Page 23 of Viktor at Sea

“And if they aren’t?”

“Then we’d be missing out on a whole lot of treasure.”

“What are you leaning toward?” Latham asked.

“I think we should keep our feet on land for a while. Our last trip was long and tiring, and we all need some time off before we’re ready for another long mission.”

Caspian and Latham murmured their agreements, and we returned to the task at hand. New floorboards.

“That looks a lot better,” I admired aloud, rising to my feet and wiping my hands on the bottom of my tunic after a job well done.

“At least our feet won’t go through the floorboards anymore,” Caspian chuckled. “I think there are a few on the lower floors that also need replacing.”

“I’ll go see if Chip is finished cutting some more slabs for us,” Latham offered, turning to head off the ship.

“I still have one left, so I’ll head downstairs and get started,” Caspian told me and disappeared.

With a few moments to myself, I sighed and moved over to the side, staring aimlessly at the beautiful water. All water was beautiful, but there was something different about the water in the middle of nowhere, sloshing around you as you struggled to keep your head above water. I’m sure it sounded scary to many, but not to me. There was just something so freeing and beautifulabout being in the middle of nowhere with nothing but water around me, and I longed to be back there soon.

“I was hoping I would run into you here,” a familiar voice sounded from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Glancing over my shoulder, I was surprised to find Crosby standing behind me.

I turned to face him. “What are you doing here?” I asked, hearing the biased distaste dripping from my voice.

“I need to speak to you about something,” he said. A dark expression clouded his face.

“I’m kind of busy right now,” I replied, my tone dismissive. The last person I wanted to speak to right now was Crosby. “If you need to speak to me, you’ll have to come back later.”

“You don’t look busy,” Crosby observed aloud, making a point of turning his head left and right, glancing at no one in particular as we were the only two currently on the top deck.

“We’re fixing up some things around the ship.”

“And you’re waiting for the wood from Chip?” He asked, and I nodded. “Well, I hate to disappoint you, but you’re going to be waiting around for a while. Chip was called to do something else so he’s only just started on your wood. I walked past him and Latham working on it together. They’re probably going to be a while.”

My jaw clenched at his words, and I forced a stiff nod, gesturing for him to get on with it.

“I heard a rumour about you this morning at breakfast.” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“And you’re here to confirm it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, let’s hear it then,” I sighed.

“I heard that you intend to propose to Astrid Skau.”

“Who did you hear this rumour from?”

“Aren’t you going to confirm or deny it?” He asked, countering my question with a question of his own.

“Not until you tell me where you heard the rumour from,” I said.

I could tell that it bothered him that I had the upper hand in the situation. I could very easily dismiss him without giving him an answer as I didn’t owe him anything, but then I wouldn’t get the satisfaction of watching his face when I revealed my intentions to him.

“I overheard Katarina and Daewon talking among themselves when they were out on their morning walk this morning,” Crosby admitted with a sigh.

“Well, that isn’t really a rumour then, is it?” I chuckled.

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