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I don’t like the path of these thoughts.

I’ve been quiet too long, and Gwyn says, “I didn’t come over here to talk about Anya. I’m trying to make sure you and Rian make it to Ostriary without one of you going overboard. I don’t think either of you should throw away a chance to make things better over a pissing match.”

A pissing match! I bristle. “Did you offer Captain Blakemore this same lecture?”

“I did.”

Oh. For some reason that’s not the answer I was expecting, and I wonder if it’s true.

But I remember her sitting in that first meeting, how she didn’t quite chastise him for his attitude, but almost.

“He told me what he said to you,” she says. “About locking someone in a room—then threatening death if they tried to escape.”

“Splendid. Perhaps we should form a quorum regarding the governing practices of Kandala, and you can all pass judgment.” Despite my words, I’m still stinging from the analogy. I don’t wantit to show on my face, so I look out across the water. The sun is beginning to peek above the horizon, and I can see the mouth of the river widening where it dumps into the sea, the land on either side giving way.

We’re close to Port Karenin. I’ll have to make a decision.

I don’t trust Captain Blakemore any more than I did when I got on board this ship. But I don’t like the thought of disembarking. Everything about it seems fearful.

“I’m not trying to pass judgment,” Gwyn says. “As I said to Rian, you didn’t lock anyone in a room.”

She’s wrong on that. I’ve locked plenty of people in cells.

They can think what they want of our tactics. We kept as many people alive as we could.

“Why would you defend me?” I say. “You don’t know me at all.”

“I know Ostriary needs steel,” she says. “I know the royal court of Ostriary is barely in place, and the war was very hard-won. I told your girl Tessa about Oren Crane and the other rebels who are waiting for a chance to take control. People are tired and want to be done. If Rian can bring you back to arrange a deal, it would go a long way toward maintaining peace.”

Your girl Tessa.I know I should be focusing on the rest of what she’s saying, but my thoughts have caught and stalled on those words in particular.

I frown. “So you’ve been sent to keep the peace between me and him.”

She lets out a breath. “Maybe I’m being impolitic. But I’m a sailor first, not a courtier. I don’t think it would serve anyone well for you to disembark at Port Karenin.”

There’s a note in her tone that gives me pause, and I study her,trying to figure it out. She and Rian have both talked about peace, and fair trade, and how both countries are eager to be at peace and have what they need. But since the moment I set foot on theDawn Chaser, I’ve felt a deep, unsettling suspicion, and I can’t seem to shake it.

I’m just not sure where the greatest risk lies.

“I’ll take it under advisement,” I say.

She gives me a nod as if she’s not surprised by my answer. “Thank you for hearing me out.” She hesitates, then gives a nod toward the captain’s stateroom. “He’ll be out here checking the rigging before long.”

“Is that a warning?”

She smiles, and the skin around her eyes crinkles. “I just thought you should know. Maybe you could be the one to climb with him today.”

“I would absolutely try my hardest not to push him off.”

She genuinely laughs at that, which takes me by surprise—and makes me smile.

“I’ve got to get back to the helm,” she says. “Let me know your decision by breakfast so we can adjust course.”

“I will.”

When she moves away, I’m not alone for long. Rocco draws close.

He says nothing, but I know he’s waiting for me to state whether there’s any cause for concern. I rest my hands on the railing and say, “She doesn’t want me to get off the ship in Port Karenin.”