Page 111 of Quarter Labyrinth

His head turned to stare out the windows. Heavy curtains of dark blue velvet hung to either side, tied back with golden cords. “We don’t know,” he admitted, the words heavy with guilt. “We were on shore at Cavernaugh unloading supplies two years ago, and he vanished. We searched everywhere, but…” His jaw tightened. “We had to set sail. I haven’t heard from him since.”

His eyes met mine then, and they softened. “I would have come for you and your mother. I knew he planned to do so. But your father kept your location so hidden, not even I knew where it was, nor how to write to you. I’ve known you were out there, Serenity. I’ve known this ship belonged to you. But I couldn’t get to you.”

I stared at him, my fingers tightening on the edge of the book. The air felt heavier now. The word “sorry” echoed faintlyin my mind, but it wasn’t enough to fill the void left by my father’s absence.

“He was meant to be here to guide me,” I whispered. I put the book back on the shelf. “I don’t know how to be a captain. I need someone to guide me. This ship, it already runs perfectly fine without me, and I don’t want to disrupt that. Teach me what I need to know, and I promise to devote my life to serving this crew.”

He smiled. His large hand came to squeeze my shoulder. “I will teach you everything your father taught me.”

My chest tightened, but I went on. “Others will be coming. Someone will win the labyrinth in a few days, and they’ll expect the ship. I don’t plan to give it to them.”

Jorin shrugged. “As far as this crew is concerned, you are our captain now.”

Now I could cry. But I kept the joyous tears at bay a while longer. “And someday, when we find the right time, we are going to search again for my father.”

Jorin took the hat off the table, but instead of putting it on his head, he placed it on mine. The weight of it settled unfamiliarly, and it reached almost to my brow, but I adored the feeling. I looked up at him under it, and he grinned down at me.

“As you say, Captain.”

FIFTY-ONE

Someone arrived to claim the Silver Wings two days later. He came on the back of Callahan’s ships, a full fleet at his back, and his father’s ships trailing behind.

Leif stood at the helm, gazing over the Silver Wings.

The moment we spotted them, I signaled theNorth Starto approach theSea Serpent. Once there, I climbed up the hull. Then North Star drifted out again. I watched the decoy ship leave with Jorin at my side.

We faced the oncoming ships.

The crew of the Sea Serpent had been notified of everythingthey needed to know.

They knew I was the daughter of Gerald Montclair.

They knew my father pledged the ships to me.

They knew I wasn’t letting them go.

And being as they didn’t care to hand them over simply because someone won the labyrinth, they were more than willing to stand behind me as I claimed them.

A figure stood beside Leif. From his narrow frame and silver hair, I guessed him to be Callahan. He wore long robes that staved off the chill, and a deep frown as he took us in.

“Silver Wings, I am the winner of the Quarter Labyrinth, and I claim you as my fleet!” Leif’s voice rang out over the waves. His figure stood tall on the deck of his ship, the wind catching his dark hair as he raised his arm like a conquering hero.

How dramatic. But I had to give it to him—it was about time he finally won something.

“They are already claimed,” I shouted back, letting my voice cut through the salty air like a blade.

Leif’s head snapped in my direction, his sharp gaze locking onto me as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. The faint shimmer of shock in his expression was almost worth all the trouble it had taken to get here. The tattoo on my arm quickened.

He couldn’t have thought I’d died—his tattoo would have stopped beating. But I bet he never expected to see me here, standing at the helm of theSea Serpent, wearing the captain’s hat.

“And who are you to claim them?” Callahan asked. His grizzled voice carried authority as he stepped forward on the deck of the lead ship. His coat was heavy with gold trim, theunmistakable mark of a man who had spent decades ruling these seas.

“Leif can tell you who I am,” I called back, resting a hand on the wooden railing of the helm. “Or was he too distracted by kissing me to remember my name?”

A ripple of laughter spread across the deck of theSea Serpent. The sailors on Leif’s vessels exchanged glances.

Leif’s cheeks turned a deep crimson. He whispered something hurriedly to Callahan.

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