Page 38 of Ship of Shadows
Bartholomew swallowed. “Well, yes, but?—”
I stood. “When are we going to be passing Porth?”
Bartholomew paled. “I think around evening time tomorrow? But, Princess?—”
I stalked toward Bastian’s cabin.
“Where are you going?” Bartholomew called after me.
“To have a little chat with the pirate lord.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Absolutely not,” Bastian said while sitting at his desk, back to me. He hunched over, scribbling something on parchment with a pen.
The navigator looked between us before quickly leaving the cabin, most likely sensing this was a conversation he didn’t need to be part of.
“Why?” I pressed. “Bartholomew said we have to stop for supplies, and it’s on our way, so what’s the problem?”
Bastian paused, setting down the pen and turning to me. “Because I don’t have time for a side quest. Finding out what happened to your father was not part of our deal. I said I would tell you what happened, and that was it.”
“So, then, what happened? You still haven’t told me.”
Bastian leaned back in his chair, stretching out a long leg. “Actually, I said I would tell you if you were nice.”
“After what you did to me, to my court, you’re lucky I haven’t gutted you with a knife. That’s about as nice as I’ll get.”
“Well, to be fair, you did try and drown me.”
I shook my head. “Forget it. Talking with you is a waste of time, as usual.” I turned to go.
“After you so kindly tricked me and wrecked my ship,” he said, stopping me in my tracks, “my crew and I fled on abandoned rowboats we found littering that little cove on the northern shore. We were afraid your guards would be coming after us if we didn’t make a quick exit. Since you so kindly stole the pixie dust, I planned on hiding out for a few days, then coming back for my ship and the dust. Except a storm hit us, carrying us far out to sea. I didn’t have any of my supplies: no compass, no map, nothing. We got lost at sea, starving, parched, baking under the sun. From there we experienced months of setbacks trying to make our way back to Apolis. Everything you can think of: storms, attacks, getting lost, getting stranded, sickness. We almost didn’t survive.”
If he was trying to make me feel bad, it wasn’t working. He’d deserved everything that had come his way. I turned, now fully invested in his tale.
He rubbed his jaw. “After months of bad luck, we finally washed up on Porth, on the jungle side, opposite of where the town is.”
I stepped closer. “And that’s where you found my father’s ship?”
“Aye.”
I shook my head. That didn’t make sense. That was way off course if my father was trying to get to the shadow court. Or maybe he’d found a clue about how to help my brothers and it had led him to Porth. Even more reason why I needed to get to that island.
“We saw the ship, saw that it had been abandoned, and stole it.” Bastian cleared his throat. “We had business to attend to before we could make it back to Apolis.”
“Business.” I crossed my arms. “Is that what you call stealing people’s shadows?”
Bastian held my stare, not an ounce of shame in his blank expression. “Yes, that is what I call it.” He stood and walked toward me, too close for comfort. “We got our bearings and finally made our way back to Apolis. And you know the rest.”
I did. Every moment since he’d sailed back into my life was branded into my mind. “We need to stop in Porth,” I said.
Bastian stepped closer, his fists tight at his sides. “I already told you, I found nothing at the site of your father’s ship. No remains, no signs of anyone.”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust you. I want to investigate for myself.”
His voice lowered. “And what is it going to take for you to trust me?” His fingers twitched, like he wanted to reach out and touch me.
My traitorous body wanted him to. I might have made up my mind about hating him, but my body hadn’t caught up yet.
