Starsinger

Open Seas

The rain began later that night. Rather than let themselves be soaked, the crew retreated below decks whenever they weren't working. A few hung hammocks from the ceiling. Sleeping in the musty cargo hold was far from comfortable, but at least it was dry. Aaron noticed that even the sailors steered clear of the corner with the mysterious mahogany crate covered in netting.

At first Aaron enjoyed the change of pace. He played cards and dice with the sailors and listened to the patter of the rain hitting the deck.

By the third day however, it had lost its charm. Keeping close quarters made the crewmembers testier, and the passengers along with them. Jace's mood seemed to grow blacker with each day Delia and Neal spent huddled together in the far end of the hold, casting spells and comparing notes. Neal kept his voice low enough that Aaron couldn't make out the words of his running commentary, but there was no mistaking his smug, flirtatious tone.

Raelyn had retreated to her cabin. Whenever Aaron climbed down the ladder to check on her, he'd find her deep in Gavran's book, studying the pages like the meaning of life itself was written on them. Which for her, maybe it was.

Around the dice table, Aaron turned the conversation towards stories of people going missing, but the sailors were more interested in talking about the missing Zareyman princess than disappearing Wood folk. A sailor with two rings in his nose said he thought he'd heard of a headsman's son going missing in a village outside Aster, then interrupted his story to accuse one of the other crewmembers of using loaded dice. The game descended into chaos. Instead of staking his claim on the honor of one or other of the crew, Aaron took his chance to slip away.

Before he'd gone more than a few steps, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He started to turn when suddenly his knees buckle beneath him. Aaron fell to the ground, dizzy and winded.

"Oops, maybe a bit too much." Neal was standing over him, grinning apologetically. "You alright there, fellow?"

"You ass," Delia shouted. She strode into Aaron's vision and smacked Neal on the shoulder. "You have to ask before you do that to someone."

Neal shrugged. "I didn't hurt him."

Aaron pulled himself upright, his head slowly clearing. "What happened?"

"Neal is showing me a siphon spell. You can use it to draw power from other people. If a mage doesn't have enough energy to attempt an especially complex or powerful spell on their own, they can use the siphon to essentially borrow energy from others," Delia explained. She shot a glare at Neal, who was casually inspecting his bootlaces. "I didn't realize he was going to use it without at least giving you a warning."

Aaron tried to chuckle and brush it off. "What'd he do, take a few years of my life away?"

Delia smiled. "You're still breathing, aren't you?"

"For now."

"Then your life is your own. You might feel tired for a few hours, but that energy still belongs to you. It comes back."

"Maybe a few days of tired," Neal threw in. Delia shot him a dark look and he grinned mischievously. "I got a bit carried away."

Aaron was just thinking how much he'd like to be anywhere else when Sapphire emerged from behind another crate. She looked at Aaron's wobbly stance and frowned.

Neal ambled towards her. "Little bluebird," he called innocently, raising one hand to reach for her. "Give a fellow a hand with something—"

Sapphire twisted out of his reach with a sickening quickness, sweeping one leg out low and swift to knock Neal's legs from under him. He crashed to the hold deck with a yell. Sapphire's hand moved for the dagger at her wrist—