Page 105 of King of Storms and Feathers

“They didn’t discover me doing a circle dance on the deck,” I muttered. As soon as the words were out, I regretted them severely.

With a horrible, moist crackling sound, the captain slid out from behind the desk, his eight tentacles slithering across the wooden floor. “I don’t think you’re in a position to backtalk me,” he hissed.

“Sorry,” I said, trying not to goggle at his writhing appendages. “That was stupid of me. My mouth often engages before my brain does.”

A tentacle shot out and wrapped around my waist, dragging me close. The rest of them moved about wildly, some on the floor and others lashing the air like angry serpents, while his torso rose until he loomed over me.

Throwing myself backward, I swallowed a scream, but the tentacle around my waist only tightened.

Cold terror slid through my veins as I realized what Captain Loligos was—a cephalaean—a human octopus hybrid, that until this moment, I had believed only existed in stories. I truly wished that was still the case.

The water-filled tank that lined a wall of the cabin where a bed would normally stand made a lot more sense now that I’d laid my shocked, bulging eyes on him.

For one insane moment, I wondered why, instead of my name and entire identity, I remembered useless things, such as the times I’d spent running wild around ruins, and the names of fantastical creatures.

“Please pardon my rudeness, Captain,” I wheezed, grabbing hold of the tentacle that circled my waist.

“Give me one good reason not to squeeze the life out of you,” he said. A second slimy limb slithered around my neck, its grip looser than the first. “Will you promise not to scream too loudly while I spend the night removing your organs through your nostrils? I despise a noisy female.”

The tip of his tentacle waved in front of my nose, and I retched and shook my head frantically.

“Wait, Cap’n,” said Shorty, sidling up.

Loligos’s lower arm shot out and knocked him across the room. Shorty collapsed beside the tank, then sat up, rubbing his head. “Just take a look at her hair.”

The captain loosened his grip a little and studied me, his strange pupils dilating with interest. “What’s your name?”

“Leaf.”

The captain chuckled. “Leaf? I doubt that very much. Where are you from, little Leaf?”

Little Leaf.

A wave of sorrow swept over me at the sound of Arrow’s nickname coming from the captain’s foul mouth.

“I don’t remember.”

“Very mysterious.” His smirk turned into a sneer. “Where have you been then? Before you bought your way onto this ship?”

“I don’t remember that, either.”

“Liar.”

“I’m not. I swear it. A forest somewhere in the Earth Realm, that’s all I know.”

He sighed. “Listen, I’ve been at sea nigh on five centuries. I’ve witnessed almost everything there is to see in the realms, and I know when someone is feeding me a barrel of turned cod. Tell me the truth, or I’ll throw you overboard.”

“Someone drugged me. I have no idea who I am. Somehow, I ended up in a cage at the Farron Gilt Market. The Storm Court bought me from there and put me to work in their kitchen.”

He grunted. “Now that tale has the ring of truth to it.” He paused a moment, considering me. “Lads, I believe we’ll lock this precious cargo in the cell until we dock. If anyone touches her, I’ll stick a tentacle so far up their ass it’ll look like their tongue wriggling out of their mouth. Understand?”

“But, Cap’n,” said Handsome, his fists clenching at his sides. “As a reward, can’t we have a little taste? Just a scrap of fun before we put her in the cell?”

“She’ll be of no value maimed. But you did the right thing, boys, bringing the—this daughter of the Earth Realm straight to me when your instincts were screaming for you to do otherwise. There are only a couple of hours left until we dock, and I’ll see that you get paid in gold for your restraint.”

The captain’s tentacle unraveled from my waist, then he slithered back to his desk, sat down, and began scribbling on a tiny piece of parchment.

From behind me, Handsome gripped my tied wrists and pushed his weight into my back. Praying silently that they wouldn’t find Sindar’s body anytime soon, I grunted as his knife pricked my neck. “Steady on. I can’t do much to hurt you at the moment, can I?”

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