PoraBora

Chapter Thirty-One

They were watching her. Pe glared back when it suited her, which was mostly, or always, and definitely every time. They'd laugh and poke fun and Pe would glare harder. So they would laugh harder.

Which was why Pe tried to escape to her manta, where at least she could ignore the warriors as long as she didn't look up. In the late evening, when fish was cooked below deck and the shadows were long, her boat was in the dark. The perfect place to hide, she thought. The perfect place to be alone.

But a warrior stood between her and the boat.

"Excuse me," she growled.

"Dinner's almost ready, kid," said the warrior. "You'd better turn around and get in line or you won't be eating until Pepu'i comes up."

It had been days since she'd come aboard and she could barely manage the patience. "I'm not hungry."

"But you will be, and the galley will be closed, and you'll look like a fool."

"Fine."

"Good girl." The warrior smiled.

"I'll look like a fool. Now get out of my way."

He stepped only more in her way. "Come on, now. It's snapper tonight. They've got it nice and tender. You'll love it."

"I've got plenty of snapper on my boat."

"No you don't," said the warrior. "You've got nothing on your boat. We put it on our ice to help it keep."

She narrowed her eyes. What else had they taken from the manta? "I just want to check and make sure everything is where it's supposed to be."

"Are you worried we stole something?"

"I'm worried you stole everything," Pe growled.

The warrior laughed. She wanted to kick him. One good blow from her peg leg and he wouldn't have the breath to laugh. "What kind of people do you take us for?"

"You've got a firelock in your belt," snorted Pe.

"That is what it means to be a warrior, yes."

It was then Pe noticed the chief's naval commander, Ikaika, standing at the railing above her. Looking down. Looking at her.

"What do you say?" asked the warrior. "Dinner?"

"Fine," she said. "But not with you."

The warrior only chuckled and lowered himself back onto the sideboard.

Ikaika was still watching her when she got to the deck, but he didn't approach. It was all for his paranoia, thought Pe bitterly. Noikoa had almost sent her away with fish and oil, but because, Oh nooo, she's a spy! She'll tell everybody what color grass we're wearing, she was stuck on the eel with a broken boat and a bunch of clownfish.

Maybe she could use him to lure Bora back.

Pe wondered if the warrior was stationed on the sideboard on Ikaika's orders, or if she hadn't caught him peeking around her boat, looking for something he liked. A glance over the railing found him still relaxing in the shade, and Ikaika still watching her back.

She gave him a glare. He didn't flinch.

Fine, she thought. Go ahead and watch. See if I care. And laugh, too. At the stupid girl who got herself trapped on your ship.

Iumili stood in line, waiting for food, and Pe joined her.

"Back of the line, Tota," said one of the warriors behind her.