Stormbreak (Seafire #3) - Natalie C. Parker Page 0,117

might hear them and take advantage of their distraction.

“Couldn’t leave the gun behind.” The voice was amused and dark in a way Caledonia associated with only one person. “Though it’s nicely hidden, I’ll give you that.”

Caledonia’s hand strayed to the pistol secured at the small of her back. She’d tried to leave it behind but at the last minute, she’d tucked it into her waistband. It was a comfort to have it near. Not having it there . . . well, it was a step she wasn’t ready for.

“I’m certain you’ve got at least two on you, Pine.”

They were hovering on the aft deck, stained in sunset colors. Pine was dressed not for celebration but for travel. His hair was slicked into a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck and there was a gun strapped across his back. He smiled, but sadly.

“I can’t stay here,” he said.

“You can,” Caledonia answered, but without any urging. “Where are you going?”

His eyes turned south. “To see what’s out there. Beyond the Net.”

The Net didn’t exist anymore, but it was going to be a long time before people stopped referring to the place where it had been by that name. The line of ships was a part of their imagined world. It would take time to change that.

“Who’s going with you?” Caledonia asked.

“No room for anyone else on my boat with me and all my demons.” Pine’s answer was as playful as it was serious. “And all my ghosts.” He added the last softly.

Caledonia didn’t like the thought of him sailing off into the unknown without anyone to watch his back, but it was an argument she wouldn’t win. They’d held a memorial for everyone who’d given their lives in the great battle. The names had been recorded with as much accuracy as they could manage, and then they’d put out every light in South Haven and flooded the harbor with floating lanterns. There had been more than one lit for Sledge, but not by Pine. Caledonia knew he’d watched the ceremony from a distance. Pine wasn’t the sort to release his ghosts so quickly.

“Will you come back?” she asked.

“If I don’t get killed.” He laughed at himself, then stepped forward and pulled Caledonia into a crushing embrace. He tucked his head low and spoke in her ear. “If you’re going to stay with him, at least promise me you won’t let his demons become yours.”

“Who?” she asked, realizing too late he could only mean Oran.

She felt the rumble of laughter in his chest. “Exactly.”

“Pine,” she warned, pulling back with more of her senses intact. “You know I can take care of myself.”

“With a gun and on a ship, I have no doubt. But with him? I doubt everything he does because I also doubt myself.” He shrugged. “At least I’m doing the responsible thing and leaving.”

Irritation strummed a single chord in Caledonia’s mind, but it wasn’t about Pine. “Just remember that you have friends here. And you—and all your demons—are always welcome.”

With a distant smile, Pine spun on his heel and aimed for the ladder on the aft deck. On the water below, a tender boat waited to ferry him to his small ship. Caledonia breathed deeply for a moment, knowing it was likely the last she’d ever see of her hard-won friend. Knowing that it was the best thing for him right now. He gave a little wave and then he was gone, gliding over the water toward his next journey.

It took Caledonia a moment to swallow the sorrow that perched in the back of her throat and return her attention to the celebration. When she did, Amina and Hime spun past her in a blur, their hair shedding flowers as they twirled and laughed together. They didn’t know it yet, but Caledonia and Pisces had agreed that the Mors Navis would be theirs now. Most of the crew wanted to be out on the seas, helping to keep the peace, and there was no better team than Hime and Amina to stand at the helm.

Caledonia found Pisces and Cepheus tucked against one of the mast blocks, their lips tracing delicate patterns across cheeks and eyes, throats and mouths. They’d been together more and more often, but to see Pisces inhabit her passions so openly was akin to her shouting for everyone to hear that she adored Cepheus.

Nettle had assumed a spot on the bridge balcony, where she was encouraging Abrasin Mary to toss flowers over the heads of the