Page 38 of Voice of the Ocean

Raiden considered her proposal in silence.

“All right,” he said at last, “but this better work.”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

“I’m sure you’d like to settle in your quarters,” Raiden said.

Celeste nodded.

Together they walked from the navigation room, down the stairs onto the deck, and into the officers’ quarters. The hallway was short, with only five doors. She knew enough to know the captain’s quarters would be the door at the end of the hall, but she wondered which door was Kiyami’s. Celeste stiffened at the thought, surprised by it. Since when had she begun to care for the human? Raiden strode down the hallway, stopping abruptly in front of a door on the left.

“Yourroom.” He swung open the door with great bravado.

The space was small, only big enough for a single person to lie down in one direction. And it was filled with human clothes. Dresses, pants, skirts, blouses, and belts hung along a rod running through the center. Celeste stepped inside, the smell of musty cloth overwhelming her. Upon the floor sat one flat pillow and a thin blanket. Raiden grinned proudly.

“You wanted your own room, and here it is.” He looked at her frown and added, “I never promised it would benice.”

Celeste felt as though hot steam would come pouring out of her ears. She didn’t expect aniceroom per se, but this was downright fiendish. Especially after seeing the lavish navigation room. Surely the captain’s quarters were as nice, if not nicer. Even the roof of the room was short! It sloped sadly as if sagging under the weight of the deck above. Celeste couldn’t even walk fully into the room without ducking, and she was hardly what one would consider tall. The only benefit was a small circular window where she could look out and see the ocean and the sky. She turned her head to Raiden and fixed him with a glare.

This only made him laugh. “I’ll let you get settled in,” he said smugly, turning away and walking toward the door to his chambers. Which happened to beright beside her room. They even shared a wall! He reached the door before he turned back and added, “You could always sleep with the rest of the crew in the berth if this isn’t to your liking.”

Celeste narrowed her eyes at him, but Raiden merely continued into his quarters, whistling as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

As much as she hated to admit it, she wished she knew what his room looked like. Celeste had encountered so many sunken ships, and on each one the captain’s room was the most exciting. She heaved a sigh, and with the calm of a frenzied shark, she made herself at home. She kicked the pillow away from the door with a bit more aggression than needed and shut it firmly behind her. The room became significantly smaller with the door closed, but it was bright enough with the light from the window.

As she gazed upon the clothes above her, she wondered if perhaps she might borrow them. She hated wearing the clothes she had on. Not to mention she’d been wearing them for days, didn’t like how they felt, and they reminded her of the guard who’d given them to her. It would be preferable to wear no clothes at all, but that didn’t seem safe around humans. So, after shuffling through each item, she found a dress that looked rather pretty. It was a deep reddish purple with huge sleeves and black trim. Celeste happily shed her old clothing, but when she pulled the dress from its hanger, she realized she didn’t know how to put it on. She recalled seeing many women in the jail in various states of undress as she’d practiced her walking, so she knew that women often wore short white pants beneath their dresses. And sometimes even several layers of skirts. So she found things similar and put them on first, followed by a sort of white armor that reminded Celeste of her stingray bodice. It circled her chest and laced up, with rigid boning holding her in place. Her hands tested the sides. Were they whale bones? She could feel the familiar shape of them. How strange that humans used bones in their clothing.

Celeste considered the bodice, wondering if she had in fact put it on correctly. It felt familiar yet terribly constricting. At least the clothing she had found at the jail was flowing. How was she supposed to sit in this? How was she supposed to fight? She felt ridiculous. But she soldiered onward, shuffling the red dress over the top of her head as she’d seen the other women in jail do. If she had put the clothing on incorrectly, she’d find out one way or another. Celeste pulled at the satin ribbons at her front, cinching herself into the dress. A small piece of the white underdress peeked out the front, and Celeste wondered if this was how the women wore them. It looked close enough to what she recalled, and yet was entirely different from what Kiyami wore.

The ship lurched beneath her, and she scampered to the window in time to see them pull away from the harbor.They were leaving. This was it. There was no going back now. A little thrill went through her as she gazed wide-eyed upon the waves moving beneath them, the tightness in her shoulders softening as she watched Port Romsey grow smaller. If everything went according to plan, she’d never see another human town again. This thought, although soothing, bore an unexpected sadness as well. It wasn’t the adventure she’d have chosen for herself, yet it was more than likely this would be the one great adventure of her life. When she returned home to Staria, she doubted the council would let her do much of anything. And honestly, she could not blame them.

Smoothing down her skirts, Celeste opened the door to her room. In the hall, she saw Raiden and Bastian locked in what seemed to be a heated conversation, and she froze.

“We must act quickly if we have any chance of reaching the island before—” The sentence died in Raiden’s throat as he saw Celeste. The princess dipped her head, trying to hide her intrigue as she stepped into the hall with them. If only she’d thought to listen at the door first.

“You—look much improved,” Raiden said, staring.

Celeste flushed. What was that supposed to mean? Something in the way his dark eyes took her in made her feel uncomfortably warm, a feeling she disliked.

“Celeste, now that you’re settled, why don’t you join Kiyami at the helm?” Bastian said, looking between the two.

She nodded, thankful for any excuse to leave. Out on the deck, the ship was a flurry of activity. Everywhere she looked strange men scrambled around—releasing sails, adjusting rigging, and securing things on board. She thanked the Goddess for her good fortune that she had been assigned the role of navigator, for if she had been asked to do anything else, she would surely be found out. Kiyami stood behind the great wheel of the ship, her hair whipping behind her like a black flag. The ship was heading south, as Celeste had suggested. Pride swelled in her chest as she looked out over the roaring ocean. Despite her disdain for the prince and his obvious distrust of her, he hadn’t questioned her. Hadn’t ignored her advice or discounted her opinion. A smile formed on her lips. She wasnavigatingaship. She wanted to sing.

“A beautiful day to begin an adventure, wouldn’t you say?” Kiyami shouted down to her.

Celeste grinned and walked up the stairs, pulling fistfuls of her skirt up to avoid tripping. When she reached the top of the quarterdeck, Kiyami raised her eyebrows.

“That dress becomes you,” she said, then added with a cheeky grin, “I imagine our captain will be pleased.”

Celeste grimaced.

“Only teasing!” she said through her laughter. “But it’s hard not to notice how he can’t—stop—looking—at you.” Celeste continued to thwack her in between each word. Of course, she wouldn’t have said such a thing if Kiyami knew the truth ofwhyRaiden insisted on keeping such a close watch on Celeste. But she wouldn’t correct her. She had no affection for the prince, though shewasfinding moments of excitement among these humans. Still, every day she spent here was another day her mother and father worried for her. And she couldn’t bear the thought that she was hurting them.Tonight you will work to find out more about this treasure, she told herself.The sooner I can get the information and kill him, the sooner I can go home.Home. Celeste’s heart ached in her chest. She was so close to it, and yet she couldn’t feel farther away.

* * *

The day passed slowly. For the most part, they were following along Ethoria’s coastline. But not too closely. Celeste watched with fascination as Port Romsey’s flat, broken town gave way to vast golden fields, then to hills, then to rocky cliffs so high they seemed unreal. Occasionally, Celeste would direct Kiyami to avoid shallow waters or rocky terrain. They worked in companionable silence under the watchful eye of their captain, who was never far from view. He milled around the ship, shouting orders and breaking up disputes. There were an oddly large number of fights, most involving Torben.

“I brought a present for our first day,” Nasir said, lumbering up the stairs.

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