Page 45 of Hymn of Breath and Bone

“How?” I asked, feeling like my life was almost entirely composed of questions rather than answers. “Why are you being cryptic?”

Caspian stopped, sighing as he looked down at me. “Her gifts are due to her past, which isherstory to tell, not mine. But I promise, Urchin, as soon as we’ve dealt with the Stormcrow, I’ll take you to her.”

“You know, you make a lot of promises,” I teased, crossing my arms over my chest.

Caspian grinned. “And I’m very,verygood at keeping them,” he murmured, brushing his lips against my ear as he pulled me close. “Finish your tea, Urchin, and I’ll gladly show you.”

Chapter 17

“I hate this plan,”Marina said, looking entirely like a pirate as she leaned against the main mast with crossed arms and a frown stamped across her brow. I was having a great deal of trouble deciding if I liked her better in flowing gowns or in tight leather. The leather was currently winning.

We had landed in Nordhavn less than an hour ago, the fog so dense it was like soup as we docked in theearly hours.

The port was quiet, the hour still too early for many fishermen or traders to be out, and the fog would give us enough cover to hide our arrival for at least a few hours.

“Your complaint is d, Urchin,” I drawled, trying to see the map of Nordhavn we had spread out on the deck. Zephyr and I were crouched over it, but the fog made it nearly impossible to see. “Do you think you could lift some of this murk?”

Since sharing my theory with her, we’d practiced incorporating wind into our drills. Her control was already strong and rapidly progressing as if realizing she had the power was enough to awaken it within her. She'd successfully blocked every one of my attacks the day before with shields of wind, and I’d caught her practicing manipulating the air in our non-training hours, whipping up small gusts of wind and little patches of fog all over the ship.

Marina waved a hand, and the fog parted in a perfect circle around us.

“Show-off.” She grinned in triumph, and I felt my heart swell with pride. She was a fast learner, willingly accepting feedback and pushing herself until she perfected each move and piece of magic.

Skies, I loved her so much. Especially in leather trousers.

“Stop undressing your mate with your eyes and focus,” Zephyr snapped, drawing my attention back to the map as I tried to shake the image of Marina’s perfect backside from my mind. “Skies, I miss Astraios. You two need constant chaperoning.”

Marina laughed and moved to crouch next to me, the scent of the sea enveloping me as she settled her body next to mine. It took a great deal of willpower to keep my eyes on the map and hands to myself.

“We’ve narrowed it down to this tavern,” Zephyr said, scowling at us both and pointing to a section of the map in a part of the town we’d been scouting for the last two nights. Both Zephyr and I had gone into town to ask pointed questions, and a little gold in the right pocket did a lot to loosen tongues. “A male siren going by the name Ilya Stormcrow does business here every week on this specific night. It’s your best chance of finding him.”

“And why does this person want to kill me, exactly?” Marina asked, looking at me with a raised brow. “Just for revenge?”

“Not kill you,” I replied darkly, feeling a surge of protectiveness for her that made it difficult not to lock her in our bedroom where she would be safe. “Take you. And I don’t care about his motives. He can’t hurt you if he’s dead.”

Marina reached for my hand and squeezed it gently.

“I’ll give you a moment,” Zephyr said, standing and cracking her back with a groan. “Five minutes, Cas.”

I nodded at my first mate as she turned and began barking orders at the crew.

“Urchin,” I murmured, covering her hands—which were anxiously fussing with the buckle of my pauldrons—with my own. “It will all be fine.”

“If you don’t get yourself killed,” she grumbled, checking that the sea dragon scale was still firmly in place on my shoulder. I had no idea when I would need it, but I didn’t doubt that I would. “I hate this plan.”

“I know,” I repeated, cupping her face and holding her gaze. I could feel her fury at being left on the ship with Zephyr as I went ashore, but I’d ratherrisk her wrath than risk the Stormcrow getting his hands on her. “And I won’t.”

“Are you a seer now too?” she snapped, anxiety making her short-tempered. “You can see the future?”

“I can,” I replied confidently, pulling her close and murmuring into her ear. “In the very near future, you and I are naked as I make you scream my name.”

She poked me in the ribs, but she couldn’t hide the flash of desire that my suggestion sent sweeping through her.

“Prickly urchin,” I teased, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll be back by noon.”

“Insufferable seagull,” she sighed. “You’d better be, or I’ll be coming after you.”

I didn’t doubt it, based on the fierceness in her voice. I had a strong feeling Marina could bring down the wrath of both sea and sky on our enemies if something happened to me. I couldn’t say it didn’t thrill me a little.