He takes a deep breath, his shadows softly caressing my cheek. “But you can save my crew. Because the curse hasn’t taken hold of them the way it has of me.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Evenifsleepdidn’tmean certain death, I couldn’t have closed my eyes. I lay awake in my hammock, staring at the dark beams above, going through his words over and over again. I want to argue the truth, but I’d be fooling myself. Singing back Lark’s shadow drained me, and the whole crew is twenty men strong. If only he would let me try to sing his shadow back just once. I know this is selfish, but I want to save him first, and only then his crew. The truth about his mother shakes me to the core, and just thinking about it makes my gut twist in agony again.He lost both of his parents in a tragedy, and now he carries yet another burden. I can’t imagine how he must feel.
Sighing, I swing my legs over the edge of my hammock and tiptoe up the stairs towards the hatch. The sound of shuffling feet above me makes me sigh in relief. The crew must still be awake. As I push it open with my hands, the weak light of the rising sun peaks through the clouds. It seems like the long table has long been abandoned, empty rum bottles and plates the only thing left scattered across it. Nightglass is already at his station in the Crow’s Nest, and right next to him, Saint hangs somewhere in the riggings, fixing a sail that still hangs lifeless without the wind. But the strong current rushing along the hull makes the Noctis move with incredible speed, as though she is determined to get somewhere.
At the helm, Sable and Grim are arguing whilst staring at a map. Grim turns the map a bit, then squeezes his eyes together, as if that would make him see clearer. At their feet, both shadows are where they should be, though Sable’s flickers, as if it would bolt if given the chance.
I wonder if he remembers I talked to him last night. By the way he’s been filling the pages in his diary, probably not. Guilt prickles under my skin. I know I shouldn’t feel bad for reading them, as he showed them to me himself. Still, it feels as though I have violated his privacy.
Sable is now taking over the map, spitting an insult to his first mate that I cannot make out from where I’m standing. He turns it again, his dark eyebrows knitting together more the longer he looks at it. Grey eyes catch the sunlight in a way that reminds me of the light cutting through the dense fog on the pirate islands, dull, yet gleaming at the same time. Underneath, dark, violet circles bloom, the evidence of a sleepless night.
He glances above the map and lets his gaze rest on me. Pressing my lips together, I try my best not to avert my eyes, feeling like I’ve just been caught staring at him.
“Eryse!” Lark appears in front of me with his arms behind his back, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Hey Lark,” I say with a smile on my face. “You managed to stay up? Aren’t you tired?”
“Nah.” His chest puffs up with pride. “I am not tired. I was up fishing all night. I came to give you something.”
The next moment, he holds out a whole, fresh fish to me, so big that it could easily feed two.
“It’s for you.” There’s pure delight in his voice. “You like fish, aye?”
“Yes,” I reply, a grin spreading on my face. The thoughtful gift makes my heart warm. „But Lark, why are you giving me this? Shouldn’t we bring it to the cook and share it?”
He widens his stance and holds the fish out further towards me.
“No. It’s for you. For bringing back my soul.” He smiles. “Father said you know about our curse. I would have told you before, but he said it would only scare you.”
His eyes land on the ground beneath my feet.
“A fish is a poor trade for a soul, I know,” He continues, muttering. “But that's all I’ve got to give.”
“It’s perfect.” I take the fish with a smile, the scales still slimy and wet, as if he just pulled it out of the water. Just how I like it. “Thank you.”
He gives me a curt nod before jumping up the stairs towards the helm. Sable lets him hold the wheel while they continue to study the map. My chest tightens as the feeling of responsibility overcomes me. He wants me to save his crew and believes that I will have the power to do so. I cannot let him down. Will not let him down.
I cross my arms over my chest and follow Lark to the helm. Sable glances at me over his shoulder, then returns his focus to the aged piece of paper. As I stand behind him, I get to peer at the map, unnoticed. It's the same one that was pinned to the table in his cabin. It shows the Sea of Dreams, and right next to it, the Sea of Shadows, the death-infested sea we sailed through a few days ago. Above it, the map ends.
“You don’t know where we’re going?”
Both heads snap in my direction. By the way they glare at me, it seems like they don’t like when someone calls out the obvious.
“I always know where this ship is going, lass,” Sable says, then taps his ringed finger in the middle of the Sea of Dreams. “We’re somewhere here.”
“Where precisely?”
He raises one brow. “In the north.”
“And where are we going?”
Sable moves his finger further upwards, towards the edge of the map and then across it, into nothingness. Thin air.
I press my lips together and nod once. “Great. So we’re headed straight for the abyss?”
Silence follows.
