Page 14 of Virelai's Hoard
Her two free bells passed by with Pip sneaking her some cold, slimy algae–“It’s my favorite food!”–and dragging her all over the ship. He talked incessantly as he showed her every room he could think of, including the way to the officers’ cabins, and, nearly to the opposite side of the ship, the crew’s quarters.
Despite having seen it before already, Riley shuddered again at the sight of the hammocks, so close to each other you only had to reach out a hand to touch the next. There was no way she was going to sleep here. The thought of letting her guard down around so many people was incomprehensible. She needed to figure out a different arrangement for herself by tonight.
Ignorant of her private dread, Pip moved them along. His tour of the ship was so thorough they’d even found Maren hidden in the cargo room and dozing off, to Pip’s consternation. The kidalso made it a point to introduce Patch–now warmed up to him after Pip snuck him a piece of bread from the galley–to everyone who didn’t seem too busy, only mentioning Riley herself as an afterthought.
“I’m not gonna show you the bilge,” Pip said in the end. “It’s dark and wet and grimy and the air there stinks.” But he showed her the way there, should she want to check it herself for whatever inconceivable reason.
With that, he scampered off without as much as a goodbye.
***
It felt like forever until Riley was allowed to go for dinner in the crew’s mess, along with most of the other pirates. Starving and exhausted, she picked one of the built-in wooden tables near one corner, away from everyone else, and sat down with her food. She was happy to just be getting fed at this point, and she hadn’t even paid any mind to the contents of the bowl until after she’d shoveled the first mouthful.
A faint, surprised moan resounded deep in her throat.
Dragged out of her numb tiredness, Riley looked down at her bowl proper. It was a thick stew, made with beans, fish–smoked, judging by the aftertaste–andspices. When was the last time she’d eaten something with spices? Suddenly greedy for more, she dug into the hot, rich meal, nearly closing her eyes in delight with every bite.
She was so taken with the unexpectedly good food that she failed to notice the two pirates settling in opposite her.
“You lost us a bet,” one of them said.
Riley startled, her awareness snapping back into place. It was a man and a woman, sitting close together, ugly smirks twisting their faces. Only now did Riley realize that picking a table away from everyone else had made her a target.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, meeting their gazes head on and hoping they wouldn’t notice her hand inching toward the dagger at her hip.
“You weren’t supposed to make it on the ship,” the woman said, looking at her in disgust. “Just look at you. You’re like, half-starved.”
The man’s teeth glinted in the lantern light as he said, “The way I see it, you owe us.”
Riley’s fingers gripped the hilt of her dagger. Slowly, she slid it out–or meant to. A hand settled on her shoulder.
She froze.
This was what happened when she let her guard down. Someone snuck up on her, and now she wouldn’t be able to defend herself. She had nothing to pay them with.
Stupid. How could she be so careless?
“I think bullying is against the rules,” a vaguely familiar voice at her back said. “But I’m not sure. I could go ask the captain what she thinks about it and get back to you, if you give me a moment.”
The pirates opposite her paled. “N-no, that’s not–I think we just got confused. We don’t need to disturb the cap for something so small. It’s nothing.”
The two were gone in the blink of an eye.
Riley turned to her savior, heart still hammering in her throat. It was the pirate she’d briefly met before. Pip’s friend. Eryx.
They smiled mildly at her, dropping their hand from her shoulder. “Sorry. I’m sure you had that handled, but drawing a blade unprovoked is also against the rules.” Before Riley could say anything, Eryx reached out and set a small wooden jar on the table. “I just meant to give you this. For your hands. It should help. And you don’t need to worry about those two. They try that scheme with everyone, but really, they’re harmless.”
With that, Eryx left.
Riley followed them with her gaze, bemused. Then, she pocketed the jar and went in search of somewhere safe to sleep.
***
“When can I get to climbing?” Riley asked Kittredge the next morning.
“Once you learn the knots.” Kit patted her on the shoulder and took the pitiful knot from her lap, untangled it, and showed her again the proper way to do it. “You know, it might be easier without the glove.”
Riley’s jaw set in a hard line. “I’m good. I’ll figure it out.”
