Page 12 of Virelai’s Hoard (The Dagger & Tide Trilogy #1)

It sent a spark of heat through Sable’s stomach. Because Riley looked at her like she wanted to play with fire. So Sable matched, and leaned back, and waited to see Riley’s next move.

Riley fiddled with one of her remaining coins, spinning it lazily between her fingers, then stilled.

Her eyes searched Sable’s face, and something passed between them.

A shift. Like Riley had found what she was looking for.

Clutching the coin tightly in her fist, she lifted her arm and flung it overboard. Then she raised again, another handful.

“The Siren,” Kittredge gasped in a quiet breath, as if afraid of calling the real thing to them. Then, louder. “ Shit , I’m definitely out of the game now.”

Sable wasn’t smiling, exactly, but Riley still realized her misstep as soon as she took a look at her face, her eyes widening just a fraction. Because Riley knew as well as she did that she couldn’t have the Siren. Sable herself was already holding it.

And still, Riley didn’t back down. She doubled down , meeting Sable’s gaze as if she dared her to say something.

With a sharp smirk, Sable folded.

Riley was caught so off guard that, for the first time since they’d started the game, a genuine expression broke through the mask. It was pure, unadulterated confusion, and it was delicious.

She wasn’t the only one confused. Nyxen was frowning at her, too. Then he coughed. “Well. Let’s see who won.”

“Wait.” Kittredge’s palms slapped the surface of the barrel as she shot up on her feet. “That’s not a Siren.” She pointed an accusing finger at Riley, but her wide smile took out any bite her words might’ve had. “You were bluffing! I won!”

Riley grinned sheepishly. “Looks like it.”

“Another round?” Nyxen asked, eyes sparkling.

***

Bells later, the celebrations wound down.

Most of the lanterns had flickered off with the gray light of dawn, and cheerful singing gave way to the tranquil waves lapping lazily at the hull as the ship sailed deeper into the wide open sea.

The drunk sailors who had no friends with the strength or will to carry them to their hammocks were either passed out on deck or, in Maren’s case, drawling incoherent mumblings to a seagull.

It perched on an overturned barrel, pecking at the wood.

“Your feathers are so shiny,” he told the bird, his lips spreading in the approximation of a charming smile. “How’d you get them like that?”

The seagull squawked at him and took off in a fluster of wings.

“You had the Siren.” Sable hadn’t heard Riley’s approach, but she was here now, leaning against the Moonshadow’s mainmast and watching her curiously. She didn’t wait for confirmation to continue. “ And you had a winning hand.” A light frown followed. “Why did you fold?”

Sable, sat on a chair, glanced at Patch, his tail lashing through the air for equilibrium as he climbed one of the sturdier ropes.

If she caught him chewing through it, she really would throw him overboard.

“I think you already have a theory,” she said, flicking her eyes to the other woman. “Let’s hear it.”

Riley cocked her head to the side at the subtle challenge, considering. In the end, she said, “You are fond of Kittredge, sort of like Nyxen is. You wanted her to keep playing, since she was having fun.”

Not wrong.

“And…” Riley’s voice dipped slightly, her gaze never leaving Sable’s. “ You were having fun, too. Sending me off balance was more important to you than winning that hand. Am I right?”

The woman was sharper than Sable would’ve given her credit for after that stunt she’d tried to pull on her last morning.

Which made Sable reassess. Perhaps it hadn’t been a stunt, and Riley’s explanation of the incident had been the truth.

Sable could hardly tolerate fools on her ship, but Riley… she was not a fool, after all.

Sable rested her elbows against her knees as she leaned forward, giving Riley an intense once over.

“Yes.” She let Riley’s self-satisfied smile wear off before she added, “But there’s a third reason.

I would’ve believed you if I didn’t happen to have the Siren myself. I thought that was worthy of respect.”

The words hung heavy in the air between them, and Riley blinked at her, surprised, her subtle fiddling ceasing entirely.

That was new. Sable couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What are you thinking?”

Riley opened her mouth, closed it, her throat working on words that weren’t coming out.

Eventually, a slow smile spread on her lips, and Sable knew right then she wouldn’t get a straight answer.

But what she did get was unexpected all the same.

Slowly, Riley pushed off the mast and walked right up to Sable until they were mere inches apart.

Her ungloved hand reached toward Sable’s scarred cheek, and Sable gripped Riley’s wrist tightly before it made contact, shooting her a warning look.

It was brushed aside with that playful little smile Sable found she liked and a gentle but steady pressure.

Sable didn’t release her wrist, but allowed Riley to get closer, until her fingertips stroked along Sable’s jaw and tilted her head up.

Her fingers were smooth and her touch so light it made her skin tingle.

The pulse under her grip beat warm and steady.

“I think you’ve been watching me all night,” Riley said, her eyes dipping to Sable’s lips. Their breaths mingled in the space between them. Her voice lowered, which made the tingling spread far lower than just her jaw. “And that you’ve been waiting to catch me alone.”

With a smirk, Riley’s hand slid from her jaw, much slower than necessary, the soft drag of her fingertips making Sable want to follow, grab her wrist tighter, pull her back in. Find out what Riley’s lips tasted like. She didn’t. She let go instead.

Riley’s expression turned serious. “I think you want something from me.”

It was Sable’s turn to blink. She hadn’t been expecting Riley to see right through her, nor the solid heat settling somewhere deep inside her stomach. But that wasn’t important right now, and Sable forced herself to shove it aside.

“You’re right,” she said, a brief smile flashing on her lips. “ Again . I have a… proposition for you.”

And just like that, Riley’s mask was back in place. She crossed her arms. “I’m listening.”

“You must’ve noticed by now that the captain doesn’t mingle with the crew. That no one steps through the door leading to her quarters.”

Judging by the raise of her eyebrows, this wasn’t going in the direction she expected, but Riley nodded once.

“I’ve known Calla for years, and I don’t buy this Virelai’s Hoard shit. I think something else is going on, and I want you to help me figure out what.”

A flicker of something passed through Riley’s face, gone before Sable could interpret it. “What’s in it for me?”

Now that she put it out there as plainly as she had, Riley was surely going to do her own digging, so the real question here was… Why would she share the information with Sable once she found out? What could Sable give her that Calla wouldn’t?

Gold wouldn’t cut it. If Sable was wrong about this, they would all walk away from this with more than they could carry. But she could promise something better.

“Protection,” she said simply. “Regardless of what we find at the end of this journey, I can make sure you reach it in one piece.”

Riley frowned, her restless fingers fiddling with her sleeve. Patch, now perched on her shoulder, gave Sable an inquisitive stare.

“And a seat at the table, should you want it,” Sable added, and that got Riley’s undivided attention. “You’re too sharp to be scrubbing decks with the rest of them.”

Riley was watching her intently now, her eyes searching Sable’s and trying to spot the trap. She wouldn’t be finding one. For better or worse, Sable was blunt, direct, and true to her word.

“There’s just one problem,” Riley said, not committing. “I can’t read. If you want me to snoop on her maps and letters, you might as well be asking Patch to do it and get the same result.” She shrugged, trying to appear as if she didn’t care, but the unease in her words rang clear.

Sable frowned. That was not ideal. But…

She stood. “I’ll teach you. Let’s go.” With that, she headed for the hatch leading below deck.

“Now?” Riley called after her, skeptical.

“Yes. Now.”