Page 120 of The Sky Pirate's Stowaway
And not for the reason I’d thought.
Not because my secret was out.
Not because Viper wanted to plug me in.
Not because some of the crew kept looking at me like I’d personally thrown their friends into the mouth of the sand kraken.
While all of that hurt, while all of that was awful, it was nothing compared to the thought of leaving Max.
I didn’t want to leave him.
Ever.
I didn’t want to disembark in Asteris and never return. I didn’t want to start a life there without my sky pirate. I didn’t want to live without him.
Every time I looked at him, the longing I felt in my heart—hellfire, in mysoul—almost overwhelmed me to the point of freezing on the spot.
I wanted to spend the rest of my days here on this ship with the man I was falling for. If I was being honest with myself, I’d fallen for him a long time ago.
“Ghost?”
Willy’s voice caught my attention, and I turned to him. “Yeah?”
“You okay? You’ve been standing still for five minutes.”
I glanced around and realized that there was barely anyone left on deck. Had I really been daydreaming that long? “Oh, um, sorry. Lost in thought.” I scanned the railing I’d been cleaning and slid farther down it so I could finish. As I scrubbed, I reached into my pocket with my free hand to check that the rocks I’d taken from Duskwater Harbor were still there. I was covered in weapons, as I always was, but knowing I had a way to use my magic if I needed, eased my anxiety a little. I’d taken to carrying them in my pocket every day.
I moved down to the last section of railing and asked Willy, “You going to dinner?”
“As soon as you’re done, yeah.”
That made me smile, and a little bit of warmth gathered in my heart. If truth be told, I didn’t want to leave Willy, Ariella, or Hawk-Eyes either. Or even Sage and Stitches and many of the other friends I’d made on this ship. I liked it here. I liked being a part of this group.
At least, I liked it when we weren’t ordered to murder people, anyway.
With a sad sort of smile on my face, I finished the rail and turned to my friend. “I’m ready.”
He gave me a nod, and the two of us dropped our cleaning cloths into the bucket, put it away, and headed for the ladder. Just before we went down, Ariella stepped in front of us, cutting us off.
“What are you two doing?”
“Going to dinner.” Willy was all smiles because she was talking to us. That guy had such a huge crush on our friend, and he made it so obvious that I often felt second-hand embarrassment from it.
“Not without me.” She turned a scowl my way. “You know you can’t go anywhere without me or Reap.”
I sighed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought it’d be fine since Willy’s with me.”
“Is Willy going to be able to keep Viper from grabbing you?” She looked at him. “No offence.”
He shrugged but looked offended. I was kind of offended for him too even if what she said was true.
“Canyoustop him? Can Reaper? Because I don’t think anyone can—” I lowered my voice to a whisper—“not while he’s captain.”
Ariella glanced around. “Not here.” She sighed. “Ghost, it’s no secret that I think Reaper should be captain. Not just me, though, it’s what almost the entire crew wants. But he won’t listen to me. Soyouneed to convince him.”If only I could.Then she turned on her heel and headed down the ladder, clearly expecting us to follow her.
Willy stared at the spot she disappeared from, looking pensive.
I asked Willy, “You okay?”
