Arkenn dropped his gaze and shook his head. “No. They accused me of being a mage and chased me. I… I’m not sure what happened. I was running, fell, and then woke like you found me. There must have been an attack or something because the villagers chasing me were dead.” He pulled his feet onto the bed, wrapping his arms around his knees, a familiar pose. “So, I started walking. I walked until I couldn’t walk anymore.” He gave Petran a bittersweet smile. “Then you found me.”
“Then I found you.” Poor man. He’d been through so much. “Well, you’re safe now. When we get to the city, you’ll be safer still.” Pressure filled Petran’s chest at the thought of not seeing Arkenn again.
Something niggled in the back of Petran’s mind, some half-truth in Arkenn’s account. Had Arkenn had more to do with the villagers’ deaths than he let on? But no, he was no killer. The deepest parts of Petran’s soul said so, and the deepest part of his soul was never wrong.
He fought the urge to embrace Arkenn for a full twelve breaths before giving in. What harm could there be? No one here to see them; soon, they’d part, never to meet again.
Arkenn stiffened, searched Petran’s face with wary eyes, then sighed and sagged against his shoulder.
Nothing had ever felt so good as Arkenn’s body pressed to Petran’s, like two halves of one whole. Petran didn’t even try to hide his stiffening cock, though he wouldn’t act on his desire. Having Arkenn once and saying goodbye might break his heart.
Arkenn sat up, fingering the pendant Petran wore around his neck. “What is this?”
Petran choked back a gasp at the feel of warm fingers against his skin—almost a caress. “It belonged to my mum. My da insisted I always wear it.”
“Tell me about your mother.”
How to talk about someone Petran knew so little about? “She died when I was very young. Before she did, she made my da promise he’d give me a better life than we knew and that he’d keep me safe.”
“Was he always a pirate?”
“No. He gave up the sea when he met her. We moved a lot, lived many places.” Sometimes in the middle of the night, Petran had woken to frantic parents hastily throwing belongings into a cart. “He’d always loved the sea. When she died, he returned to piracy.”
“Does this mean anything?” Arkenn tapped the pendant with a fingertip.
“Not that I know of. It’s just something pretty that caught my mum’s eye. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve seen one like it somewhere, but I can’t remember.” Arkenn shook his head. “Maybe in a dream.”
What a strange thing to say. “Would you like to play a game since I don’t have to be on deck?” Petran couldn’t prolong his absence too long, or the crew might grow suspicious, even though he’d been relieved of duty. They still expected him to join the crew for meals.
Usually, they laughed and made rude gestures about what he might be up to alone, with both men and women offering to go with him, until a quelling glare from his father stilled their tongues. Lately, more had been giving Petran meaningful glances. Yes, his father would definitely put Petran ashore before he had to start killing off crewmen for molesting his son.
Even the lad from eight seasons ago hadn’t tempted Petran like Arkenn, with his blue eyes, fair hair, and way of staring with interest when he thought Petran wasn’t watching.
Arkenn wasn’t as bulky as some Northern men, but his muscles were firm, and his chest showed a light dusting of nearly invisible hair, noticeable more to touch than to the eye.
What would it be like to touch for more than washing or treating injuries?
Arkenn lifted his head. “What kind of game?”
“Cards. I have a deck from my mum.” Petran reached into the box by the bed and pulled out the once-colorful, now faded cards, the box held together with a piece of ribbon.
Arkenn stared. “I know those cards. At least, I think I do.”
Petran held the deck tightly in both hands, closing his eyes. When he reopened them, he handed the deck to Arkenn. “Cut these.”
Arkenn did as told. “The gestures seem familiar. What do they mean?”
Petran shrugged. “I’m not sure, but that’s what our cook does. He’s never really explained.” Still, even as a lad, he’d found the colorful images fascinating. He placed a card faceup in front of them both.
A man in a robe with a knapsack on his back gazed up from in front of Arkenn. “The traveler. I think my gran had some of these.” He traced the figure with a fingertip. Petran had a sudden, overwhelming desire to be a card. “She read futures in the cards; she didn’t play games. All the cards had meaning.”
“Then what is this one? It looks scary.” Two serpents, intertwined, one golden, one blue.
“It’s not.” Arkenn lifted the card for Petran to better see. “These are the twins.”
“How can they be twins? They look so different.”
