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Croygen’s boots shuffled over the wood floor of the bedroom. The insistent thumping was clawing down my spine.

“Stop. Please.” I grabbed his arm, holding him in place. The room was already small. Cooper and Annabeth had fallen asleep in the parents’ bedroom, leaving us in the girl’s tiny twin beds. “You’re making me crazy.”

“That’s what is making you crazy?” he exclaimed, his energy so frazzled I could feel it nipping at my own, rubbing against my soul like an agitated cat. “Not that the entire eastern bloc probably knows about this nectar and is out hunting for it?”

“Not theentirebloc. Yet.”

Croygen’s dark eyes narrowed on me.

“Yeah, I know it’s bad.” Everyone in the restaurant wasn’t from here, suggesting the newspaper had circulated fast and far. This disreputable newspaper was known for printing fake stories. Even so, there would be enough who believed it.

“Do yougethow bad this is?” He faced me, his voice rising. “This situation? How much more dangerous and dire this is?”

“Yes!” I barked back. “Of all people, Idounderstand! My crew, my ship, everything I have in this life is riding on whether I get this nectar or not.”

“Fuck your ship,” he roared. “You can get a new one.”

I jolted back. To pirates, our ships were part of the crew. We might pilfer and steal them, but we were faithful to the one we christened.

“Get a new one? That is my home. All I worked for!”

“And it’s just a fucking ship,” he yelled back. “You can live without it… Annabeth will die without this nectar. And soon.”

“What?” I stepped back.

He blew out a heavy breath, his hand riding over his hair. He didn’t speak for a long time, his throat bobbing.

“She’s sick.”

I went still, the food in my stomach turning.

“Cancer.” He stared at the floor. “Incurable.”

“Oh, gods.” My hand went to my mouth. I realized the sour odor I smelled wasn’t Sprig farting; it was the disease consuming her body.

“She doesn’t want anyone to know. Cooper told me in confidence.”

The probable reason Croygen was extra tense lately, hovering over her.

“Her life was limited anyway because she’s human. But now?” He swung his arm, starting to circle again. “I can’t lose her.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t. Ican’t…” he stressed. “I already let Lexie down. Iwill notlet Annabeth die.” His gaze drilled into me. “Whatever it takes. I will get the nectar for her. She is my family, and I will kill anyone who gets in my way. Do you understand?”

His words were a pledge. As good as a promise.

“Yes, I understand! I have the same oath. For Gage, Zuri, Hurricane, Typhoon, and Moses. Getting the nectar saves their lives and returns them to me!”

“They are already dead,” he seethed back. “It’s too late for them.”

“What?”

Take what you can. Give nothing back.

Chapter 23

Katrina