Page 9 of Stars Above the Never Sea (The Last Faeyte #1)

Chapter four

Callan

B y Caelum, these docks reek.

The lumpers haul more boxes onto the gangway of Volatus , cursing and shouting as the wood tips dangerously.

The dockmaster, a stocky, salt-crusted male with more dirt on him than anything else, clicks his tongue as I turn to watch, eyeing them. “I’m not paying for the stevedores to throw my cargo from the side of the dock, Grit.”

Grit coughs and spits in response, the phlegm spraying the ground beside us. “Heavy load, this time.”

“Indeed.” My voice is smooth. “Ensure that it all ends up on board, will you?”

Merrick is frowning as they carry another pallet past him.

His burly arms are crossed, his disapproval reaching me from where he stands, just to the right of the gangway on deck.

Beside him, barely reaching the older male’s chest, Leo’s brows are scrunched as he inspects a list. His eyes move slowly over the words as he mouths them to himself, the task undoubtedly set by Merrick.

Leaving Grit to sort out his useless workers, I slide my hands into my pockets as I slip past them. Merrick turns to me. “Where did this come from?”

I shrug. “I went out this morning. Bought a few more boxes.”

“Callan.” The older man sighs. “We haven’t weighed it. We’re already over where we should be.”

My hand opens and closes, flexing reactively. “We can manage. Volatus can take it. I found some additional space.”

“Really?” He throws out his arms, sweeping them over Leo’s head to gesture at the deck. Sarcasm drips from his voice. “Where?”

He may have a point. All around us, boxes are piled high, obscuring my view of the port side. Sol is directing another set, Esme beside him and both of them wearing matching expressions of disapproval. “Where’s Riordan?”

I swear, if he’s still in the damned pleasure rooms—

“Here.” He appears at my left side, sweat from the hot, humid air dotting his forehead. “Gods, Callan. How are we going to manage this?”

I force myself to breathe. “The same way we always do.”

“We’ve never brought this much back before,” Merrick murmurs. “We’ll add it up, but we’re pushing the deadweight tonnage. Maybe even exceeding it. And you’ve never tested higher than that—”

“We’re taking it.” My tone sharpens. “I know what I can manage.”

“Do you? A few more boxes will not help in the long run, Callan. And if we can’t manage it, then we’re all in trouble.”

Beside Merrick, Leo is watching us, his head moving between each face with worry in his eyes. I force an eyeroll of my own, leaning forward to ruffle his hair before he ducks out from under me with red cheeks. “And you? What treasures have you brought on board, Leo?”

His eyes dart to Merrick, and he shrugs. Avoiding my gaze.

In fact, all of them are. Suspicion curls at the base of my throat, tightening it, as I tilt my head. The bag slung across the front of his still too-skinny body looks empty. “No bars of cocoa?”

Merrick tries to nudge his way in front of Leo, but I hold up my hand. “You love cocoa, Leo.”

Gods know he talked our ears off about it the whole way here.

“Callan,” Merrick says softly. “Leave it be.”

I look up at him, then, shielding my eyes from the already burning sun, even though the hour is not far past dawn. Merrick’s own bag is empty.

Then to Rio. He whistles, ignoring my glare to look over his shoulder. “You know, I think Smee is calling me.”

All of them have empty bags. My throat grows tighter. “Why didn’t you get anything?”

“I believe Sol picked up some spices for Matthias. But there’s nothing we need.” Merrick’s eyes tighten as he looks down at the little boy lingering behind him. “Although Callan is right. There is always space for a cocoa bar, Leo.”

Leo merely shakes his head, not looking up.

Merrick’s gaze is resolute when it returns to me. “We all do what we can. Even if it’s not much.”

Damn it.

Spinning, I stalk away from them. My voice rises with irritation, and something deeper. “ Esmeray !”

She already has her arms crossed, an amused Riordan hovering at her left shoulder as if she might protect him from my rising ire. “Don’t start with me, Callan. I didn’t see anything I liked.”

“And you?” I eye Riordan, and he lifts a shoulder with a clearly feigned shudder.

“Seems I drank a little too much last night. My stomach couldn’t face the market.”

Sol stands beside them. He meets my glare with one of his own. “ I bought spices.”

Spices that weigh less than my little finger, if that.

Running a hand over my face, I force out a breath, trying to make space for the words in my throat. “We have space for you to bring something back. Any of you.”

They’ve already been dragged along with this, with no payment in return. Access to the Terrosan market is the single benefit to being part of this crew, and they are not bloody taking it.

