Page 62 of Voice of the Ocean

“The port will be busy, but it shouldn’t impact us too much. Shops will still be open. It just might take a little more time. We’ll be able to grab some men and gather the supplies quickly. We won’t have to lose more than a day if we’re quick,” Bastian said.

The group fell into conversation, planning who should go where to get what. All the while, Bastian and Raiden made very little eye contact.

After breakfast, Celeste dove straight into her work. She went over the new course with Raiden and helped Kiyami navigate toward Port Velluno. After lunch, she trained with Kiyami, who decided to introduce sparring. Celeste beamed at the news. Because Kiyami felt it best to watch to give Celeste feedback, she suggested Celeste partner with someone else.

Raiden volunteered.

“I’m not sure you should be sparring, Rai.” Kiyami crossed her arms. “If I recall, you were just shot days ago.”

“I was shot in my left arm. My sword arm is fine.” He grinned.

Even with his assurance, Kiyami ran belowdecks to check with Nasir. Nasir agreed Raiden shouldn’t be fighting while injured, but given he would only be practicing at a rather slow pace, he saw no harm in it.

Celeste could seesomeharm in it, just not forhim. Everything about Raiden was distracting to her today. From the way his dark hair clung to his forehead to the way his muscles moved beneath his shirt as he got in his fighting stance before her. Turning her gaze away, she tied her hair back at the nape and drew her own sword. Much to her surprise, he did not smirk or open his mouth to tease her as she lowered into her fighting posture.

“Wider stance, Celeste, and check your balance,” Kiyami said.

Celeste did her best not to flush as she made the proper adjustments. She could feel Raiden’s steady gaze burning into her skin.

“Raiden, I want you to react to her and keep her moving. Don’t put pressure on her yet.”

He nodded, and Celeste lifted a brow in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to take this seriously, but she was rather thankful he was.

“Begin,” Kiyami said.

Raiden advanced but did not strike. In response, Celeste retreated a step, keeping the same distance between her feet as she was taught. She took a step to the side. He followed. With a swing, Celeste swiped toward the side of his torso. But it was easily met, the swords colliding with a clang. He took a step to the side, and she followed. Everything on the ship died away until there was only the two of them, circling each other. There was no leader in the dance and no follower.

Raiden jabbed his sword toward her, and she twirled out of its path, swinging her own sword in retaliation. He met it at the last second with his own, and the steel of the swords slid against each other with a satisfying hiss.

“Maintain distance,” Kiyami’s voice drifted to her.

Celeste hadn’t realized it, but they’d been drawing closer to each other. As if he were the moon and she were the helpless tide. Raiden lowered his sword, waiting for Celeste to make the correction. Shaking out her arms, Celeste drew back and lifted her sword to his throat to check they were once again far enough apart not to injure each other. A knifelike smile appeared on Raiden’s face as his eyes slid down the length of her sword to rest on her face.

“Your move,” he said.

She lunged, hoping to catch him by surprise, but with one swipe of his sword, he knocked her attack away. She stepped toward him again, careful to maintain their distance, first slashing from the right side, and then the left. Each blow he met easily as she backed him toward the side of the ship. Celeste jabbed once more, and he sliced his sword down in a twirling arc, knocking her sword back to her side. But as he did so, his heel knocked against the side of the ship.

“You’re improving,” he said, taking a step toward her and away from the ship’s banister. Celeste raised her sword back to his throat with a grin, warning him not to step closer. His dark brows raised an inch in surprise. He took a look around himself. Before she could react, he leaped onto the ship’s banister and took off. Celeste’s mouth fell open, and she looked over at Kiyami for assistance.

“I thought you were helping her train, Captain.” Kiyami laughed.

“I am.” He stopped to look back at Celeste with a smirk. “The first lesson is to never trust a pirate to fight fair.”

With a roll of her eyes, Celeste raced after him, but he was faster. He grabbed a rope and swung across the deck, landing behind her. She spun to face him, and he swiped at her, his sword passing so close she had to jump out of its path. They fell into a new dance. The movements were invigorating. Her eyes shone bright with excitement. Every step, and every slash, they matched each other. Celeste almost forgot about the lesson. All her attention was on her opponent, and he looked at her as though there was no one else. He never pushed too much or tried to corner her. But he challenged her. He would begin a pattern only to break it, to test if she were paying attention.

Eventually, her arms grew tired, and the muscles in her thighs sang. Raiden must have noticed, for his tactics changed. He started to make his movements more erratic and difficult to keep up with. Multiple times he would switch directions quickly, making her almost lose her footing. But Celeste was familiar with training like this. It was always when she started reaching her limit that she needed to push further. That’s when the real work began. They continued, moving across the ship until Celeste began making foolish mistakes. When she missed an easy parry, Kiyami at last interrupted them.

“That’s enough for today.”

Celeste couldn’t tell if they had been sparring for minutes or hours. With a blink, she stepped away from Raiden, breaking herself from the spell.

“Good work,” he said, chest rising and falling slightly.

Celeste sheathed her sword and bowed her head in thanks. He had been the perfect partner. She felt guilty for assuming the worst of him earlier.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a dazzling smile.

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