you? You want everyone to take notice from the moment you arrive, ready to break the hearts of some poor bastards?” Lithe from experience, Bastian shimmies down the neck of the figurehead. He knows exactly where to grab to get himself low enough to safely jump onto the sand.
“The Duchess is a great ship,” he says, “but she’s no Keel Haul. This ship has gotten us through one adventure together, and she’s fit to get us through another.” Up close, I see his face isn’t as confident as I thought. Though he maintains his ease and charm, the corners of that smile waver. While his eyes dance with hope, anxiety creases its way onto his skin.
“If you think that being on Keel Haul will somehow make everything between us back to normal…”
He shakes his head. “Stop being stubborn and give the order. You know you’d rather take my ship. She’s quicker. We’ll be able to cut down our travel time between the islands.” Behind him, Vataea laughs, and I shoot her a glare for letting herself get roped into Bastian’s antics.
I open my mouth to argue, afraid of how being on Keel Haul with Bastian might make me feel. But before I can, there’s a hand on my shoulder. I jump, exhaling a sigh of relief when I see it’s only Ferrick.
Ferrick’s dressed in his adviser uniform, wearing a deep green frock inlaid with elegant gold stitching that snakes up its collar, forming the shape of leaves and ivy. It’s no longer a rapier he carries at his side, but a gorgeous gold broadsword with a pommel that’s decorated with a sapphire on one side, and a fierce emerald on the other.
Though the green he picked for his coat doesn’t quite match his goldenrod pants, he’s getting better with his wardrobe. Though they’ll never admit it, I suspect he and Bastian have been selecting clothing together, recently.
“I think it’s a good idea to take Keel Haul.” Ferrick’s words are quiet, meant just for me. “We’re trying to keep the crew small, and she’s an easier ship to maneuver. Plus, we’re comfortable with her. Bastian’s right, you’re being stubborn.” He ruffles my hair, frizzing it with the friction, but the tension in my chest eases. They’re right.
Rather than look back at Bastian, I turn to the soldiers. “Thank you for your work, but plans have changed. Get everything loaded onto Keel Haul as quickly as possible.”
If they’re annoyed, they don’t show it. Fortunately we’ve only just started loading The Duchess, and the soldiers are quick to adjust their route and get moving with the cargo. As they do, Ferrick grins at me.
“It’s okay to be excited,” he says, as if he’s able to sense the eagerness I’m desperately trying to conceal. “You love sailing; don’t be ashamed of that. You may have to keep a brave face for Visidia, but you’re with friends here. All right?”
“All right.” I raise my hand to let my palm set atop his, settled upon my shoulder. Though I don’t fully believe his words, I appreciate them.
Since Father’s death, it’s Ferrick who’s been my rock. A tiny, trusted light in a haze of gray. Though Bastian’s tried to be there, how could I let him comfort me when I can’t do the same for him?
Ferrick and I do not have a romantic love, and we never will. But I trust him more than anyone. He is, undoubtedly, my best friend.
“I’m glad you’re back,” I tell him, and he responds with a smile and a quick kiss to the top of my head.
“I’m glad, too.” His tone, however, doesn’t match his words. “I just … I can’t help but feel guilty about this. After everything Vataea’s been through, she deserves to know about Blarthe.”
“She does.” I fix him with a serious look. “But if I tell Vataea now, she’ll march right to his cell and slit his throat herself.”
“Would she be wrong to?” Ferrick asks, and I half expect him to be joking. Last summer, he’d never have said such a thing. But his eyes are shadowed now, and his lips are pressed into a thin, straight line. I realize that, this time, he’s serious.
It’s as though every time I blink I see another part of Ferrick that’s changed. He was the one who delivered the final blow that killed Kaven, after all. Even if it was to save me, he’s taken a life. I know from experience how much that can change a person.
“No,” I admit.