Page 48 of Astrid at Sea

“I don’t know if Crosby has found a way to pick the lock on his chains or if they’re longer than we anticipated, but he’s ruined it all,” Gustav groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“What do you mean he’s ruined it all?” I whispered, my eyes wide as I stared at Gustav, struggling to wrap my mind around what his words truly meant for us.

“Piss. Shit. Everywhere. It’s all opened and soiled. I’ve left it down there, but I doubt I can save any of it,” he groaned, starting to look a little green in the face. “I didn’t bother shortening the chains since he’s already ruined it all, but we should probably do that.”

No one said anything after that. We all sat silently and nibbled on the small dinner, which wasn’t enough to sustain a child. There was some bread left for the morning, which we would have to eat plain, but after that, we were all out of everything but water. And even then, it was salt water because Crosby had peed in the barrel of filtered water we kept in the bottom deck.

No one would say it as they were far too kind, but I knew this was all my fault. If Crosby wasn’t so mad at me, he wouldn’t have ruined the remainder of our food. If Crosby hadn’t been so obsessed with me, he would have never snuck onboard The Serpent in the first place.

How were we supposed to make it back to Jorvik without any food? We couldn’t even rely on fishing, as we had barely been able to find any these past few days.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be better than today, but I already knew the sea made no promises. It only took prisoners.

We really needed to get to that island. Right now, it was our best hope to make it back to Jorvik alive.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

It had been four whole days since we caught any fish, three days since we finished the last of our bread for breakfast, two days since we had been living on anything but filtered seawater, which was still a little too salty for my taste and one day since I last felt hopeful that we would make it past this alive. Viktor said they had marked the unnamed island on the map the last time they sailed past it, but we were either unable to read the map properly because we were so hungry and not thinking straight, or it had been mismarked because the island was nowhere to be seen.

I was starving yesterday and the day before, but today, I felt sick to my stomach and tired—oh so very tired. And dizzy.

I hadn’t been able to sleep all night because I was so hungry, and neither could Viktor, though he kept assuring me that we would find food soon. I truly wanted to believe him, but the more time passed, the quicker my hope diminished.

“Do you want some water?” Viktor whispered from behind me, curling an arm around my shoulder.

“No,” I whispered back and shook my head. “If I drink any more water on an empty stomach, I’m going to be sick.”

“Drink a little, my siren. I don’t want you to fall sick.”

“I don’t want you to fall sick either,” I murmured, too hungry to make a sassy remark like I normally would have.

“Don’t worry, Astrid. We’re nearly there. By my calculations, we should be docking at the island first thing in the morning,” he tried to assure me. “You’ll be able to make it till the morning, won’t you?”

I nodded and smiled for his sake so as not to worry him more than he already was, but I honestly wasn’t sure. My stomach felt like it would cave in within itself from how empty it was.

“As soon as we get onto the island, I’ll climb the highest tree for you and pick the juiciest piece of fruit it has,” he promised me, and this time, even though it took more effort than I had, I smiled.

“Things might be easier if you just climb the shortest tree,” I told him and smiled wider when he chuckled.

“Even when you’re half-crazed with starvation, you never fail to make me laugh, my siren,” Viktor chuckled and leaned down to nuzzle the tip of his nose against mine. “I knew there was a reason I married you.”

I cocked a teasing brow at him. “You only married me for my humour?”

Viktor opened his mouth, most likely to tease me back, but whatever he was going to say was soon forgotten when shouts of anger sounded out from behind us.

“What is wrong with you? Can’t you see where you’re going?” Dagfinn growled, and we turned just in time to see him push Laurence out of the way, making him stumble back.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” Laurence frowned, catching himself before he tumbled to the ground. “Why are you getting so angry over something so simple?”

“Because you’re getting up in my personal space,” Dagfinn huffed, a sour expression on his face. “Just because that girlyou’re in love with won’t let you come near her doesn’t mean you have to impinge on everyone else’s personal space.”

Laurence’s jaw dropped, and he looked like he was about to blow his top. He probably would have if Gustav hadn’t stepped in, stretching his arms out to keep Dagfinn and Laurence from ripping each other’s throats out.

“There’s no need for this.” Gustav sent Dagfinn a warning look. “Everyone is just temperamental because we’re hungry. You don’t really mean any of this so let’s calm down, okay?”

“Calm down?” Dagfinn scoffed and rolled his eyes. “We would all be calm if only you could do your one job.”

“That’s not fair,” Gustav groaned, his face growing hard. “How can you expect me to cook a dish out of nothing? I’m a Chef, not God! I can’t just whip up food from thin air.”

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