Page 69 of Found at Sea
Suddenly, the confines of my cabin felt too small. Panic seized me and my hands started shaking. I needed space. Air. I tossed the map back on the desk, stood, and strode toward the door.
Once I was outside, I deeply inhaled before slowly releasing the breath.
The setting sun reflecting off the water made some areas appear darker while others looked to be set ablaze. As if the sea had been touched by fire…much like my heart. It was a beautiful view to behold. Even more incredible was the warmth on my skin and the tickle of the sea breeze as the sails carried us forward.
If the curse wasn’t broken and I became a shade, I’d never feel this again—the wind on my face and the warmth from the sun. I’d become a prisoner in my own body; able to see and hear but not be seen or heard. Not able to touch or be touched.
“Captain?”
I turned to see Fletcher standing a foot or so away. I’d been so lost in my head that I hadn’t heard him approach.
“What do you want, boy?”
Fletcher walked closer until he stood beside me, looking out over the sea. “I brought your dinner, but you weren’t in your study.”
“I am not hungry.”
He nodded.
“This goddess that we’re seeking,” I said, watching a rippling in the water as a fish nipped at something on the surface. “Tell me more about her. If she does possess the conch, how will we take it from her?”
“Ran values treasure of all types,” Fletcher answered. His green eyes had flecks of orange, and I focused on them. “Whether it be gold, gems, or something more…something invaluable. I do not know for sure, but I believe we will need to offer her another item in exchange for the conch. A thing she cannot resist.”
I thought over his response, which only made me more anxious. The seer had said I’d need to pay a cost, and when I’d asked what that cost might be, she’d pointed at the one thing I could never lose.
“And what if the goddess isn’t real?” I asked. “What if we are traveling across the sea only to discover we were wrong?”
“You just have to believe, Kellan,” he said before pressing his face against my collar. The action took away the cold that’d been creeping down my spine, and I wrapped my arms around him. “If I’m wrong aboutRan’s road, wewillfind the answer. But I feel we are on the right path.” He nuzzled against my chest before laying his head over my heart and staring at the horizon. “Fate brought me to you. We have to trust that fate will see us through to the end.”
The end. I feared what that meant.
“Will you play for me tonight?” I asked, still holding him.
The night before, Fletcher had been playing his lute when I’d gone to lie down. The sound of him plucking the strings had helped ease my usually overactive mind, and I’d been able to fall asleep fairly quick.
Still not used to performing in front of people, Fletcher blushed and averted his eyes. “Possibly. If you wish it.”
“I do.”
His green-eyed stare flickered back to me, and once again, the orange flecks around his pupils looked like tiny sunbursts. “Will this be before or after you make love to me?”
I smirked and tugged him closer. “Insatiable hungers, eh?”
“Only with you,” he answered as a smile touched his lips as well. “It’s only ever been you.”
His words went beyond a mere statement of fact. They were an assurance—a declaration of fidelity. And love.
“Others might’ve known my body, Fletcher, but none have…” I caught myself before voicing the words. Love made men weak. Vulnerable. And there I was about to say that no one other than him had ever had my heart.
“None have…what?” he asked, creasing his brow.
A low rumbling of thunder sounded in the distance, and I looked that way, seeing a drastic change in the sky from the purples and orange of the sunset to dark grey clouds to the right of us.
“You should go inside,” I said, stepping back from him. “A storm’s coming.”
Fletcher followed my gaze before looking back at me. His expression was almost sad as he nodded and walked away.
After he’d disappeared into our cabin, I stared at the spot he’d just been, feeling a weight in my chest. I knew he’d needed to hear the words from me—the reassurance that he wasn’t alone in his feelings.
But I couldn’t.
The first drop of rain landed on the deck in front of me before being followed by a second, then a third. More thunder rolled, and a streak of lightning lit up one area of the sky. A storm was imminent. I found Tig and a few other men and issued orders.
If rough weather was approaching, we needed to batten down the hatches. The hatchways usually remained open to allow for air to reach the lower deck and needed to be closed.
I wasn’t sure what would happen between me and Fletcher. We were too different. As long as I had the curse looming over me, I’d never be able to fully give him what he sought. Happiness. A future. As of that moment, my future was as dark as the clouds in the sky.
More thunder. Another streak of lightning. Rain fell steadily now.
One thing I knew for sure? It was going to be a long night.
