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Rotty’s face came into my head. I imagined his expression at finding out what I did to his baby girl. “Fuck.” I rubbed at my head, self-loathing knifing up my chest.

“Captain?” Scot called me again, making me more irritated at myself that I was so inattentive.

“You might need to try again. Some of his brain cells were dumped out on the floor earlier.” Sprig munched on something Cooper had given him.

My lashes lowered, and I glared at the sprite. He shrugged. “Am I wrong? You left your nuts and cream all over the place.”

“Shut. It.” It was more than a warning, my mood plunging quickly.

“I’m sure if you wring out her shirt, you can get them back.”

My gaze flashed, going from Sprig to Cooper.

“Sprig, why don’t you go downstairs,” Cooper suggested, hiding his smirk. “Annabeth was worried about you. Plus, I think she has your honey-covered mango chips.”

“Ahhhh!!!!” Sprig leaped off, zooming around the deck. “Honeyhoneyhoneyhoneyhoney!!!” He zipped down the stairs, his voice echoing after him. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found him passed out on the stairs, never making it to the room. Narcolepsy usually followed his zoomies.

Taking a deep breath, I walked farther onto my main deck before facing the men. “The shark-shifters are heading to Lichuan, Enshi City.”

“Where the hell is that?” Vane asked.

“Inland, about a week or so by horse. It’s where the Tenglong Caves are.”

“The dragon caves?” Scot ran his knuckles over his beard, his eyebrows wrinkling in curiosity. “Isn’t that place still supposed to be teeming with dragon magic?”

“Yep. A great place to hide treasure,” I responded.

“You know no one searching for dragon treasure there has ever come out.” Scot leaned against a mast. “Old dragon magic is not something to mess with.”

“There is no other option.” My gaze went to Cooper’s, his eyes saying the same. For AB, there was no other choice, plus Katrina couldn’t go back on her promise. All we could do was move forward.

“Cooper and I will head out tomorrow… with Katrina.” I muttered the last part. Her vow put her right in the game; she couldn’t stay back. “The rest will stay here.”

Voices instantly refuted, heads shaking.

“No,” Scot exclaimed. “I’m not letting you go off someplace like that with no backup.”

“Scot, this isn’t up for debate. You are my first mate; I need you here, in charge. And if anything happens to me, this is your ship… you are the captain. The flag on this ship will never be lowered.” That was the rule of the sea: the pirate might die, but the name and the ship would continue on.

Scot’s jaw rolled, but he knew this was how it went. He took on the role of captain if I was off ship.

“Then Zid and I go with you,” Vane stated.

“No.” I wagged my head. “The more people, the more we draw notice. Cooper and I have fought things you guys could never imagine.” Like the creatures Rapava made from Zoey’s DNA, turning things like strighoul into smarter, harder-to-kill monsters. Strighoul were the bottom feeders in the fae world. They were what humans thought of as “vampires,” but they were far worse. They didn’t just suck blood; they were cannibals, eating fae to contain powers.

Zoey’s “kids,” as we called them, had escaped and were still out there. They were so good at hiding that even the bounty hunters, Ember and Eli, couldn’t find them.

“And Katrina certainly can hold her own. We’ll be fine.”

“I’m going too.” Annabeth’s voice came from the stairs, a sleeping monkey in her hoodie pocket.

“No,” I refuted. “No way.”

“Yes,” she stated sternly, her attention flashing to Cooper, daring him to defy her too.

“AB…” He sighed. “It’s too dangerous. And you’re—”

“If you say human, I will punch you,” she volleyed. “And you know Zoey has taught me to fight.”