Page 43 of Voice of the Ocean

Celeste turned to do the same, but Raiden cut in front of her path, causing her to halt so she didn’t run into him.

“Take one step out of line, and I’ll make you wish I had drowned that day.”

I already do.

Celeste tried to stride past him, but he blocked her path once more. She tried again, and still he stopped her. So she grabbed his arm, turned, and flung him over her head. Or at least that’s how it would have worked underwater. Instead, her legs locked together, throwing her off-balance, and he didn’t so much fly through the air as tumble over her shoulder and onto his back. Still, it did the job.

Raiden’s breath left him at once in an audiblewhoosh. He clutched his stomach, coughing. When he looked up, the hate in his gaze looked as though it could burn her.

Celeste stepped over him, refusing to meet his eye, and strode to her room.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

Celeste awoke to the sound of banging. Her heart pounded a furious rhythm against her chest as she sat upright, her head just missing the bottoms of an array of coats. The thin cover she wore was twisted up around her legs. It was dark, so she couldn’t guess what time it was, but she knew it had been hours since she had gone to bed. She knew this because once again she had tossed and turned. Every time she felt herself falling into sleep’s embrace, she began to feel the hands of the guard upon her body, the knife against her skin, and she would jolt awake, sweating. But she must have fallen asleep at some point, because she distinctly remembered having a nightmare in which Kiyami had grown fangs and tried to rip out her neck.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

The noise shook the little room. It sounded as if it came from the wall she shared with the captain’s quarters. A wave of anger rolled through her, and she hammered her fist against the wall. One, two, three times. Silence. Then

Bang. Bang. Bang.

He was insufferable. Celeste let out a frustrated sound and slammed her palm against the wall three times.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

His muffled voice came through the wall.“Stop making noise! You’re waking me up!”

She wished she could yell back.You wokemeup!But instead she lay down and muffled her frustrated scream with a pillow.Soon, she reminded herself.Soon it’ll all be over, and I can go home.

* * *

Raiden did not speak to Celeste the following day, nor the day after. Save for waking her up in the middle of the night to yell at her for being loud. Each night she wished she could scream that she couldn’t help that she was having nightmares. And each day that passed without her learning anything new about the treasure made her more anxious. Should she just kill him to get it over with? Return to her siren form and visit the island herself? But in her gut, she knew there must be something else. Something that had to do with the king.

Countless times, Celeste felt Raiden’s heated gaze on her back and would turn to see him glaring at her, suspicion rolling off his broad shoulders in waves. And every time she would meet his glare with one of her own. Whatever had caused his sudden attitude shift remained a mystery to her. Not that they were exactly friends before, but at least he spoke to her. And although part of her was relieved to no longer have him pestering her with his confident grin and cheeky jokes, it was hurting her chances to learn anything useful. Raiden was as temperamental as a flame. One moment his light was steady and warm, and the next he was a raging fire, burning down everything in his path.

And one small part of her, a part she did not wish to acknowledge, missed the attention.

Celeste really hated that part.

On day three, Raiden requested she look over the map again to see if they were making good progress. The conversation was stilted, and not because Celeste couldn’t talk.

On the fourth day at sea, Bastian spotted another ship.

“It’s a cargo ship,” he reported. The crew gathered around to hear more, but Celeste was more interested in what Bastian was holding than what he was saying. Bastian peered down a beautiful golden tube that was larger on one end than the other. When he lowered the object from his face, Celeste reached out a hand, excitedly asking with her eyes if she could take a look. It had become a somewhat normal occurrence in the past couple of days. If anyone found it odd that their navigator was constantly excited over various tools and objects, no one said anything. With a smile, Bastian acquiesced, placing the shining golden tube gently into Celeste’s waiting palm. It was surprisingly heavy. When she placed the small end in front of her eye, as Bastian had, she found the horizon as close as if she could reach out her hand and touch it. With a hum of excitement, Celeste turned and began to scan the seas around them, searching for the cargo ship.

“Must be coming from Port Warren,” Raiden said.

Celeste had never seen Port Warren, but she knew it was south of Romsey. It was known for being a larger and wealthier town than Port Romsey, a destination for traders. She turned her head once more, and finally saw it. The cargo ship. Due southwest of them and heading north. Huge white sails puffed up like clouds around it, and a blue flag fluttered near the front. She wasn’t sure how Bastian knew it was a cargo ship. Was the flag the indicator? Or perhaps the type of ship? After looking around a bit more, and seeing nothing of interest, Celeste handed the object back to Bastian.

“Kiyami, change course. I’d like to say hello,” the prince said with a smile. The one that reminded Celeste of a shark.

“Yes, Captain,” Kiyami said.

Bastian grinned. “Shall we prepare for boarding, Highness?”

“Oh yes, certainly.”

Bastian shouted the signal, and the ship whipped into a flurry of energy.

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