Page 65 of Astrid at Sea

“It sure does look deserted,” I murmured, eyeing the overgrown greenery and forest which ate away at the back of the island, making it impossible to dock there and forcing us to go around to the front once again.

Viktor squeezed my hip. “What do you want to do, my siren? Air on the side of caution or take a risk and pray it pays off?”

Even though I was severely traumatised by our experience at Canne, I reached out for the wheel and turned it as far as I went. Viktor grinned into my hair as The Serpent did a three-sixty-degree turn, and before we knew it, we were docking up at the mystery island.

Viktor didn’t bother putting down the ramp for us to walk down, as it was only the two of us. There was no point this late at night when everyone was still asleep.

“There are no ships,” I whispered, my eyes trailing up and down the shore. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Better than Canne, that’s for sure.”

Viktor pressed his hand to the small of my back and guided me to the front of the ship, glancing over the serpent mounted at the front.

“There are weeds everywhere,” he said, and I could hear the frown in his voice. “If there were anyone living here, even pirates, it wouldn’t look this bad.”

“If there were pirates here, we would have spotted their ship,” I pointed out, and he hummed in agreement.

“I really think this is it,” Viktor exhaled, and a wave of relief washed over me for the first time tonight.

There were no pirates, and there looked to be no one living here, either. This island was truly deserted.

Treasure Island.

“What’s the plan?” I asked Viktor in a small voice.

“I’m going to stay out here, just in case, but there’s nothing for us to do until the morning. We can start searching for the treasure once everyone is awake and we’ve had breakfast.”

“I’ll stay out here with you,” I told Viktor, raising my chin in defiance, telling him that there was nothing he could say or do to change my mind.

“Well, it’s a good thing we’ve got a blanket here with us, isn’t it?” Viktor chuckled and dropped himself to the deck, stretching his legs out in front of him.

I wasted no time joining him, sitting between his legs and resting my head against his chest. I sighed and closed my eyes when he threw the blanket over us, tucking me in.

Between Viktor’s arms and the blanket, I was all snuggly and warm, and I struggled to resist the wave of sleep that threatened to take me. I blinked my eyes rapidly and shifted around, trying to keep them open in case something happened, but there was no use.

It had been a long couple of days, and out here, on the deck, in the middle of the night, in my husband’s arms, I welcomed the sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

What should have been a peaceful sleep turned out to be rather difficult. I woke up several times during the night, twisting and turning in Viktor’s arms, trying to get more comfortable.

Perhaps spending the night out on the deck wasn’t the best idea.

The only thing that made it bearable was spending the night in my husband’s arms, but for some bizarre reason, I didn’t wake up in them.

“Viktor?” I called out to him, my voice groggy with sleep. “I think we fell asleep,” I groaned again and rubbed my eyes. Don’t tell me you’re still asleep,” I chuckled, but when I opened my eyes and glanced around, the sound quickly died.

My eyes widened, and I sat up straighter, frantically glancing left and right and turning my head in all directions.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I wasn’t on The Serpent anymore. That much was clear to me already.

I had fallen asleep on The Serpent in Viktor’s arms but had awoken in an unfamiliar bottom deck of a ship I didn’t recognise.

Where was I?

How did I get here?

And most importantly, where was Viktor?

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