Page 104 of Of the Stars and Sea

Rolling my eyes, I retreat towards the door.

“Where are you going?” he asks, standing where I left him, gawking at me.

“You have a crew of men out there waiting for their captain to guide them through this perilous trek. Just like you said, they need to know everything will be okay. But so do you. Which iswhy I’m not going to stand here and allow you to pout. Let’s go up there and get this done.”

Grayson huffs a breath then smiles. “You’re right,” he finally says, striding toward me.

Stopping with my hand on the doorknob, I smirk up at him. “Hmm, say that again. I liked the sound of it.”

He smacks my backside with his open palm and I squeal. Then he dips his head low and whispers into my ear, “You’re right.”

The winds have picked up since last night and they’re not exactly in our favor.

Grayson, Zaos, and I peer across the ship to the stone isles protruding from the ocean’s surface just ahead of us.

“If these winds pick up anymore, we’re not going to be able to steer her well enough to avoid the rocks,” Zaos says, bringing the spyglass to his right eye.

“Remember, it’s not just the stone you see cresting the surface that we have to worry about. It reaches out beneath the surface, much like a mountain you see on land. The top is the narrowest point.” Grayson points to the right where there’s a cluster of the isles set closer together than the ones on the left. “We need to avoid the right side as much as possible. We’ll run her aground if we get too close.”

“You ran the path with your helmsman, right?” I ask, suddenly feeling all the bravado I had earlier, before we left Grayson’s room, leave my body. The idea that we might sink our own ship and subsequently maroon ourselves on theseabandoned islands—with enemies hot on our trail, for that matter—is a formidable one that I’ve avoided thinking about until now.

He places his hand at the small of my back. “Yes,” he says, but his voice is neutral, making it hard to discern his level of confidence.

“I guess it’s time then,” I whisper, my words getting lost in the wind.

I feel Grayson go still next to me. I know he’s biding his time.

What we’re about to do . . . it places every person on this ship at risk.

And I know the weight he carries on his shoulders as the captain. It’s the same weight I’ve carried on mine since I was bequeathed theTrinityafter my father’s death. As captain, we take great honor in the prizes we steal. We also shoulder the greatest sorrow when things go wrong.

Looking to the blue sky above, I send a silent prayer to the heavens that we will not lose a single soul. The only answer I get back is the ominous whipping sounds of the wind tearing across the deck of the ship.

Grayson steps toward the railing. All eyes shift to him, where his men are gathered at the center of the deck.

He spreads his hands out wide along the railing as he addresses his crew. “Dead Man’s Passage has claimed countless lives. Today, we embark on our journey across the stone isles to the Solise Mountains that lie just beyond. This trek is perilous. I do not want to deny you that truth. Keep your wits about you and watch out for your fellow brethren, because if we make it to the other side, we will be one step closer to the greatest treasure ever bestowed upon this world!”

Grayson unsheathes his sword and juts it into the air.

Roars from his crew rise from the main deck as they do the same. Metal from their swords glints in the sunlight asthey begin to chant their captain’s name. Growing louder. And louder.

Chills spread across my skin as I take in the sight of him, fully in his element. The great leader beckoning his men to chase after death in the pursuit of something more wondrous than any pirate has ever laid their eyes upon. Gold and jewels that are meant for a god. Coin that will buy our freedom a thousand times over. Each one of our lives will be forever changed once we cross Dead Man’s Passage.

“To your stations!” Zaos yells from my side as the chants die down. All the men scatter, hurrying to their respective positions as they sheathe their swords.

Zaos and I flank Grayson at the railing.

“Are you ready?” Grayson asks, his blue eyes meeting mine.

“Ready,” I say firmly, the apprehension shifting into excitement. I am made of salt and water and should this day claim my soul, I know my body will rest where my soul is meant to rise—from the murky depths.

Grayson looks out over his ship and a wicked smile curls the right edge of his lips. “Weigh anchor! Release the sails!”

There’s no turning back now.

Everyone is quiet as we enter Dead Man’s Passage, the first large isles sit to our left and right, just far enough from each other that theCaelestiacan pass through without scraping the bottom.

“Steady!” Grayson calls down to his helmsman as I see him straining to hold the wheel tight against the growing wind.

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