Namesake (Fable #2) - Adrienne Young Page 0,107

looked around us, to the sparkling walls of the cave. “Until we need it.” And we would.

He thought about it, holding the wet hair back from his face with one hand. “We have the Lark.”

“We have the Lark,” I repeated, smiling wider. It was more than we needed to start our trade route. More than we needed to fill the hull of the Marigold with inventory, and establish a post.

West took a step toward me, and when I tipped my head back, he kissed me softly. “Back to the Narrows?”

The taste of salt lit on my tongue as I repeated the words against his lips. “Back to the Narrows.”

EPILOGUE

The masts creaked against the push of wind, the sails of the Marigold unfolding like wings.

I stood at the bow, watching the deep blue water rush beneath the ship. We were soaring over the sea so fast that when I looked up, Jeval was already upon us.

“Let’s bring her in!” West shouted from the helm. “Strike all sails!”

Paj and Auster climbed the masts, letting out the downhauls so the ship would slow, and Hamish unlocked the anchor crank.

I took the length of line at the foot of the foremast and secured it, my eyes on the barrier islands. They were like black, jagged teeth. The blue waves crashed in a spray against them, rolling in with the high winds. The docks I’d known in my time on Jeval were gone, replaced by what looked like a small harbor. Huge beams of wood rose out of the water, making twelve ship bays.

In the distance, I could see a small skiff headed toward it from shore.

West watched from the bow with his hands in his pockets. He was always that way when we made port at Jeval, his shoulders drawn up and his jaw set.

I unwound the heaving lines and came portside as the Marigold drifted closer to the rocks. A string of Jevalis were already waiting with their hands out, ready to catch her from scraping.

I balanced on the crates as she came in slow and tossed the heaving lines to the boy at the end of the dock. He secured them one at a time and Auster unrolled the ladder just as Koy appeared up the harbor with a hand in the air.

“Marigold!” Koy shouted. “I don’t have you scheduled for another week!” He glanced at the log book in his hands.

Paj gave me a knowing look from the helm. Koy was right. But West always had a reason why we needed to head back to Jeval early.

“Don’t tell me you came through that storm!” Willa’s voice called out. I searched the docks, looking for her.

West leaned over the railing, grinning when he spotted his sister, and he instantly relaxed.

But Willa was incensed, coming through the crowd of dredgers and immediately inspecting the ship. She stopped near the bow, pressing a hand to a poorly repaired breach.

West watched her glower at it. “Got a few things that need seeing to.”

“When are you going to get a new bosun?” she grumbled.

“We haven’t found one yet,” West said.

Below, Koy eyed me, and I smirked. We’d tried six different bosuns in the last eight months and West had fired every one.

I came down the ladder, stepping onto the post to jump down beside Koy. He’d hired and paid only Jevalis to rebuild the docks with his coin from the Unnamed Sea, and now he was running them as the harbor master.

A few weeks after it was finished, he asked Willa to set up shop for ship repairs. Seeing them standing on the dock, they looked as if they both belonged there. Together.

My father had sneered when I told him we were building a three-port route that ended in Jeval. But just like Koy predicted, the barrier islands were filled with ships. In another year, we’d be using our license to trade in Bastian.

No gems. No fancy silver teapots or hair combs or silk for fine frocks.

We were trading rye and mullein—goods made by the bastards of the Narrows.

The sparkle of midnight still glimmered in my dreams. So did the sound of my mother’s voice. But we hadn’t been back to Fable’s Skerry. Not yet.

West and I lay side by side on the beach in the dark, the waves touching our bare feet. The voices of the crew drifted on the wind as they drank rye around the fire, and I watched a single star trace a spark across the sky.

When I turned to look at West, that same starlight glinted in his eyes. I found his hand and held it to my cheek, remembering the first time I’d seen him on the docks. The first time I’d seen him smile. The first time I’d seen his darkness and every time he’d seen mine.

We were salt and sand and sea and storm.

We were made in the Narrows.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

All my love to my own crew—Joel, Ethan, Siah, Finley, and River. Thank you for letting me live in the world of the Narrows and the Unnamed Sea while I told this story. No matter the adventure, you are always the best home to come back to.

Again, an enormous amount of gratitude to my team at Wednesday Books. Thank you to Eileen Rothschild, my incredible editor and namesake of the Roth family. Thank you to Sara Goodman, DJ DeSmyter, Alexis Neuville, Brant Janeway, Mary Moates, Tiffany Shelton, and Lisa Bonvissuto for all you do for my books. Thank you, Kerri Resnick, for yet another gorgeous cover.

Thank you to Barbara Poelle, my agent, who keeps my head on straight and my eyes on the horizon.

Thank you to my amazing, weird, hilarious family, especially my mom, who this book is dedicated to. I love you!

This book, like Fable, wouldn’t have been possible without the input of Lille Moore, who served as a consultant on all things sailing, sea, and trade. Thank you so very much for helping me build these books! Thank you also to Natalie Faria, my fearless beta reader unicorn.

To my critique partner, Kristin Dwyer, you were almost no help on this book at all because you were busy making your own dreams come true. Watching you stand on top of this mountain is a beautiful thing to behold, and I’m counting down the days until we can hold your book in our hands. Don’t forget my line break.

Thank you to my author and writing community, the ones who drag me along on this road when I’ve lost my way. And thank you to my non–book world friends who are tasked with the sometimes delicate job of making sure I stay human. I love you all.

ALSO BY ADRIENNE YOUNG

Sky in the Deep

The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Fable

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ADRIENNE YOUNG is a foodie with a deep love of history and travel and a shameless addiction to coffee. When she’s not writing, you can find her on her yoga mat, sipping wine over long dinners, or disappearing into her favorite art museums. She lives with her documentary filmmaker husband and their four little wildlings in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling Sky in the Deep duology. You can sign up for email updates here.

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CONTENTS

Title Page

Dedication

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Nine

Thirty

Thirty-One

Thirty-Two

Thirty-Three

Thirty-Four

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Six

Thirty-Seven

Thirty-Eight

Thirty-Nine

Forty

Forty-One

Forty-Two

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Also by Adrienne Young

About the Author

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

First published in the United States by Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

www.wednesdaybooks.com

Cover design by Kerri Resnick

Cover photograph of girl by Svetlana Belyaeva; earring © hvoya / Shutterstock.com; gem © photo-world / Shutterstock.com; gold texture © Vandathai / Shutterstock.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Names: Young, Adrienne, 1985– author.

Title: Namesake : a novel / Adrienne Young.

Description: First edition. | New York : Wednesday Books, 2021. | Series: Fable ; 2

Identifiers: LCCN 2020040972 | ISBN 9781250254399 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250254412 (ebook)

Subjects: CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Seafaring life—Fiction. | Diving—Fiction. | Treasure troves—Fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.Y74 Nam 2021 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020040972

eISBN 9781250254412

Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

First Edition: 2021

Namesake (Fable #2) - Adrienne Young Page 0,107

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