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“I guess it’s time then,” I whisper, my words getting lost in the wind.

I feel Grayson go still next to me. I know he’s biding his time.

What we’re about to do . . . it places every person on this ship at risk.

And I know the weight he carries on his shoulders as the captain. It’s the same weight I’ve carried on mine since I was bequeathed the Trinity after my father’s death. As captain, we take great honor in the prizes we steal. We also shoulder the greatest sorrow when things go wrong.

Looking to the blue sky above, I send a silent prayer to the heavens that we will not lose a single soul. The only answer I get back is the ominous whipping sounds of the wind tearing across the deck of the ship.

Grayson steps toward the railing. All eyes shift to him, where his men are gathered at the center of the deck.

He spreads his hands out wide along the railing as he addresses his crew.

“Dead Man’s Passage has claimed countless lives.

Today, we embark on our journey across the stone isles to the Solise Mountains that lie just beyond.

This trek is perilous. I do not want to deny you that truth.

Keep your wits about you and watch out for your fellow brethren, because if we make it to the other side, we will be one step closer to the greatest treasure ever bestowed upon this world! ”

Grayson unsheathes his sword and juts it into the air.

Roars from his crew rise from the main deck as they do the same. Metal from their swords glints in the sunlight as they begin to chant their captain’s name. Growing louder. And louder.

Chills spread across my skin as I take in the sight of him, fully in his element.

The great leader beckoning his men to chase after death in the pursuit of something more wondrous than any pirate has ever laid their eyes upon.

Gold and jewels that are meant for a god.

Coin that will buy our freedom a thousand times over.

Each one of our lives will be forever changed once we cross Dead Man’s Passage.

“To your stations!” Zaos yells from my side as the chants die down. All the men scatter, hurrying to their respective positions as they sheathe their swords.

Zaos and I flank Grayson at the railing.

“Are you ready?” Grayson asks, his blue eyes meeting mine.

“Ready,” I say firmly, the apprehension shifting into excitement. I am made of salt and water and should this day claim my soul, I know my body will rest where my soul is meant to rise—from the murky depths.

Grayson looks out over his ship and a wicked smile curls the right edge of his lips. “Weigh anchor! Release the sails!”

There’s no turning back now.

Everyone is quiet as we enter Dead Man’s Passage, the first large isles sit to our left and right, just far enough from each other that the Caelestia can pass through without scraping the bottom.

“Steady!” Grayson calls down to his helmsman as I see him straining to hold the wheel tight against the growing wind.

We’ve only released the mainmast sails, given the direction of the wind; Grayson didn’t want us to be pulled too far to the right. The only problem is that the currents created by the stone isles are rushing toward us, working against the sails, making the ship move much slower.

White blossoms along my knuckles as I hold tight to the railing, bracing for an unexpected impact that thankfully never comes. We break through the first threshold, drifting beyond the first isles.

Even Zaos releases a long sigh the moment we move past them, as if he’d been holding his breath the entire time, but Grayson stays quiet—pensive.

His gaze shifts back and forth between the path in front of us and his men below.

The bow of the Caelestia aims straight for another isle.

This one is three times larger than the two we just passed.

White capped water sprays up against the gray stone, the current rushing rapidly around it.

Thinking back to the briefing session we had days ago, I remember it as one of the isles Grayson is most worried about, but looking at him now, no one would ever guess that only days ago we’d spent hours talking about the best way to cut around it.

“Steer her starboard side!” Grayson calls to his helmsman below. The ship shifts suddenly as the helmsman guides her to the right.

Wind fills the mainmast sails and wood creaks under the strain. I hold my breath as we pick up speed, the stone isle slowly shifting to our left as the wind takes us further to the right in the direction of another isle.

There’s too many of them to avoid.

My dark hair whips around my face. I tuck the strands behind my ears as I narrow my gaze on the looming threats in front of us.

“We’re moving too fast,” I say, trying to keep my panicked nerves at bay.

Grayson and Zaos are silent next to me, but I look over and Zaos has the same worried look on his face that I know mine has.

