The next morning, Jun leaned against a barrel, the soft glow of his palms emanating into his torso. The gentle, cooling breeze flowed across my face, my eyes flitting closed at the touch. The bow of the ship became my most enjoyable place to sit. Nothing but open water lay ahead from that spot—no war, no lovestruck god, and no sacrifices. The ocean’s rhythm danced wilder at the front, rolling over the crest of waves.
An incandescent splendor radiated across Jun’s abdomen, and the moment he took a full breath, his eyes flickered closed. I envied the relief that overwhelmed him, especially as my leg engulfed in flames, the sharp agony ripping into me all night. Sleep evaded me, even though Noctis did not return to the crew’s quarters, granting me the room to myself.
Jun gestured, his deep voice calm and smooth.
“Come.”
I scooted along my backside, settling before him with legs crossed, but when he reached for my shattered ankle, I flinched with a sharp gasp. Pain flashed through the leg in sharp strikes.
“I meant to tell you thank you for coming to my rescue,” he said evenly as he lifted my pants up to the knee. The melody of his voice soothed my nerves. Poetic and quiet.
“I gotone. You gottwenty. I'd say we really balanced the scales,” I chuckled sarcastically.
His laugh flitted out, empty and unfamiliar as if he were mimicking a feeling he’d never known. His warm hand wrapped my ankle, pressing weight into the shifting joint, the radiance from his powers dim yet growing. The bones under my skin shifted, scraping each other in uncomfortable agony, flesh bumps raising along my body. Blood and the twang of iron filled my mouth quickly, the skin of my lip enduring the bite until the pain slowly trickled away.
Calvin threw himself down beside me as I forced myself to breathe.
“Need someone to hit through the pain? There’s a sulking god who’s been swabbing unused cannon barrels for hours now,” he teased, gesturing to Noctis who indeed sponged the gun of each of the three cannons repeatedly.
I rolled my eyes, the radiating ache through my leg easing, leaving behind only a tinge of soreness. Speaking to him opened too many doors I feared, compelling me to uncomfortably confront possibilities I kept buried—possibilities of change, of loss, of becoming someone I no longer recognized.
“Let’s play cards,” Calvin said as he tossed a deck between us. “Hey, Sulky! Come play with us!” he yelled toward Noctis, who glared backward; however, when he noticed me sitting beside the crew, he wiped his hands clean and stalked over, lowering himself across from me. Zahara joined, the five of us circled together on the main deck.
Is this what it’s like to have people?I thought while Calvin shuffled the cards.
“How do you play?” I asked, trying to blink the wetness that threatened to fall from my eyes.
Why am I on the verge of crying?
I had never played cards before, even sure that I never played in the past either, since the cards before me did not give any familiar sensation. But neither did Noctis.
“There are three different types of cards. We each take a turn choosing one. Then, you do as the card says,” Calvin explained. “Easy as that.”
“I’ll describe them as we go around,” Zahara assured as she lowered herself to my side, “but just know that soppy Calvin created this game in order to be nosey,” she added with a smile.
Jun huffed in agreement, earning a playful snarl from Calvin.
“Okay,” Calvin said with a sunny ease, “Who’s brave, bored, or just stupid enough to go first?”
Noctis took the top card and flipped it over to show the crew.
“It’s a dice,” his words lifted in question.
A slow, wicked smile spread across Calvin’s face. “Ah, the Fate card, this ought to be fun,” he joked.
“We get to ask one question. Together,” Zahara clarified.
The others leaned in, whispering to collectively come up with the best question to ask the god.
I shot him a grin. “Why were you banished?”
Noctis froze. “Can I refuse to answer?”
“Nope. The cards are bound with magic. They’ll force the truth out of you. Try lying. See what happens,” Calvin answered, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
I almost wished he would attempt to lie, just so I could see the consequence by the cards.
The god huffed, his face scrunching as if he tried to tell a lie, but it rebuked with pain. “A god is sworn to his realm. I abandoned mine… for her,” Noctis admitted with a nod toward me. He averted his gaze like looking upon me would only terrify me more.
