When he lifted his gaze, he fell into blue, blue eyes. Long denied feelings surfaced. He’d touched this man while bringing him aboard, though so fearful of Arkenn’s injuries that he didn’t fully appreciate the beauty or sinewy muscles. Arkenn had seemed so small that day. Looking at him now revealed a trim waist and…
The sheet billowed over the mast beneath it like foresails at full speed ahead. Petran turned away. A man lay in his bunk, someone no one else knew of. An attractive man. Sporting a cockstand. Reality beat every dream of encountering a group of mermen.
A splash of cold water doused any rising lust. They’d boarded the ship without Arkenn really being aware, and Petran wouldn’t ruin those good intentions now when his foundling might feel obligated to accept advances.
Petran shot to his feet. “You need to eat and get some rest.” He left the cabin before he did something regretful. Pressing his back against the door once safely on the other side, he let out a heavy breath. A few more days. Only a few more days and Arkenn could leave.
Why did the thought bring both relief and sorrow?
Petran didn’t return to his cabin until after Arkenn fell asleep. Then, tossing and turning on a blanket on the deck, as discreetly as possible, Petran gave himself release, thoughts on those blue eyes and the man lying so close to him.
A man he’d have to give up.
Soon.
Chapter Three
Theslopedoverheadallowedenough room to sit up but not stand on that side of Petran’s cramped cabin. A wooden box doubled as a small table, filled with a few books and other booty no one else claimed. Among Petran’s favorite treasures were a brass button etched with a bird’s image and a glass bottle that threw colors on the bulkhead when held to the sunlight on a cloudless day.
A trunk held his clothes, doubling as a place to sit. He’d stored other items, like his sword, under the bunk. Three paces long, two paces wide. He’d always thought his cabin grand compared to sharing space with the crew, but never grander than with Arkenn present.
“These will be a loose fit, but they’ll do until you find something better.” Petran gave Arkenn his best clothes, taken from a raided ship last spring. The shirt matched the beautiful blue of Arkenn’s eyes.
The former owner must have been a man of substance, for the shirt and trousers, though worn now, had once been of the finest quality. “I’m afraid I have no shoes to fit you.” Petran didn’t wear shoes much on the ship. Easier to maintain balance on the rigging or on a storm-tossed deck barefooted.
“You’ve given me more than enough. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.” Arkenn wiped a lock of golden blond hair from his eyes.
Petran wanted to repeat the gesture with his own fingers.
But… Repay him? “You owe me nothing.” Arkenn had become the closest thing to a friend of his own age Petran ever had. It wasn’t like Petran paid for those clothes. The thought brought a niggling of guilt.
Which only proved his father right. Petran wasn’t cut out for piracy. His heart ached at the thought of leaving Arkenn ashore, as Da planned for Petran one day. It was for the best. A pirate ship wasn’t the safest place for an uncorrupted man like Arkenn. While Da’s position protected Petran, the crew might see Arkenn as bounty.
Never.
“Now, when we reach port in a few days, the crew will go ashore except for watchmen. I’ll slip you off the ship then.”
Arkenn sat on the edge of the bunk, staring at his hands folded together in his lap. In the confines of the cabin, they wore only small clothes, a tiny porthole left open to catch the breeze. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
Petran lied, pushing the offered clothing to the side and taking a seat next to Arkenn on the bunk. “You would have been fine. Like you said, you weren’t as badly injured as I’d thought.” If he closed his eyes, Petran still saw the burns, smelled seared flesh. No, he’d not imagined those injuries. However, he wouldn’t waste precious time together trying to puzzle out a mystery.
He’d been careful not to ask but now needed to know more. “What happened to you? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but you can if you need a listening ear. I’m off duty until we reach port, and then I might be needed to unload cargo.” Stolen cargo, but the men his father dealt with weren’t too particular as long as prices met their satisfaction.
Odd for Da to give Petran time off for no reason. However, the respite allowed more time with Arkenn.
Arkenn sighed, leaning his back against the bulkhead. “I don’t know where my family came from originally, but I grew up in a mountain village they’d moved to when I was small. Any newcomers caused suspicion among the villagers. My father became the village healer and saved many lives. My mother’s skill at gardening made others jealous.” His sad tones already told the tale of an unhappy ending.
“Religious men came from E’Skaara, summoned by a villager.” Arkenn paused the telling to take a deep breath. “They accused my parents of magery and took them away to kill them at the Lady’s temple. I’m not sure why they spared me and Gran.”
“What?” Even living with sometimes-ruthless pirates hadn’t prepared Petran for such a brutal confession. “Why? Mages don’t exist anymore.” Did they? He’d keep quiet about his own suspicions.
Arkenn held his tongue for many moments, then quietly whispered, “Not anymore.”
“So, what happened to your gran?”
“I don’t truly know. I’d been away in the mountains for several days, hunting. When I returned, nothing remained of our house but a smoldering ruin. No one would tell me what happened to her, but the guilt in their eyes told its own tale.”
”Is that how you got burned? Going in after your gran?”