“Grayson,” I plead. “If we don’t slow down, we’re going to hit that isle straight on. It’ll shatter the entire hull.”

“She’s right, Captain,” Zaos chimes in, though his voice doesn’t waver the way mine does.

“She’ll hold” is all Grayson says, not listening to either one of us.

I exchange another look with Zaos before we both shift our attentions ahead. Tension clenches my throat tight the closer we get to the right isle. We’re barreling toward it and once we get too close, there’s no power great enough to turn this ship away from it.

Seconds tick by and I feel that panic rising higher and higher in my chest.

“Grayson,” I whisper, but his gaze remains trained ahead. The center of his brows is pinched together and for a moment I’m not sure if he’s even here with us or if his mind has led him to some far away place.

We’re so close to the stone isle that the edge of the water surrounding it dips out of sight.

We’re going to fucking crash!

I scream Grayson’s name this time.

Another breath passes and finally Grayson yells, “Port side! Turn her port side! Hard!”

The helmsman’s hands slap against the handles of the wheel as he spins it rapidly.

A deep shudder moves beneath our feet as the rudder catches and the left side of the ship dips so sharply, waves splash onto the main deck.

One of Grayson’s men slips from the wetness, but another crewman catches him before he slides too far to the edge.

A loud, eerie creek sounds from below as the hull shakes even harder.

“The rock is scraping the bottom of the ship!” Zaos calls out as I wrap my arms around the railing to keep from falling over. Grayson moves quickly behind me, shielding my body with his own as he secures his arms around me.

“Check below deck! See if we’re taking on water!” Grayson orders his crew and two men dart for the hatch.

My heartbeat thuds in my ears as the screech of the wooden hull scraping against rock finally comes to a halt. Eyes widening, I watch as we glide past the stone isle to the right. It’s so close, if I were to lean out, I could actually touch it.

I rise back to my full height and Grayson sweeps my hair over my shoulder. I turn to look up at him, his arms still caging me in against the railing.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his breaths come a little quicker—the first sign of his worry since we left his room earlier this morning.

“Yes.” I sigh, trying to catch my breath. “I’m okay. We took a big hit to the hull, though. Why didn’t you turn sooner?”

Grayson points behind us. Water churns violently in our wake, but I look just beyond where the blue meets the white caps of the larger isle Grayson was trying to avoid and that’s when I see it.

Just to the right of it, smaller rocks crest the surface.

But we couldn’t see them on our way through because the white caps masked them.

“That entire area is made of jagged stone. The only way through is to risk the hull by steering right for the smaller isle.”

“Fucking hells,” I mutter.

“Captain!” one of the crewmen hollers from below. We both spin around and I hold my breath, waiting for the news. “The hull held! There’s no water damage that we can see from the inside.”

“Good work!” Grayson calls down to them. “Back to your stations!” He moves back to my side and gives the helmsman another command to steer us through the cluster of the next three isles.

“It might hold for now, Captain, but how in the hells are we supposed to make it back if we keep damaging the hull like that?” Zaos scowls at Grayson.

The look on his face reminds me of Amara and how she has always challenged me when I’ve made decisions that could impact the integrity of the Trinity or put our crew at risk.

“That was the worst of it,” Grayson says, his voice low. “We’ll send down our craftsman to take a look at the hull once we anchor on the other side just to make sure the damage isn’t too severe to get us back.”

“Aye,” Zaos responds.

“That was the worst of it?” I echo in a whisper so low, only Grayson can hear. “Why do I feel like you’re lying?”

He eyes me sidelong, his long black hair whipping behind him. “Weren’t you the one who reinforced the need to keep my crew feeling good about the task at hand?”

Scowling, I cross my arms over my chest. “I guess I did.”

He pinches my chin between his fingers. “Then let’s keep it going. We’re almost to the other side.”

Once his hand drops from my face, I look forward and force myself to trust that Grayson’s knowledge of the isles will get us through the rest of the passage.

“Steer us port side! We need to break through the two isles on the left.” The helmsman makes the adjustments Grayson commands of him, and the stern of the ship centers between the two large rocks on our left. “Reef the sails!”

