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“Oh, shit,” I muttered. “Sorry to put this reunion on hold, but we have to get out of here.” I found my first mate. “Scot, get the crew ready. Sail us out now.”

Scot nodded, yelling to the guys to set sail. Water was neutral territory and a lot harder to attack.

“Go inside. I’ll meet you in the galley once we’re out to sea,” I told Annabeth and Cooper, turning back to help my crew. Something jumped on my shoulder, a soft brown tail curling around my neck, his “cape” flapping in the wind.

“I did not miss you at all, pirate,” Sprig huffed.

“Tradesman,” I countered, our constant joke. “And I didn’t miss you either, gerbil.”

Fuck, evenIdidn’t buy that lie.

Chapter 17

Croygen

“Honey bread? Honey nuts? Honey-covered mangos? Pancakes? Honey cake? You don’t even have peanut butter and honey truffles?” Sprig exclaimed. He stood on the counter next to Zid, who was cooking lunch in the galley. “What kind of establishment is this? I’ll even settle for cinnamon sugar churros! I’m dying here… I’m not kidding. Can’t you hear my stomach?”

Zidane blinked at the tiny thing, clearly not sure how to react to the talking monkey. It had been over an hour since they boarded, and introductions had been made. Now we floated not too far away from Shanghai port, enough so Ju couldn’t reach us.

“Cookies? Biscuits? Scones? Honey-drizzled chicken?” Sprig bounced on his toes. “Do you understand how desperate the situation has become? I. Will.Die!”

“There’s a banana right there.” I grinned to myself, waiting for the response because he despised the fruit.

“Murderer!” Sprig gasped, his eyes wide. “Bebinn,” he yelled for AB. “He’s trying to kill me. I always knew you hated me, wanted me dead, but I didn’t think you were so heartless.”

I reached for the yellow fruit, peeling it and taking a large bite. “Yum.”

He stared at me, blinking as if I had kicked a puppy.

“Stop traumatizing him.” Annabeth scooped him up, handing him a granola bar. “Here, Sprig. Tide you over for a bit.”

“Give us at least five seconds of silence,” I scoffed.

“Masssmole,” Sprig mumbled, flipping me off, the granola filling his cheeks like a squirrel.

“Yep, just like old times,” I snickered, moving to the tables. I had my crew, minus Corb, who was on watch, down in the galley for a meeting.

Without even looking, I became aware of Kat coming into the space, sitting at the table, clean from a shower, her hair wet, and wearing one of my T-shirts again. At least she had on pants this time. My awareness of her had skyrocketed overnight, and it was disconcerting. We hadn’t even talked about what happened or how we woke up; it was another ghost in this room.

With Annabeth here, so was Lexie because she had been there every step, witnessing the change in my and Lexie’s relationship. Raw, strange guilt throttled my lungs. As if I shouldn’t be conscious of Kat because Lexie was somehow still around. And if she hadn’t died, she would probably be right here with me.

If she was, would I still feel this pull to Katrina? The squeeze in my gut told me what I didn’t want to know. But that was with a different Croygen. Another man, another life, someone who was lost alongside her.

“Well.” I clapped my hands together, walking to the front of the room. “Let’s get right into this. We can do full introductions later.” The introduction had been brief, the need to get away taking precedence. “Cooper and Annabeth have been sent by King Lars, confirming why we came here. He’s quite sure the nectar is real.”

“Shite.” Scot sighed, probably still thinking this was a fool’s errand.

“Wait, did you say nectar?” Sprig piped up, finishing his bar. “You mean honey of the gods?”

And our five seconds were up.

“Not that kind of nectar.” I shot him a look. “And if you eat it, I will squeeze you like a bag of frosting until you pop.”

“Man, someone needs to get laid,” he grumbled. “Crabby butt bandit.”

“Hey, talking rat? Shut up.” Damn, did he feel like an annoying younger brother.

“I don’t know. He’s a lot more interesting than you, Captain,” Vane goaded.