Page 22 of Viktor at Sea

“It’s not my bracelet,” I said with a small smile. “It’s your bracelet.”

“But you’re wearing it.”

“That’s only so I wouldn’t lose it before I could give it to you.”

“It’s for me?” She asked quietly, placing a hand over her mouth.

My lips turned up at the corners when she accepted the gift with a small smile and immediately slipped it onto her wrist.

It was a simple bracelet. Nothing special. But the moment I laid eyes on it at a market on the other side of the ocean, only one of its kind as the seller had told me, I knew it was made for Astrid’s wrist. The bracelet was silver, thin and dainty, and had a small, deep blue charm attached to it. The fact that it was the same shade of blue as the charm dangling from the necklace she always wore had been what caught my attention in the first place. It reminded me of the infuriating woman back home who I loved to rile up so much, and the longer I stared, the more the thought of leaving without buying it for her felt wrong. It had cost me a pretty penny, but this moment made it so worth it.

“I know this doesn’t have the same value as the dress, but I hope it makes up for it a little. And I promise to never feed Kis carrots ever again.”

“I can live with that,” she giggled. “Thank you for the bracelet. It’s very beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it. It reminded me of you when I saw it, so I bought it for you.”

Astrid opened her mouth to say something, and I was dying to know what it was, but she was cut off when Katarina called for her.

“Thank you again. I have to go,” she said and turned to leave before I could say goodbye.

This was a small victory, but I knew there was still a long way left to go.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“We need to start locking up Laurence after the first drink,” Caspian grumbled, his tone sour and distasteful.

“I argue that he shouldn’t be allowed to drink on the ship at all,” Latham joined in. “And neither should Hammond be allowed to dance on the ship. At least not on the deck. This isn’t the first time he’s stuck his foot through one of the floorboards.”

The three of us were on our knees on The Serpent, replacing the three floorboards we had broken while away at sea. I didn’t voice it aloud, but I was surprised that not more had been broken after those three long months at sea. Of course, that wasn’t counting what else had been broken on the two lower floors, including the few oars that needed replacing. Thankfully, Barden told me work had already started to carve some new oars for us, and they would be ready to test within a few days.

“The prospect of drinking, singing and dancing doesn’t sound as much fun if it’s not on the top deck,” I said, not a fan of partying on the lower levels. “And I doubt we’d be able to stop Laurence from drinking. I don’t think I’ve seen him go a single day without a drink in his hand.”

“Sounds like a bit of a problem to me,” Caspian frowned. “We’re going to have to keep an eye on him next time.”

“I don’t think there’s going to be a next time. Or well, I hope not,” Latham grinned, his expression telling us he knew something we didn’t know.

“What are you saying?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him in suspicion. “What’s going on with Laurence?”

“You know that girl he’s in love with, but she doesn’t even know he exists?” Latham asked, glancing between Caspian and me. “I spoke to him yesterday, and he mentioned that he’s come forth with his feelings to her, and she’s agreed to give courting a go.”

“I can hardly believe this,” I laughed. “What made him finally confess his feelings?”

“Her father was planning to set her up with someone else, and when Laurence found out about it, I guess it sparked something in him because he asked to court her.”

“I thought it would take years for Laurence to confess his feelings! And to think, it’s only because someone else showed interest in her,” I chuckled, though the irony wasn’t lost on me. Luckily, it was lost on the other two otherwise they would tease me as well.

“Well, I’m glad he’s finally pulling his trousers up,” Caspian chuckled. “Though, if things go well for them, then we won’t have anything to make fun of him for the next time we sail out to sea.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” I grinned.

“Speaking of the sea,” Latham began, turning his questioning gaze to me. “When will our next mission be? Do we have a few weeks at least? I promised my boys I would take them out hunting in the forest and teach them how to catch a boar. It might take a few tries, so I’m hoping we won’t sail anywhere far for the next few weeks.”

“Barden hasn’t mentioned anything to me,” I told them. “If a long mission does come up, we’ll need appropriate time to plan everything, so we’re probably not going anywhere close to a month or so.”

“And what about the King’s lost treasure?” Caspian asked.

“I’m not sure how serious Barden is about that.” I shrugged. “I’m also not sure if the rumours about the pirates are true. If they are true, we’d be sailing into The Lion’s Den.”

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