“ Finally , you decide to slow her down,” I grumble, but Grayson doesn’t laugh.

He only raises a brow at me and I shrug my shoulders.

“Can the two of you focus on the task at hand please? I’d rather not have to take a swim today,” Zaos deadpans. In a flash, I imagine Zaos with drenched hair and that standard scowl on his face and I try to hide my laughter, but fail.

“I think I’d quite like to see you go for a swim.”

His eyes narrow on me, but I pay him no mind as Grayson moves closer to the railing, blocking my view of Zaos.

Just as before, the current flows rapidly toward us—but now that the sails are at half mast, we’re moving even slower.

“Get ready to release the sails!”

Collin and a few other men have the ropes in hand, waiting for their captain’s command.

“Steady!” he tells his helmsman. “Steady!”

The closer we get to the trio of dark gray rocks, the harder my heart bangs against my ribs. When we reviewed the route, this was the only other part that Grayson informed us needed to be perfect to ensure we don’t damage the ship beyond repair.

If we can just get through this . . .

Just as the stern passes the front of the two stone isles, a huge gust of wind catches the mainsails, pulling hard on the ropes. Pained hollers rip through the air and I look down to see Collin’s face twisted in agony as he digs his heels into the floor, leaning all his weight backwards.

“We’re almost through!” I yell, hating the way they struggle. Seeing the pain on their faces makes my stomach coil tight.

From the corner of my eye, I see Zaos hurry toward the staircase.

Right before he reaches Collin and the other two men, another strong gust of wind blows over the sails, yanking the ropes upward.

Clutching Grayson’s arm, I watch in horror as Collin is thrown forward.

The other two men releasing their holds on the rope.

“Steer us port side! Now! Now! Now!” Grayson’s voice booms over the wind. I feel the urgency of it all the way to my bones.

The ship steers left just as Zaos makes the final few steps to Collin. Grasping onto the rope, he’s joined by the other two men. Then I see Collin release the rope and collapse onto the ground. Even from this far away, I can see the burns on his hands as he holds them out.

Pushing myself off the railing, I go toward the staircase, but Grayson grabs my arm.

“No, Rowenya.”

Whirling on him, I’m about to remind him of his promise that he will not stand in my way, no matter the risk, but the moment my eyes set on his, I see the fear etched in his irises.

“Please,” he whispers.

I take a moment. Two. Then I concede. Swallowing the knot in my throat as I glance at Collin, who’s still on the ground while Zaos and the other men try to get the sail back under control.

“He needs help, Grayson.”

A muscle feathers along his jaw. “I know.” Interlacing his fingers with my own, he leans over the railing and commands two of his men off the foremast to help Collin, but they don’t reach him before the ship begins to shudder violently.

Everything happens so quickly, I barely see the large stone isle to my left before the wind blows us right against it. Shards of wood splinter off the railing along the main deck, shooting out in all directions.

“Starboard side!” Grayson cages me against the railing again. The hull roars an ominous groan as wood scrapes against rock. “Hold the line, Zaos! Hold the line!”

Everything slows. Each heartbeat sounding in my ears feels like a lifetime passing by. Grayson continues yelling orders from behind me, but all I can feel is the unearthly wickedness of this place threatening to damn us to the hells for daring to pass through.

Zaos’s body slides forward as the ship takes another hit—on the right side this time. My teeth gnash together from the impact.

“We’re almost there, Little Pearl,” I think I hear Grayson whisper next to my ear, but I can’t be sure.

“The hull is breached!” someone from bellow us yells and panic grips me like a vise.

This can’t be it. This can’t be the end. Not when we’re so close and certainly not when we have vipers at our backs, waiting to strike.

The next time I hear Grayson’s voice, I’m sure it’s real as he yells, “Release the sails! Now!”

Fabric jostles loudly in the wind and I watch the rope slide through Zaos’s hands as the sail lowers, catching the full brunt of the wind.

The Caelestia jolts forward and just as I think we’re about to take another hit against the isle, we pass right by the final emerged stone and straight into a sea of fog.