Page 54 of Voice of the Ocean

Celeste nodded and gestured broadly toward the rest of the officers’ rooms.

“I see. I’d imagine Bastian recognized my father’s seal.”

She didn’t need to give him confirmation. He already knew.

Raiden fell quiet, examining the piece of parchment again for any indication of what had once been written on it. He looked angry, and Celeste couldn’t decide if it was because the crew knew about the letter, because he couldn’t read it, or if there was something else. Silence fell as he ran his eyes over the wet parchment again and again. Finally, he set it down on the bedside table. He sank down into the mattress, running his hand through his hair. Whatever he was thinking about, he did not share it with her.

Ocean waves thumped against the side of the ship. The Admiral breathed deeply, perhaps snoring. She reached her hand out toward the animal and affectionately rubbed her thumb along the bridge of his nose.

“Thank you,” Raiden said at last.

Celeste looked up at him, brows furrowed.

“For saving my life again,” he added.

I shouldn’t have.

Another silence.

With her duty now fulfilled, there was no reason for her to stay. But perhaps she could search a bit before he asked her to take her leave. It was the first time she was in his chamber, after all—maybe she could pass it off as idle curiosity. Rising from the bed, Celeste saw the Admiral stir. His large brown eyes watched her as she walked in a great curve around the room, taking in each painting, each little treasure in the room that was not Raiden’s. And some she guessed might have been. But she froze when she found his gun, sitting upon the top of his dresser. In an instant, she was there again. Watching in horror as the bullet went through him. How he crumpled. The bloody trail he left.

Soft footsteps sounded upon the carpet. She turned to see Raiden standing behind her,lookingat her. It was unnerving, being seen like this. It was as though he looked into her very soul. Saw the beating heart inside her. A heart she did not wish for him to know. Celeste made to step past him, when a gentle hand circled her wrist.

“Are you okay?”

The touch sent a shock through her. But for once it did not make her shake like a battered sail. Her eyes fell to his hand, so loose she could pull away. She didn’t. It took a moment to remember what he had said. Her eyes found his face, so open in the candlelight. So unlike the hardened, cocky pirate she knew. Was he only searching for more information? A bat of the eye or a curve of her lip that would betray her?

Of course she wasn’t okay. But it wasn’t his business. And who was he to check on her? This man who had threatened her after she saved his life, and in doing so, ruined hers. Why did everyone think she was this weak thing that needed to be checked on?

And what’s worse...Why did she wish she could tell him everything?This prince who somehow knew everything she was feeling and told her so little. This man who was an enemy to her people. A killer. A pirate. Even if he was sincere. Even if he cared about her... wasn’t that worse? She was sent here to kill him.

She should do it now.

The dagger hidden at her side suddenly felt uncomfortable. Celeste pulled her hand away from him, trying to break their connection. But it remained. They stood so close together. Close enough to stab him. And yet too close to breathe. Heart hammering, Celeste slid her hand to her hip. Beneath her fingers, she felt the hilt of her dagger.It could all be over. She only needed to be quick.

“I thought I heard a noise coming from your room,” he said.

Celeste’s hand curled around the dagger’s hilt.

“I’ve been shot before. It’s a sort of occupational risk.” He paused and took a breath as if he wanted to share more but thought better of it. Instead, he continued. “But today scared me. I’ve never been with people this inexperienced. When we were surrounded, I was afraid of my crew getting hurt.Again.” The way he said that last word left her ruined.

Why was he telling her these things? To gain her sympathy?Her grip on the dagger tightened. In silence, she watched him step away and sink back onto the bed. His shoulders sagged, and he stared at the floor. It wasn’t the son of her enemy before her. It was a captain who was haunted by those he had lost. Without meaning to, her hand fell to her side.

“I knocked because—” He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and he sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know why I knocked.” Celeste walked to the bed and sat down between him and his dog. In response, the Admiral snuggled a bit closer, his head against her thigh. “I suppose I wanted to see if you were all right. If you needed some company...” Raiden let the sentence trickle off at the end, a question. The dagger against her hip burned.

A part of her wanted to accept this peace offering. To dive into it headfirst and see how deep it was and where it went. To share every color of these feelings inside her with him. But she was sent here to kill him, and she was beginning to realize that being around him made it too hard. This path did not lead anywhere good. In fact, she was sure it would lead to her own ruin, in one way or the other. And so, despite every part of her wishing to stay, to lean into this warmth and let herself be seen, she lifted her stubborn chin and rose from the bed.

Perhaps today she was not strong enough to kill him. But she had to be strong enough to leave.

If Raiden was unconvinced by her performance, he didn’t say anything. He merely nodded. She could tell there was something else he wanted to say. Something hanging in the air between them. And yet he turned his gaze away, to the darkness beyond the windows.

“Goodnight, then,” he said.

She closed the door behind her.

* * *

Alone in her room, Celeste lay on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. What had possibly been the third-worst day of her life was now over. The second and first being the day she betrayed the Chorus and the day she arrived in Port Romsey.

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