Chapter 28, Roberts

  The sky is washed in muted pinks and greys, dusk bleeding through a ceiling of rain clouds. I take a breath and taste the charred fat that lingers in the air, heavy with the musk of wet planks. The crew’s backs are turned as I approach cautiously, Quill and Sarah at my sides.

  “Stories don’t make her a queen.” Joanne’s voice carries through the crowd.

  I pause, glancing at Sarah. Her spine straightens as she looks back at me.

  Sam spots us and moves aside, nudging his freckled brother Luke to do the same. I step between them and pause, glancing over my shoulder and holding up a hand, motioning for Quill and Sarah to wait.

  I peer between heads and over shoulders at the inner circle, where everyone's eyes are focused. Joanne is near the main mast, her stance wide and arms folded while Gery paces in front of her, a wooden pipe clenched in her mouth.

  “How else do you explain her? And the glowing relic we saw?” Gery asks, puffs of smoke wafting from her lips as she speaks.

  Sonya is seated on a crate with Jake standing behind her, twirling a strand of her silver hair in his fingers.

  “If the dragon hatched when she jumped—” Sonya says.

  The main yard creeks overhead as Liss swings down from the rigging. Her unruly red hair floats around her shoulders as she lands crouched before Sonya, her back towards me. “The Captain must have seen it,” she says, a sharp edge to her voice. She stands, her head turning from Sonya to Joanna and then to Gery. “Could she have known this whole time?”

  Gery looks at Liss, then her eyes find mine. She stops pacing.

  I weave through the crowd and step past Harken to face Liss. “I did,” I say, holding her gaze.

  Joanne lets out a sharp scoff. “You’ve been under her spell this whole time, then.”

  “It’s against the code, Captain. Withholding,” Liss says.

  Manee perches on a barrel, stirring coals beneath a rack of drying meat. “Would you have believed her if she had told us?” they say, looking up from the glowing embers and giving Liss a hard stare.

  Liss averts her eyes and lets out a long exhale. She sinks into a low squat beside Manee, folding her arms around her knees.

  “Well, now we know she’s trouble. l say we get rid of her.” Joanne says. Her eyes scan the faces encircling us and stop, landing on Sarah.

  A few heads turn in Sarah's direction, speaking in low tones. Harken looks at me, his brow furrowed, shoulders tense.

  “Having Sarah aboard is the best thing that could have happened to our sorry asses,” I say, meeting the gazes of my crew as they turn back towards me. “She’s fed us. And now she’s used her gifts of premonition to warn us of a great danger that lies ahead.”

  Joanne snorts and grumbles something under her breath.

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  Harken pins her with a glare. “If you have something constructive to offer, do it,” he says, sweeping his eyes across the faces surrounding him. “This is counsel, not a squabble."

  Silence settles over the deck as I look at Sarah, and wave her forward with an open palm. Quill stays glued to her side as she makes her way to stand next to me.

  “Tell them what you saw,” I say, voice lowered.

  Sarah gives me a stern look, lips pressed thin. She blinks hard once, inhales deeply and takes a step forward.

  “Tobias will be upon us tonight,” she says, glancing back at me as murmurs ripple through the crowd. I give her a slow nod, one brow lifted.

  Sarah straightens, shoulders squaring, and sweeps her gaze over the crew. “At this very moment, his ship is headed towards us from the north.”

  “How does she know—” Casey blurts out. “More of your dark magic?” Someone shouts over him.

  “If he comes it will be her curse that drew him to us!” Sam yells.

  Liss huffs a laugh, folding her arms. “Tobias hasn’t been seen in five years now.”

  “Would you have us change course, and fall into a trap you’ve set?” Joanne says, voice rising with every word. “You–”

  Gery interrupts, wagging her pipe at Joanne. “She hasn’t done us wrong, and we—” her words vanish beneath a clash of voices, any sense of order quickly eroding.

  A pistol fires and the crack splits the air. The silence after the shot is sharp and stinging, laced with the metallic tang of gunpowder smoke.

  “One at a time,” Harken orders, holstering his pistol. He gives Sarah a nod.

  “A battle with Tobias on our deck is inescapable. But with this knowledge, we have the upper hand,” she says, steel in her voice.

  Joanne exhales through the nose, her jaw tightening. Harken catches my eye and gives the smallest approving nod.

  It was a bold move, for Sarah to speak like she’s one of us. She isn’t, though, not yet. But damn if she isn’t pulling it off. The deck has gone still, every gaze fixed on her.

  I barely suppress the smile that tugs at the corners of my mouth. With a commanding presence like that, she might as well be one of us. But the crew are still spooked. Calling for a vote to name her Navigator now will be asking for too much.

  Gery puffs up her chest and looks up at Joanne who towers above her. “We fell into our own trap on the shards. Sarah bailed water through the night alongside us.” She glances at the crew, before turning to face Sarah. “The Captain vouches for her, and so do I,” she says, bowing her head.

  “I signed my name in blood to follow you Captain, if she is the queen you say she is, what then? You expect us to follow her, what will become of our freedom?” Joanne says, widening her stance.

  “Canvas on the horizon, coming from the North!” Silas bellows, climbing down the ratlines. “Square rigger, a big one.”

  “Tobias.” Gery mutters, staring at Sarah unblinking. “Just like you said.”

  “Just because there’s a ship coming from the North like she said, doesn’t mean it's Tobias,” Joanne says with a snarl. “And Dragon Queen or not, she’s the threat currently standing among us.”

  My thoughts churn. The vote can wait. What matters now is uniting the crew against Tobias. Sarah will prove herself again tonight, I’m certain of it.

  I look at Joanne, “There is much to discuss, but we’re running out of time.” I pace the deck boards, acknowledging one crewmate at a time, my gaze stern. “We all know what happens when Tobias catches his prey off guard.”

  Quill shudders, signing, “I can’t afford to lose my eyeballs.” A few who catch her meaning chuckle.

  Manee stands, stepping up beside Sarah. “Aye, Tobias is a threat none of us take lightly, andI believe Sarah. Besides, that bastard owes me a debt of blood, and I’ll be glad to see him pay it,” they say, giving her a wink.

  “I agree. Worst case, we’re prepared for nothing,” Jake says. “We could have some fun with it.”

  Sonya rises to her feet, turning to face Jake. “I’m all for fun, dear, but our ship can barely stay afloat. Tobias could sink us with a single shot.”

  Harken flashes me a look, a faint smirk on his face. “That’s exactly what we want him to think.”

  I smile back at him then leap up onto a barrel, sweeping my gaze over the crowd. “We’re going to play dead.”