Page 14 of Trapped By Claws
Part of me wanted to shove the books off the table and demand Mama take care of herself. If not for me, then for herself or Hosvir.
Instead I drew in a deep breath and strode toward the door. It creaked open easily as if the very wood realized how bad it would be for me to remain in this room. Hand on the door jamb, I hesitated. "I love you, Mama," I forced the words out.
Mama nodded without looking up. "I love you too, sweetheart." Tears ran down her cheeks, a few dropping onto the yellowed pages. She hunched over the scribbled pages.
Some small part of me wanted to tell Mama about Corvin and Tagger and all that had happened. But the words died before I could speak them.
It wasn't the first time something strange had happened to me. I'd just learned not to waste my breath telling Mama about those things. It only left me feeling ignored and sad when I told the whole story and Mama simply nodded or said "mmhmm."
So I left, the words locked tight within my chest.
I didn't eat any dinner that night either. Instead, I went straight to bed.This could not continue.
The doldrums continued over the next two days. We made decent progress with the dwarf wheels below the hold that propelled the ship ever forward, but it was tedious.
I helped with the cooking and cleaning. I even took a turn in one of the wooden wheels, jogging along at a steady pace. A couple of the dwarves operated hand fans that kept the air moving. The dwarves hummed and sang at times to keep the rhythm.
When I went to the quartermaster to tell him what happened with the mini-crossbow and the bolts, he didn't want to hearit. Instead he scolded me for being careless and told me to do better next time. Some of the younger crew members had lost their weapons before this, but this was my first time, and the reprimand stung.It was fair though. I had lost the crossbow.
Nothing drove away the aching sensation that I was missing something important. Each time I went above deck to cool off or rest, I went to the starboard side or the stern where I'd first glimpsed Tagger and peered down.
I was just checking to see if the otter was down there. That was all.
It wasn't like I was actually looking for Corvin.
But if he was there, I might say hello.
Shadows stirred within the deep, circling and watching. Captain Hosvir insisted none of them would attack the ship so long as we stayed on the right side of the boundary. Such caution didn't keep creatures from following in the hopes someone might fall in.
Corvin was dreadful. Horrid.
And charming.
I sighed, propping my fist against my cheek. The waves sloshed against the sides of the ship, the salty spray forming a broad fan.
Back before Erryn had vanished, I'd had friends. Some worked in the tavern. Others were in the village. They'd have begged me for details about Corvin and teased me relentlessly.
Not having anyone to tell me I was catching feelings for someone took out all the fun of denying it.
Especially when I couldn't hide from the truth.
I probably wasn't falling for Corvin. I was just lonely, and I liked the attention.
I was pathetic.
On the second night, I finished helping Mik clean up the galley from the cod and anchovy stew and then I went to my room, even though it wasn't yet dark.
Tucking the heavy blue blanket around myself, I removed a borrowed book from the drawer. A cookbook with stories from the Tide Breaker Clan. Nothing particularly riveting but comforting nonetheless.
Usually it was enough to make me drowsy.
Tonight, sleep refused to come. Instead, an odd unsettling feeling rose from the pit of my stomach and tightened into my chest.
I rubbed the base of my throat, pondering what it was. Not a pain. Not a disturbance. Just…an awareness.
The impulse intensified.
I needed to get up.
