Page 26 of Lost Starlight
I did not like him calling her pretty, but that was only because I cared about her.
“Do stop. We will question thisSandsperson tomorrow and see what comes of it.”
“Sounds fine to me,” William said, sitting down behind his desk. I watched as he pulled some of his dried fruit from a jar. “Are you eating?” he asked, motioning to the jar with peach fruit in it across the table.
I would rather starve than eat that peach jerky.
I usually sat with him, but I wanted to go check on this Sands person.
“I will take this to go. I’m rather tired,” I said, moving around his side of the table and stealing his already open jar of Strawberry leathers. I popped one into my mouth and sighed.
“Peter! You need to give peaches a second chance,” William chuckled, taking the jar of peaches and opening them.
“I’d sooner die,” I said, walking toward the door.
“You do not fool me. You are going to see Sands.”
I stopped and looked back at my best friend who was busy stuffing peach leather into his mouth. I tried not to throw up in disgust. “You know me well,” and then I walked from the room.
“Oh, well, you are awake,” I said as I reached the healer’s cabin beneath the deck. The man, Sands, was sitting up,his clothing ripped and tattered, his hair a mess around him.
“I am. You wouldn’t happen to have some rope to tie my hair back, would you?”
I turned to see some tan, frayed rope and tossed it to him. I watched as he tied it back, and two thick bunches of hair on either side framed his face. What the point was of tying his hair back at all, I couldn’t say.
“What can I do to thank you for the rescue?”
“Who are you? Why are you out here?”
He looked like a pirate.
“Our ship was struck by lightning.”
“What kingdom are you from?”
“Oh, well, I am from Sorra, but my captain, he was from Walden.”
“Walden?” I asked in surprise.
“I believe so? I am not good with all the kingdoms’ names. Spent most of my life on the seas, so you will have to excuse me.”
“Was your captain lost to the sea?”
“I am not sure; maybe he is as adrift as I was.”
“Well, we will keep our eyes open for anyone else from your ship.”
“You are very kind. What is your name?”
“I am Peter, the first mate,” I said with a nod.
“Thank you, Peter. I am indebted to you.”
Four days later, the mists seemed to part, somewhat, and we spotted what we assumed to be Marren Island. We had old maps, pre-Great War, and luckily they had been rather informative. It was a small island, and hope bloomed inside me that Gwen would be found there; surely, that had to be where the pixies dwelled.
I was wrong.
Sands had been a helpful addition to our crew. We rowed a boat up to the island, spotting a man and a woman on the shore.
