Bonnie stopped when she reached Gert standing in front of the wheel and finally stopped cursing. She and the orc exchanged a knowing look, and both said, “The sirens.”
Cali’s tail twitched, the small hairs on it prickling. It couldn’t be so bad, could it? Creatures who would drag sailors to their death at the bottom of the sea were an exaggeration, weren’t they?
“But you have to pass them to get to Claw Island every time, don’t you?” Cali asked. “And you’ve always survived.”
Gert stepped away from the wheel so the captain could take over. “Because we know how to deal with the sirens.”
Cali thought about the exchange with Arabella. “Like you dealt with the mermaids?”
Bonnie gripped the purple and orange spokes of the wheel. “Everyone wants something. The sooner you understand what they want and how to give it to them, the better off you’ll be.”
Cali had to admit that wasn’t terrible advice. She’d learned much the same during her quests. Sometimes a guard needed to be paid off; sometimes he needed to be flattered. Some barkeeps would dole out information for a few copper bits, and others expected a favor in return.
Gert clasped her hands behind her back and tipped her head toward the wheel. “Our heading is already adjusted to take us to Claw Island.”
Bonnie gave her quartermaster a crooked grin. “Tris is as eager as we are.”
“And she likes mermaids about as much as we do,” the orc grumbled before heading for the stairs. “I’m going to check on what Marvella has going in the galley.”
When Gert was gone, Cali rocked back on her heels. “Your ship has a thing against mermaids?”
The hull let out a low groan in response. Apparently, she did.
Bonnie ran the tips of her fingers along the spokes of the wheel. “Can’t stand them, although I’m not entirely sure why.”
“Because they’re overly dramatic and completely self-absorbed?” Cali suggested.
The captain laughed. “You got that, did you?”
“How long has that princess been searching for her guy and waylaying ships?”
Bonnie let out a low whistle. “As long as I’ve been sailing and as long as my…” her words drifted off, and she cleared her throat. “Too long for him to still be alive, unless she fell for an elf.”
“Getting mixed up with a mermaid doesn’t seem like something an elf would do.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Bonnie agreed. “I’ve never heard the entire story, but I’ve picked up the bones of it. A young sailor, too fair for the job, caught Arabella’s attention, but he was clever enough to escape the fate of being dragged into the sea by promising to return to her once he’d settled his affairs on land so they could marry. He could have been a merchant sailor or perhaps a pirate, although I’ve never heard any crew talk about a sailor who left to outrun a mermaid. Since she’s been hunting him as long as I can remember, he must have been before my time.”
Cali almost felt sorry for the mermaid. Then she thought about being dragged to live at the bottom of the sea and shivered. “He must have realized his fate if he returned to the sea and abandoned a seafaring life the moment he touched dry land again.”
“Few humans would give up their life to dwell underwater. Not even for a mermaid princess.” Bonnie shook her head. “I’m just surprised Arabella hasn’t given up on him after all this time.”
Cali thought about her own search. “Maybe looking for him has become so much a part of who she is that she can’t stop.”
Bonnie hummed at this, snatching a look at Cali. “What you said to her about understanding what it’s like to search for something for a long time…”
Cali stiffened and looked straight ahead.
“That wasn’t just something you said to gain her trust, was it?”
The pantheri shook her head but offered no more.
The two stood in silence for a few more minutes while the crew scurried around the deck, adjusting the sails.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Bonnie said. “We all have secrets.”
Cali allowed her breath to slow, grateful that the pirate hadn’t asked, but suddenly curious about Bonnie’s secrets. Was the pirate captain hiding more than the fact that her ship was sentient? Since her crew seemed to know about Tris, she suspected that Bonnie One-Eye’s secrets ran deeper than that.
“If what you said was true,” Bonnie continued, “was your promise also true? Do you actually plan to find out what happened to her love?”
