Page 68 of Found at Sea
Anger boiled in my gut. They believed I’d gone soft…I must show them that I hadn’t.
“What do you suppose I do?” I asked as I steered the ship to the left before straightening out the wheel. “Line up all the men and kill those who dare speak ill of me?”
“I’m not the captain, so I cannot tell you what to do,” Dax said in a derisive tone. “I only tell you of this as a warning. I’ve been by your side since the beginning, Captain, and you never have need to question my devotion to you.” He stepped closer, so close I felt his hot breath at my nape. “In all ways, I wish to serve you.”
His closeness sparked to life memories from when I’d fucked him, and where I used to become aroused at such recollections, they did nothing for me now. Just like the time in Stonebridge when I’d tried to fuck the whores in the brothel and hadn’t been able to.
All because of Fletcher and the confusing hold he had over me—possessing both my body and my heart.
“You can serve me by telling the men we’re heading north,” I said in a cold tone, shifting an icy look his way. I appreciated his loyalty, but I did not want him thinking anything would ever happen with us again. “And then you can begin your duties for the day.”
“Yes, sir,” he said before gritting his teeth. “Anything else before I take my leave?”
“No.”
I watched him descend the stairs from the upper deck and advance toward some of the crew.
A strange feeling prickled my scalp. It’d happened around Dax ever since we’d visited the seer. I wasn’t sure if it meant anything, but he seemed different. My purpose for bringing him to the seer had been to have another skilled fighter to protect the boys if anything attacked us in the dark woods. He’d known what to expect from the trip and had chosen to go anyway.
Dax looked over his shoulder at me, and I remained fixated on him…trying to piece together what might’ve been the cause of his shift in mood. He held my gaze for a second or two before looking away.
Fletcher laughed and caused me to look his way. He held a mop and aimed the top of the handle at Alek. Alek then moved his to do the same, and they began fighting with them as if they were swords. Their tomfoolery lasted all of ten seconds before Horace screamed at them to get back to work.
The mark on my chest tingled, and I lifted a hand to it. I was running out of time.
“I hope you’re right, boy,” I softly said, rubbing the mark.
I was putting all faith into him. If our journey to find the goddess Ran wasn’t successful, I’d be out of options and it’d be too late to start over. I was placing my life into Fletcher’s hands, relying on his knowledge of myths to break the ever approaching curse.
If we failed…
No, I inwardly growled, putting an end to that negative line of thinking.We will not fail.
***
Days passed at sea, and as they did, Fletcher and I became closer. We’d already become close while on the island, but conversation sparked between us more frequently. Not only at night when we lay down for sleep, but during the day as well. If I saw him standing near the rail, I’d approach and we’d discuss whatever was on our minds.
He told me a story about a nymph who fell in love with the sun, and although the story was interesting, I was mostly captivated by the look in his eyes and the passion in his voice as he told it.
After that story, I asked for another. Then one more after that.
When he wasn’t telling me stories, he told me about his life in Helmfirth; how the tavern owner Ned had taken him in, given him work, and had been the closest thing to a father he’d ever had. I could relate, for that’s how it was for me with the former Captain Flynn.
The more I learned about Fletcher, the more I knew I never wanted to be without him. He calmed me in ways nothing else—and no one else—ever had. However, during my moments with him, I noticed the strange behavior of some of the crewmen; their side-eyed glances and expressions of repugnance. Dax’s warning hung in the air.
If I didn’t earn back their respect, and soon, I knew there’d be a rebellion aboard theCrimson Night.
How had I lost touch of who I was? I’d allowed my feelings for Fletcher to cloud my judgment. Love made a person weak.
Love?The word hit me in the center of my chest, and I balled my fist as I sat at my desk that midday.I do not love him.
The previous captain had taught me that love made fools of men.
“The only thing worse than bein’ distracted by the softness between a wench’s legs is to discover that you want more from her,” he used to say. “Bed ‘em and leave ‘em. Never let yourself become a victim of the heart.”
Fletcher and I had come together many times since the night on the island—every night and during breaks in the day. He seemed to crave my body as much as I craved his. But I knew it wasn’t just his body I craved.
I’d reached the precipice, jumped off, and there was no returning to the top.
