A princess in search of her past. A boy driven by money. A crew that is loyal to the end.
Princess Ria is adopted, and she has lived with the acceptance that she will never know her real parents. But when she learns of the existence of her adoption...
Gin felt the warmth of Sam's hand on his side. He flinched at the initial pain brought by the pressure, but as soon as Sam's somastringere flowed into him, the pain became more like a tingle.
"So, what happened on that island?" Sam started as he continued to heal Gin's bruise.
"Juli jumped off a cliff," Gin answered, shaking his head, still furious at his cousin for doing such a stupid thing.
"You got to give me more than that," Sam said.
Gin glanced at Sam, noticing the man's odd haircut--shaved clean on the sides--before turning away to stare at a wall.
He took a deep breath. If he spoke right away, his voice would crack at his anger, so he inhaled and exhaled twice before he said, "They caught up to us at the east side of the island, and we were running in a pineapple field. They were shooting at us."
"Wet oceans!" Sam's hand slipped off Gin's side for a moment but repositioned it back as he worked. "So, you were targets running in straight lines, eh?"
"Juli shot back." Gin shook his head. "When we got to the edge, she diverted the guards to follow her, and she jumped off a cliff so we could get away."
"Classic Juli." Sam shook his head, too. He huffed out a worried sigh. "Juli's going to be alright. She's a good swimmer. We'll wait for her, and she'll catch up."
Gin let his head hang on his shoulders. "I hope so, but if she dies, I'm going to kill her."
Sam let out a soft laugh at that. "I know she'll be alright. We know Juli's good at staying alive. A cliff isn't going to kill her. You'll probably get your chance when we meet her."
Gin didn't say anything else.
He knew that Sam was only trying to make him feel better, but he could see the worry in the older man's eyes--he was probably trying to convince himself, too.
When Sam lifted his hand from Gin's side, most of the pain had already gone, but the ugly blackish-purple bruise still bloomed over his skin. He rubbed on cold ointment that smelled like onions and garlic.
"It's going to take a while to heal completely," Sam said as he began to bandage Gin, wrapping a dressing around his belly. "Let me know if it's too tight."
"It's alright." Gin tried not to move.
When Sam finished, Gin inspected the dressing, which was done professionally.
It wasn't the first time Sam had heeled Gin, and he was grateful every time. "Thanks," he said with a nod.
"No problem," Sam returned as he began to stow away his tools.
Gin stood up and got dressed. "I'll be on the deck," he said.
Sam shrugged. "Oh, sure. Leave me to cook dinner for the whole crew after fixing you up."
A laugh escaped Gin's lips, knowing it was only a jest or hoping it was only a jest. Besides, he didn't really know how to cook. In fact, he might poison the whole crew if he tried instead of turning their bellies full.
He patted the older man on the shoulder before walking out of the galley and making his way through the hall.
He pressed his side under his ribs, thankful Sam had already patched him up. But even though the older man was a sound healer, he wasn't a miracle worker, and the injury on his side still ached. He could move better now without flinching every time he put pressure on that side.
He climbed up the ladder and out to the dark deck. He still couldn't get rid of his worry about Juli, but he wasn't trying to. Still, he wanted to believe that his cousin was alright.
Juli was a great swimmer who could go long distances. She could probably swim up to Basiago if she wanted to, but he hoped she'd be in Acante when they arrived.
As he stepped out, a hot breeze blew on his face--sticky on the skin. He looked up at the sky without stars. "Rain," he whispered, hoping it would not be a storm but only a drizzle.
He shook his head. Worrying about Juli now would do nothing for him or the crew, and he needed to think of something else.
As soon as his mind searched for a distraction, he found himself thinking of Ria. He glanced around the deck, wondering where she went after being told by Sam to leave. Though politely, Sam had told her to leave.
Gin had been surprised when he saw her watching him without a shirt in the galley. It wasn't rare for him to walk around the ship half-naked. In fact, the crew had always gone about their days with less clothes on to help keep them cool during the hot weather. But the captain had told them to be presentable while the guests were on board.
The way Ria had stared made him feel more naked than he was. But a part of him liked the way her eyes widened and the way her lips parted like they sometimes did when she looked at him, naked or not. But this time, her eyes had lingered, and her gape had been broader than usual.
Gin swallowed at the thought, scanning the deck for her. He suspected that she'd be in the captain's quarters by now, examining the documents they stole.
He was curious about them because she had said there was only one. But he took two rolled scrolls from that chest. He didn't know what they had to steal, and now he was curious about what tagged along with their goal.
As suspected, Ria was not on the deck, and he made his way to the captain's quarters.
He passed the main mast and spied a shadow moving by the door. When he came closer, he glimpsed the bald head of Enzo.
He couldn't see what the other boy was doing, shadowed under the staircase. Before he could find out, the door burst open, and Ria charged out.
He heard Migal call to her twice, but she continued to run, bumping into Enzo's shoulder on her way out of the chamber.
Gin strode closer to go after her, but Migal was on it first, and he stopped near Enzo, who had fallen on his bottom.
"What was that about?" Gin asked, looking in the direction where Ria ran, rounding the foremast and making her way to the rear of the ship. Migal was right on her tail.
"Dunno." Enzo pushed himself up and walked away without saying a word.
Gin looked to the open door and saw, within the glow, Captain Zalez rolling scrolls. He supposed those were the scrolls they stole.
The captain looked up as if he knew that Gin was staring and gave a nod before coming up to the door and closing it without an explanation. The yellow light from within the cabin turned into a strip through the crack of the doorway until it winked out.
"I better get a bigger cut for this," Gin whispered to himself, pushing down on the urge that tried to rise in his throat to ask more questions.
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