Page 77 of A Curse of Salt

I smiled, watching from a safe distance, my hands raking through the water, relishing the feeling of the ocean between my fingertips, smoother than silk. I’d never seen the crew look so happy, so relaxed. Glowing, beneath the stars.

I glanced up at the hull of the Blood Rose, the colossal figurehead towering above, her arms outstretched, drooping rose tresses pouring from her hands. I could scarcely see Sebastien from so far below, but I could feel him, his power, like a beacon of shadow.

‘C’mon!’

Una’s yell tore my attention away. The crew’s heads were tipped towards their king as he emerged by the railing above. I squinted, watching as he shed his coat and boots and stepped up on to the balustrade.

He dove gracefully, gliding into the water with the ease of a fish. The sea rippled, welcoming him into its fold.

I had to remind myself to breathe every few moments as I waited for him to resurface. I wondered what he saw down there; whether the waves showed themselves to him like they did me. Whether they loved or feared him, or both.

He appeared right in front of me, water cascading down his face and shoulders as he emerged, rising god-like from the ocean depths. I exhaled, my breath blooming in a cloud of frost.

Sebastien moved as fluidly in the water as he did on land, gliding closer with his gaze locked on mine. His shadows curled around me, anchoring me amid the vast ocean. Darkness swirled in his eyes, discomfiting in the way they always seemed to see something I couldn’t.

‘Look up,’ he said.

I did, and my breath caught in my throat. Stars domed the sky, a sea of their own. I tipped my head back, treading water as I gazed up in wonder at the infinity of the night. A glimmer of light streaked across the darkness, a flash of dying worlds.

I gasped. ‘Did you see that?’

Sebastien’s lips curved slowly into a smile. ‘They say if you see a star fall, the gods will grant you a wish.’

My mind ticked over the possibilities, the endless things I could ask for, given a little magic of my own. To see my family again, to feed them, to protect the crew from Bane’s army . . . All those things, all those fates strung in the balance.

I pushed away from him and submerged myself once more, welcoming the stillness, the silence. Wishing the world would go away, just for a moment.

The heat in Sebastien’s eyes still pulsed through me as I swam, a reminder of the few things I didn’t want to forget. There was nothing but ocean between us, his shadows winding like vines through my body.

When I re-emerged, the crew called for us to return to the ship and I swam slowly, reluctantly, to meet them. Water flowed like wings from my back as I rose from the sea, climbing into the tender they’d winched down from the deck. The others tumbled in after me, a mess of drenched clothes and frostbitten flesh.

Una squashed in beside me, wrapping her arms around my shivering body. We clutched at one another for warmth as the small boat was hauled up the Blood Rose’s hull, the air turning to ice in our lungs. Golde cursed furiously, gathering her weapons and shoes as soon as we reached the deck and racing indoors.

‘See ye later, lass,’ Una said to me with chattering teeth. ‘Stay warm.’ She placed a sloppy kiss against my cheek and disappeared with a wave, Aron close at her heels.

The deck was near-empty by the time the doors shut behind them. I turned to find Sebastien’s gaze locked on mine. I wrapped my arms around myself, rubbing my shoulders to create friction. My dress was plastered to me, seeping icy water into my bones.

‘So,’ he said quietly, inclining his head to indicate I should follow him to the quarterdeck. ‘What did you wish for?’

I chewed my trembling lips, too cold to think. ‘I wished I hadn’t been foolish enough to go into that godsforsaken water,’ I grumbled, hurrying after him.

He turned a few steps from the sterncastle, advancing on me until I backed up against the mizzenmast. He raised an arm over my head, chest brushing up against mine. I made a sound of protest, but he was the only warm thing in the world and my greedy hands tugged him closer.

‘You going to give me a proper answer?’ he asked, a gentle menace in his voice that made my toes curl against the frozen wood.

I watched the water droplets trail over the hollows of his throat, lost for words. When I didn’t reply, he leaned in, thumb tugging at my bottom lip, brushing heat along its curve. My lips parted, breath clouding the air between us. His gaze travelled down my neck, sending chills rippling across my collarbones.

‘What’re you doing?’ I whispered.

His eyes flickered back to mine, so dark they made my lungs seize, the frozen air knocked from them.

‘Nothing,’ he murmured, so close I could taste his answer. My traitorous body pressed against him, his chest warm through the wetness of his shirt.

My mouth fell open at the brush of his tongue, my frustration melting into a pool of desire that nested at my very core. His mouth grazed mine, lips soft and warm and inviting . . . I placed a hand on his chest, my mind swimming with rum and desire and the echo of the sea, fighting my own body for control, for the strength to resist him.

Nothing, I’d told Una. As if kissing him wasn’t like standing at the precipice of a cliff. As if his lips didn’t make me feel like I was falling – through shadows, through oceans, through time.

Sebastien’s forehead brushed mine. ‘You can’t hide from this, blackbird,’ he said. ‘Believe me, I’ve tried.’

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