Page 64

Marin

“To surviving the sea witch!” Cass raised her mug with a flourish, the amber liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. She rocked forward in her chair, unbothered as foam spilled over the side, sliding down her fingers and onto the scarred surface of the well-worn table.

With a chuckle, she switched the mug into her other hand and flicked the droplets of foam into the air, the spray splattering revelers at another table. But they hardly noticed. The tavern buzzed with laughter and the dizzy warmth of too much ale.

Behind me, the fire crackled in the hearth, heat warming my back, while the scent of smoke and roasted meat clung to the air.

“And steel chains coated in spiked barnacles and dipped in burning salt.” Bowen cracked his hand into the air like he held a whip, then lifted his glass.

Gavin scrubbed a hand over his jaw, then leaned back, draping one arm behind my chair as he raised his mug with a crooked smile. “And acidic foam, and evil sentient kelp!”

Cass shuddered. “Betrayed by sea plants. I may never recover.”

I shook my head, grinning as my mug joined theirs, hovering over the table. “Why are our toasts always so violent?”

“Good point.” Cass glanced at Bowen. “Would you like to add your poignant flair?”

But before Bowen could speak, Gavin rapped his knuckles on the table. He cleared his throat.

“To Mare. Who survived the sea. The sky—”

“Your devilish presence,” Cass cut in.

Gavin’s gaze narrowed. “I’m emoting here. Where was I?” He shifted, voice softening. “For coming back to us—” His fingers brushed along my neck. “To me.”

Bowen cocked his head. “Uh, oh. Gavin’s getting sappy. We’re doomed.”

“No.” I leaned into Gavin’s side, his arm tightening around me. “We’re family.”

A beat of silence passed, then our glasses clinked and our voices echoed. “To family.”

Not just a crew. Not just survivors. But a family found, and that was worth its weight in gold.

My gaze drifted to the empty seat beside Bowen. An untouched mug of ale sat in front of it. Five chairs, four occupants. A bittersweet pang caught in my throat. We couldn’t change the past or reclaim the years lost, but that time had cemented our bond. And for that, I was grateful.

Cass took another gulp from her glass, then dug into her dinner. She licked sauce from her fingers and regaled Bowen with the details of her latest botanical serum.

A man with a lute wove through the tables, collecting coins for a song, and I nudged Gavin in the ribs.

“Maybe he knows your poem. Give him a copper, let’s see if he knows the tale of the Man from Ever.”

Gavin winked, waving the bard away as he flipped a gold coin heads-up onto the table. The coin’s edge caught the firelight, making it glint.

“That poem needs a new verse.”

He leaned in, his shoulder brushing mine, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Then he whispered the poem, his rough tone curling around me.

“There once was a man from Ever,

Who’d thought he’d lost his damn mind forever.

Until a woman from the sea set him free…

And now he follows her wherever.”

Heat flushed across my cheeks, but I didn’t pull away. The chair creaked softly as I looped my arms around Gavin’s neck and kissed the smirk off his face.

“Charming till the bitter end,” I said, nuzzling my chin against the coarse stubble on his jaw. “Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll immortalize your words in my book.”

He dragged me into his lap, splaying his hand across my back. “A whole book about my ruthless charm? I told you, Mare. You can't resist me.”

Cass groaned. She tossed a crust of bread at us, then pushed aside her plate. “Take it somewhere private, you two. I’m trying to eat.”

Gavin cocked his eyebrow. “Careful, Cass. Marin is casting villains in her book.”

“Actually,” I said, unable to stifle my grin. “I have a different story in mind for Cass. A tale for the ages.”

Cass winked. “I like them tall, dark, and good with their hands, extra gold if they’re not afraid to get dirty.”

Bowen choked on his drink, coughing into his elbow as Cass slapped him between the shoulder blades.

“Leave it to Cass to write her own story.” With a laugh, I slid off Gavin's lap, then squeezed his knee. “Come on. We have one last quest, and I want to finish it before dark.”

We left Bowen and Cass behind in the warmth of the tavern, trading firelight and laughter for the cold, windswept air at the edge of Bowen’s estate.

A row of stone markers, fenced in by an iron rail, overlooked the churning sea. The sunlight dipped below the horizon, casting its final rays in a wash of fading orange.

I knelt in the grass beside a freshly settled mound of earth. Three smooth stones were stacked one on top of the other, marking the grave.

Gavin stood behind me, arms folded across his chest as he peered at the stones.

For a moment, both of us were silent, then in a quiet undertone, he said, “Reid’s last words were that he was sorry, for everything.

He wanted to ask for your forgiveness. He wasn’t the same man when I saw him.

The guilt was in every line of his face. Every breath.”

I ran my fingers gently over the stones. It was strange to have held hate in my heart for so long, only for it to vanish so quietly. What remained wasn’t anger, just a hollow sadness. Not for what he’d done, but for what he never got to say, and the life he didn’t get to finish.

“I think he would have liked to know his journal helped defeat the witch.”

Gavin laughed under his breath. “He’d have taken all the credit, listing his version of the facts while he wiped his glasses clean.”

“That’s true. But I still would have liked to see it.”

“Me too.”

As the light dimmed and the first stars emerged overhead, I reached into my belt and drew out a glimmering sheath. The shard pulsed softly in my hand, its magic drained, waiting to be filled with the ocean’s power.

Gavin dropped down beside me, digging into the dirt with a spade. Making room. A hiding place for buried treasure.

When he’d dug deep enough, I set the shard inside, then swept my hand through the dirt to cover it.

“You’re part of the legend now, Reid. Keep it safe.”

We sat in silence, listening to the waves break and the wind sailing over the rocky cliff. Gavin reached for my hand, lacing his fingers through mine.

It was cold, but I didn’t feel cold. I felt like I was camped under the stars, a fire crackling, the five of us staring into the flickering flames, exhausted from the hunt, but determined to keep searching.

I leaned my head against Gavin’s shoulder and let my voice break the stillness, telling one last story.

This one was for Reid.

“Once upon a time, a band of adventurous hunters roamed across foreign kingdoms and strange lands in search of a fabled treasure…”