Page 64 of Astrid at Sea

“It’s too near,” I protested, my lips curving down at the corners. “We’re not even supposed to see Treasure Island from here.”

“The map must be off.” His eyes were glued to the map. “Greenland must have made a miscalculation.”

“Or maybe this isn’t Treasure Island?”

Viktor frowned. “How can you be sure?”

I pursed my lips. “What if this is just another island?” I asked, studying the map. “What if this island is like Canne? What if it’s dangerous?”

He squeezed my hip. “We’ll be more cautious this time,” he assured me. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, my siren. Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” I exhaled and leaned into his chest, needing him like I needed air. “I’m just worried.”

“I know, my siren. I’m also worried but have a gut feeling about this.” He brushed his lips against my forehead. “I might be wrong, but we can’t ignore this island. Let’s sail around it and continue forward. If the map is correct and this is just another island that isn’t on it, we’ll continue to Greenland. They’ll be able to confirm if the map is mistaken.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t wholly convinced.

“How many days have we left until Greenland?” I asked.

“Five.”

So, that would be five days to get to Greenland and then another five days to get back to this island if it did turn out to be Treasure Island. If the map were indeed wrong, then it would be a massive waste of time.

Two hours passed on our journey to Greenland, and we were close to the mystery island.

“If this does turn out to be Treasure Island, then the pirates were just rumours,” I murmured, glancing around the shore but not spotting a single ship anywhere. And certainly not one that resembled belonging to a wicked and dangerous group of pirates.

“I had a feeling that they were just rumours,” Viktor murmured, and I didn’t miss the sound of relief in his voice. “You’re still not convinced this is Treasure Island, my siren?”

“I’m not sure anymore.” I gnawed on my bottom lip. “What are the chances Greenland would fail to mention that they had another deserted island nearby?”

“Absolutely no chance.”

“It’s deserted like we expect Treasure Island to be,” I murmured. “One deserted island right next to another deserted island? What are the chances?”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, my siren,” he chuckled, and I didn’t miss the way he pressed his foot down harder on the button to make the oars row faster.

“I really don’t have a good feeling about this, Viktor.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Maybe we should just go to Greenland.”

“Okay,” he agreed but didn’t sound convinced.

Viktor and I were still torn about whether this was Treasure Island, but we continued to sail around it anyway. Another two hours passed, and the mystery island was a blimp in the background as we left it in our wake, but I couldn’t get rid of the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Do you think I’m being too cautious?” I asked. “What if it turns out to be Treasure Island, and we’re just wasting our time by not checking it out now.”

Viktor was silent for a moment, thinking hard. “The worst that can happen is that we waste some time and must come back.”

“And the best?”

“It turns out to be Treasure Island, and we make all of Barden’s dreams come true.”

“And map miscalculations? You said they’re common.”

“More common than you think,” he chuckled, the sound a little strained.

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