Page 14
“With pleasure.” I mockingly bow.
His jaw tightens as he looks at me before he turns and leaves me alone on the deck. The wind blows against my burning red cheeks, and I head to the side of the ship, leaning against the railing. It’s cold, but after all that, I’m glad about it. The realization hits me that Draven isn’t going to leave the ship when it docks, and he is going to watch me. I need a plan to get him out of the way, and I’m certain I know exactly how to do just that.
I smile to myself just as Freckles joins me and she gasps. “Oh look, it’s the whales!” My gaze follows where she’s pointing, and I barely believe what I’m seeing. I’ve seen whales in books, paintings, and drawings, but I never expected them to be so…giant. They might be the size of a ship, at least some of them are, and they are swimming as a pack. They are miles away, but the sun glitters off their smooth silver bodies as they dive in and out of the waves. The sun hits the water drops they flick into the air, and it looks like rainbows hover above the sea for a second.
“They’re beautiful,” I whisper.
She watches with light in her eyes. “They are. We don’t see whales this far west. Most of the fish don’t go near the islands anymore.”
“Why?” I question.
“It’s been like that for a long time. I read about someone that said it’s been roughly about two hundred years since a lot of the animals in the sea just vanished.” She turns to watch me for a second and then looks back at the whales. “It might not be true, but I do wonder what it will be like when they return.” She doesn’t give me a chance to respond to that. “Anyway, I came to see if you want to do sewing now, and then I heard shouting, so I thought I’d stay on the stairs until that was over and done with. You’re really not making this easy for yourself.”
“Is he always so mean?” I ask her.
“That’s just Draven. He’s dangerous. I’m not lying to you about that, and maybe it’s best you both stay away from each other. He doesn’t mean to be like this. He wasn’t always like this,” she tries to explain. “I’ve known Ren since we were kids, like I told you, and he used to be funny. Well, between him and his adopted brother, he was the funny one. I was always the silly girl who chased his brother around, and Ren made sure I didn’t get my heart broken for it. His best friend and his sister, well, all five of us were a close group.”
“He has a brother?” I narrow in on that.
“Yeah, he did,” she softly answers.
“Oh, I’m… How did he die?”
She touches my arm and I know she is using her power, but I don’t care much about my feelings right now. I’m just confused. “It’s not really my story to tell, but if you want to ask a couple of questions, I can answer them. Not about Draven, though. It’s a bit like betraying my captain when you two clearly hate each other.”
“Alright, fair enough.” I nod and she removes her hand. We go to the stairs and back to the main room before she shows me to the rows of private rooms, and we go down them to the end. “It’s right at the very back,” she explains as we keep walking. “That one’s Tracker’s—this one’s mine. I have a door because I’m female.” She laughs, opening it for me, and I head in first.
She wasn’t joking about the sewing. There are piles and piles of fabrics everywhere, all different types and so much of it I’m not sure where to look at first. The only part that doesn’t have fabric piled up is one chest of drawers, which is leaking clothes from every drawer. Above it is enough crocheting hooks and yarn to make a blanket big enough to cover twenty people.
I end up speaking about what I’m thinking out loud. “I have to admit, this would make you really rich where I am. People would kill for the amount of fabric in this room to keep warm.”
She hands me a pair of curtains, deep blue in color. “Warmth should be a given, not bought to survive. I’m sorry you had that upbringing, Miriam.” I suspect she couldn’t understand even if I explained to her any of my life in the Stilts. “So, I also go to the flea markets when I go to places like Havenward, and I get things like this.” She taps the curtains in my hands. “I fix them and then sell them off at another island. It helps build up money. I prefer when I get dresses like those.” She nods at the four ball gowns hanging up.
“But they’re ripped and ruined,” I say, wondering why she prefers that.
“Yes, well, they were first covered in mud and who knows what else, so it took a while to clean them. One thing we have an abundance of is salt water, and it’s great for cleaning. Once I clean them, wash them with some fresh water, the fabric comes up as beautiful as it is. You can’t hide beauty under a veil of dirt when one day it will rain. The rest of the broken bits I can fix with time, even if I cut it to pieces and start over again. But dresses like those sell well on all the islands, so I don’t end up keeping them for long.”
“Where are you from exactly? Draven said an island, but I’ve never heard of it.” Her eyes widen and she looks away, hiding her expression and shock, but I saw it.
“Oh, did he? Well, yes, he wasn’t lying. Draven, Chaos, Tracker, Clark and I are from the same place, and we are the main crew. More of a family, though.” She picks up several random things like sewing kits and needles and hands me a few of them. “Our island is far south, and you wouldn’t know it.”
I know I’ve made her uncomfortable, and I try to fix it. “So why the name Freckles?” I ask her as I sit down on her bed, because there isn’t anywhere else to sit unless it’s on clothes. She doesn’t care, sitting next to me on the other side of the bed with a few shirts with holes in them. I start stitching, and once I’ve proven to her I’m actually not that bad, she nods and carries on with hers.
“Okay, so why’s my name Freckles? Well, you need an open mind and to remember we have magic. We are witches, just like the legends.” I let that sink in. Witches are real? “My family, along with Chaos’s family also, have a belief. It’s said that Noctaris made us as one infinite loop of light and dark. One power, connected forever, and in her wisdom, she knew we would be too powerful unless we earned it. She split our souls in half, sending them spiraling down to our world, forever destined to find each other one day when we need each other the most. Only if the gods are kind will we manage to find each other, and then I’ll be able to tell him or her my name. Only then will I be able to use that name, but until then, no one will ever hear it. Just like with Chaos and Tracker. They are waiting and honoring our family tradition.”
I’m still hung up on the fact she said witches are real. They aren’t all made-up stories. I suspected it the second I saw Draven use blood magic, but hearing it confirmed is something else. “So Draven isn’t his name, either? Or Clark?”
“Oh no, they don’t have the same family or region as mine and Chaos’s family. That is their names.” She taps her freckles on her cheek. “‘These are shaped like stars because they say my ancestor was kissed by a god on the nose and it left these freckles. A lot of my family get one or two star freckles randomly on their body. I think my mother only had a few spotted around her arm from what I remember of her. But I was born like this.” She holds her arms out. “I have millions, so that’s why I got given the nickname Freckles.”
“You’re lucky to have family traditions and blessings like that.” I shrug. “It’s nice.”
“Thank you, but sometimes I look at the freckles, I hear the name, and I’m swallowed with grief for the family I don’t have anymore.” Her raw answer surprises me. She sighs and then clasps her hands together. “Now that I’ve told you something interesting about me, you’ve got to tell me something in return. Do you have a boyfriend? Back on Azurestone? You’re pretty and I don’t date—I’m waiting for my mate—so if you do, please tell me everything.”
“Mate? What is that?”
“The name for the person I’m looking for, the other half of my soul. They say every witch is born with a mate who matches their power. They are equal and the definition of unity,” she answers. Sounds like a fairy tale to me, and I wouldn’t believe any of it unless I’d seen their magic.
I answer her earlier question. “There was someone, but it was, well, I was curious more than anything else. It never meant anything,” I offer up a careful truth.
