Page 98 of Found at Sea
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Kellan
The past few days were a blur. I’d slept very little, if at all, and my thoughts consumed me. I worried over Fletcher, over the men in my crew that’d fallen victim to the slaughter, and I dreaded my fate.
Grief over Alek was the worst feeling of all.
I hadn’t wanted to shoot him. But I knew—as did he—that if he boarded that ship, there’d be no saving him. They would’ve taken him right to the king, who would’ve thrown him in the castle dungeon. From there, he would’ve been tortured for information he didn’t have as to the whereabouts of other mages. Only after they’d tortured him for days—perhaps weeks—would they finally have killed him.
I gave him a quick death.
And although it was what he’d wanted, I hated myself for it.
“Al,” Fletcher whimpered in his sleep, scrunching his face.
Lying beside him, I caressed his cheek and lightly kissed his brow. He was healing fairly well from what Ian, and the physician in the town we were staying in, had said. The blade had missed all major organs, and with some rest, he would be back to his old self before too long.
In the days since the attack, he’d woken up a handful of times and had asked for Alek, and after he recalled what’d happened, he’d cried himself to sleep again.
That morning, I slipped out of our bed, careful not to wake him, and went over to the fire pit in the corner. Once the logs were burning and the chill in the room was lessened, I sat in the armchair and just stared at the flames. Strange how something that destroys could be so beautiful. Calming.
TheCrimson Nighthad taken a lot of damage in the attack. So much so, that I’d barely been able to sail us to safety. It’d been sheer luck that I’d found this town. It hadn’t even been on the map, and I’d never heard its name before.
“Kellan?” a sleepy voice croaked from behind me.
I stood and approached Fletcher. His eyes weren’t fully opened yet, and I suspected it was from all the rest he’d had. And the tonics given to him to help ease his pain.
“How are you feeling, boy?” I sat on the edge of the bed and placed my hand on his upper thigh.
“Groggy,” he answered, sounding exactly that. “Where are we?”
“A town called Silver Falls,” I answered, closely studying his eyes and the paleness of his skin. “We’re staying in the Inn. You haven’t had a proper meal in days. You need to eat.”
Fletcher watched me before tightly swallowing. “Did I dream it?”
I knew what he asked, and for several moments, I said nothing, dreading the sorrow in his eyes when I told him that his friend had died.
“No, sweet bird.” I grabbed his hand. “You didn’t dream it.”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. “And you killed him.”
My eyes stung at his words, but I refused to let the tears fully surface. Releasing his hand, I stood. “I’ll go find you some breakfast.”
I left our room and walked down the hallway of the Inn. It was nicer than I’d expected and way more luxurious than the places I usually stayed when we made port and I wanted scenery other than my cabin. The people were friendly, too, even though they knew what we were.
A tavern was on the bottom level of the Inn, and I went that way in search of food and drink. With it being so early, most men were still asleep, and the room was fairly quiet. Kris was sitting at a table, and I approached him.
“Any word on the ship?” I asked.
“Aye, Cap’n,” he answered, setting his mug down. “The hull took some damage, as did the starboard side. Should take another week to repair.”
A week. That meant that by the time we were able to set sail again, I’d only have a few more days before my curse took effect.
It was a fool’s errand. What else could I expect? Searching the sea for some mythical goddess who may not even be real, with no exact coordinates and only a vague idea of a location, had never been a wise decision. But it’d been a desperate one. I was at the end of my rope.
I rubbed at the spot over my heart.
Kris focused on my hand before lifting his gaze to mine. “Almost time, ain’t it?” Now that Dax was dead, only Kris and Horace knew of my curse—apart from Fletcher. “What’s your next move, Cap’n?”
