight smile. “I’ll show you to your cabin.”
Alastair took the lead, while I kept Val sandwiched between the two of us. We followed the captain and his sailor across the wooden plank from the dock to the ship, and I braced myself as several sailors stopped what they were doing to stare. I ground my teeth and kept moving forward, choosing to focus on the billowing white sails and the gleaming polished deck.
The captain led us to a cabin in the bowels of the ship. Inside, two bunk beds were built into the walls, and a small basin of water sat in the far corner, along with a wooden table that was only big enough to hold a lantern lit with gemstones.
I fought back a scowl. “You were expecting a hundred humans. You don’t have a bigger cabin than this? Or one for each of us instead of making us share?”
“We were going to pile the humans in the cargo hold with bedrolls and sick buckets. If you’d rather spend the journey there, then by all means…”
“This is fine,” Val cut in, though she looked about as thrilled by this as I did. “It’s only a week, right?”
“Weather permitting,” the captain replied. “Could be as long as three if the winds change.”
Val blew out a breath and then met my eyes. “A week will be fine. Besides, it’s not like we’ll have to stay in here the entire journey.”
“Of course.” The captain smiled, and then stepped out into the corridor. “Enjoy the trip.”
But then the door slammed shut, and a lock tumbled. With a sharp breath, I crossed the floor and tried the knob. It wouldn’t budge. They’d trapped us inside.
Thirteen
Kalen
