Page 29 of Saint
Emilia wouldn’t be happy when we showed up unable to pay for the last haul of crates she’d given us. She would be even less amused when I asked her for more.
“She’ll do it,” I said.
“I don’t know.” Clove’s head tilted to one side.
“Emilia needs us like we need her. She’ll do it.”
“Even if we sell every bottle she has, it will only be enough for Henrik. There won’t be anything else.”
The coin from this trade would have been the seed money that would launch our trade under our new license. Now we’d have to get it some other way. But there was also the matter of hiring crew for theAsterand everything else we’d need to outfit the vessel. When we got back to Dern, we’d have a ship, but nothing else. Not even a way to sail it.
The wind howled, a low groan rattling the ship around us, and my teeth clenched, every muscle in my body tensing.
“Storm?” Clove asked.
I shook my head. “No. Not tonight.” The sound of my voice trailed off.
This wasn’t the hum that bubbled beneath the water before the sky started churning. It was more than that. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time. And I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t know it was about the girl sleeping in the crew’s cabin.
“We’ll get rid of her,” I said, swallowing. “In Sowan.”
One blond eyebrow arched beneath the sweep of hair on Clove’s forehead and a mischievous look I recognized resurfaced in his expression. Sometimes I forgot that version of Clove still lived inside of him. The one I’d known before we left Cragsmouth. Before we both watched as our fathers were swallowed by the sea.
“What?”
“Am I really the only one who is putting this together?”
I stared at him.
“We leave that gem sage in Sowan, and Zola will track her down. It’s plain to anyone who looks at her she isn’t Narrows-born. Her clothes. The way she talks. She doesn’t exactly blend in. And when he finds her, he’s taking her to Ceros.”
Still, I said nothing. I knew where he was going with this.
“So, if Zola’s expecting a crate of coin when he delivers her, we might as well sink theAsterbefore we ever set sail,” he said.“We’ve clawed our way onto even ground with that bastard. For the first time, we’re on equal footing. But if Zola gets a fortune to launch his trade route…” He didn’t bother finishing.
I knew Clove was right. Zola wouldn’t just have the advantage over us in starting our trade, he’d also be able to buy the loyalty of harbor masters and merchants at every port. His first priority would be to make sure that our trade never got off the ground. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had designs on eventually making sure we ended up at the bottom of the sea.
“She isn’t just a gem sage. She’s a dredger, Saint.”
“I know she’s a dredger.”
His eyes cut to the stairs that led down to the main deck. “Last I checked, we don’t have one of those.”
“You just said that you think it was a mistake to bring her on the ship. Now you want to take her on as crew?”
“I do think it was a mistake. But it might have also been a stroke of luck. If we’ve dug a grave with Zola anyway, we might as well keep her out of his hands. If we don’t, we’ll lose any chance we had to beat him.”
I stared at the crack running along the boards under my feet, a black crevice paved with tar. The clock was ticking down. On us. On this ship. It was a desperate ache in my chest that had lived there for years. I was good at plotting and strategizing and making do. But I was also tired of waiting for it all to pay off.
Another rumble of thunder sounded in the dark and Clove let out a long breath. “Go get some sleep. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”
I didn’t argue. I was so tired that I could feel my weightthreatening to fall through the deck. I pulled myself to my feet and Clove set his head back, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the fog.
The ship was quiet as I came down the steps. Even when we had an actual crew aboard, we weren’t the kind of ship that sang songs or played dice after the sun went down. We weren’t the kind that enjoyed each other’s company either. On theRiven,we existed for one purpose—to get to the next port alive.
Every waking moment sailing that ship had been with the idea that one day, we would be rid of her. We’d cut her bones up and feed them to the vultures, and then we’d say our thanks before boarding theAsterand bidding theRivenfarewell. She’d been good to us, but the ship was an open, gaping mouth. It was only a matter of time before she devoured us. I knew that.
I ducked out into the passageway, closing the door of my quarters behind me, and I stared into the shadows as a cloud passed over the moon. The cabin filled with darkness, and a swift cold bled into its corners around me. I had that hollow feeling inside of me now—one I knew well. The sea didn’t forget our sins. She just let us pay for them in different increments of blood.
