When he realized that I’d stopped, West turned back, looking up at me from the bottom of the steps. His hair caught in the wind, and he tucked it behind his ears before he pulled the cap from his pocket and tugged it on.
I took up the skirts and followed him. The docks were bustling with inventory to be logged and helmsmen waiting for their approvals from Bastian’s harbor master. He stood at the mouth of the longest slip, bent over a table of parchments as I passed. The ledger he’d shown Holland was open, recording the ships that had come in through the night. In another hour, the logs would likely be sitting on Holland’s desk.
My steps faltered when a face I recognized was lit with the glow of a barrel fire. Calla had her head wrapped in a scarf, the muscles in her arms taking shape under her skin as she pried the lid off a crate with one hand. The other was still tucked into a sling from where I’d broken her fingers.
I searched the other docks for any sign of Koy, but I didn’t see him. He and everyone else on the Luna would be looking for work like the harbor master said, scraping together what coin they could until they got onto another crew or purchased passage back to the Narrows.
Ahead, the bow of the Marigold was dark except for a single lantern that flickered with a yellow flame. A slight silhouette was painted against the sky.
Willa.
She leaned over the railing, looking down at us. Her twisted locks were pulled up on top of her head like a coil of rope. I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear the long exhale that escaped her lips as she spotted us.
The ladder unrolled a moment later, and Clove climbed up first. West held it in place for me to take hold of the rungs. When he didn’t look at me, I squared my shoulders to him, waiting. “Are we all right?” I asked.
“We’re all right,” West said, meeting my eyes. But he was still cold.
I wished he would touch me. Ground me to the dock so the feeling of the restless sea inside me would calm. But there was a distance between us that hadn’t been there before. And I wasn’t sure how to close it.
I climbed the ladder and when I reached the top, Willa was standing before the helm, staring apprehensively at Clove. But he was entirely uninterested in her, finding a crate at the bow to sit and prop up his boots.
When she looked up at me, her face was twisted up, her mouth hanging open. “What are you wearing?”
I looked down at the frock, mortified, but before I could answer, a wide smile spread her lips. The scar on her cheek glistened white. I dropped over the railing and she threw her arms around me, holding me so tight that I could hardly breathe.
She let me go, leaning back to look at me. “It’s good to see you.”
I nodded in answer, sniffling, and she grabbed my hand, squeezing it. My eyes burned at the show of affection. I’d missed her. I’d missed all of them.
Footsteps pounded below and a moment later Paj was coming up the steps, Auster behind him. He was missing his shirt, his long, shining black hair spilling over his shoulders.
“Our bad luck charm is back!” Paj called to the open door of the helmsman’s quarters as he crossed the deck toward me. “And she’s wearing a skirt!” He clapped me on the back hard, and I stumbled forward into Auster’s arms. His bare skin was warm as I pressed a flushed cheek to his chest. He smelled like saltwater and sun.
Behind him, Hamish was glowering at Clove from where he stood in the breezeway. “What is he doing here?”
“Come for a cup of tea.” Clove winked at him.
Hamish tipped his chin up at me and then at West. “You’re late. Two days late.” The set of his mouth was grim.
“Things didn’t exactly go as planned,” West muttered.
“We heard about Zola,” Paj said. “People on the docks have been talking and yesterday someone came to tear apart the Luna.”
“Bastard got what was coming to him.” Willa huffed. “Where have you been?”
“You can tell us later.” Paj started for the helmsman’s quarters. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Willa nodded, moving toward the mainmast.
“Wait.” My hands clenched into fists inside the pockets of my jacket, and when I felt