“We have no wish to add more weight to your shoulders.” Esme’s words are quiet, but no less strong for the force they carry. “You bear enough, Cal.”

None of them will budge. I know them well enough.

Slowly, I nod, swallowing the disappointment that settles heavily in my gut.

“I’m taking a walk before we cast off. Final weight calculations, all of you.

We need to make sure the topweight isn’t enough to overbalance us while we’re still on the water.

I’ll run final checks when I come back, but I want us ready to cast off. ”

If we’re not careful, we’ll drown ourselves before we even reach the Never.

“Leo!” He spins at my shout, and I point to the dock. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

Merrick gives me a dry look, shaking his head as he turns away and I nudge Leo onto the gangway. “To buy you a damned cocoa bar.”

His face lights up, before it falls again and he worries his lip with his teeth. “But the weights—”

“You weigh half as much as anyone else on this ship.” My voice is terse. “So we have weight to play with.”

He carefully considers my completely made-up reasoning, the serious dip in his brow clearing into something a little more hopeful. “Maybe… just one bar?”

“Absolutely.” My throat tightens. “Maybe even a few, to even it up.”

I set off at a clipped pace, Leo darting ahead. The quick, light sound of footsteps makes me glare ahead, but I don’t bother looking back. “I don’t need to be monitored.”

Esme snorts as she falls into step beside me.

Her hand reaches up, checking as if her familiar twin swords might be anywhere else than strapped to her back.

“You might come back with another ten crates. Besides, I didn’t like the way those inritus looked at us last night.

Two – or three – swords are better than one. ”

I don’t argue. She’s right on that point at least. “It seems as if we’ve worn out our welcome.”

We duck around a group of glaring males, their arms crossed as they watch us go by. One makes the sign of Endymion, his hand fluttering at his side as if trying to ward off whatever maegis we might inflict on him.

“Are you surprised?” Esme mutters. Her face loses any trace of amusement, hands twitching, and the male shrinks back. “This is the longest we’ve lingered. We make them uncomfortable.”

My fingers flex at my sides. Ahead of me, Leo is almost dancing in his excitement, and I call out for him to keep close before turning back to Esme. “People always fear what they can’t be bothered to understand.”

A small smile curves up her lips. “They understand what you can do, well enough. You think word doesn’t spread when Volatus pulls into the harbor?

We’re not people to them, Cal. We’re the monsters that linger under their beds, and they don’t like us walking around in the daylight as if we have no limitations. ”

“If only they knew.” My words are wry, even as my eyes linger on a pair of guardia.

The distinctive twelve-spoked emblem of the Guild is emblazoned on the chest of their black tunic, the two of them having an intense discussion as they point down toward the market.

They’re joined by several more, the group expanding with serious, focused expressions.

My gut clenches as they spread out. “Something’s going on. ”

As we reach the tall, arched stone entrance to the market, I spot more black-clad men, moving from stall to stall. They stand out amongst the hundreds of brightly-lit awnings, the owners already hawking an array of food, drink, spices, clothing, and weapons—amongst other things.

There is nothing that can’t be bought in the Terrosan market. Legal or otherwise.

“A raid?” Esme pauses beside me, her lips pursing as her gaze follows mine. “Perhaps it’s not us that has everyone so unsettled.”

“Maybe not.” But where trouble exists, so does blame. And we’ve faced more than our fair share of it in Terrosa over the years. “I thought this trip had been too quiet. Stay close to Leo.”

He turns at the sound of his name, bounding back to us. I force a smile. “Let’s find this stall. We need to get back to set off.”

Nodding, he grabs at my hand and tugs me along with determination. “This way!”

There’s no hesitation as he leads me through the winding paths.

The owner of the cocoa stall, an umber-skinned female, presses her lips together at the sight of us but says nothing as Leo takes a deep sniff of the scented air.

An expression of what could only be called bliss fills his face, and her face softens.

Leaving Esme to watch my back, I crouch beside him. “What are we having, then?”

He studies each stack of shiny cocoa bars with a serious look, and I take the opportunity to cast a glance around us.

“Cal.” There’s a warning in Esme’s tone. “There’s a lot of guardia here.”

Another pair sweeps past us, and I straighten. My back stiffens when they pause, but they only look around us, even shifting to move around the back of the cocoa stall. The keeper shifts her ire from us to them in a single moment. “Can I help you?”

The guardia straightens. “We’re looking for a girl.”

Arms folded, the keeper looks around. “Throw a stone and you’ll hit one.”