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TEN THE CUT OF HER SAILS
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THE COBRA PIRATES' JOLLY ROGER fluttered in the wind, yet Keeli felt like the hollow eyes of the skull and the yellow eyes of the snake circling it were watching her, mocking her. Because Captain Krait had forbidden her to go ashore with him and most of the crew. Instead, Keeli was among the skeleton crew that remained on board, keeping the ship safe and ready. Jonah wanted to use the time to train her sword fighting skills, but Keeli wasn't in the mood — not only was she sick of trying to learn something she clearly wasn't good at, but she was also annoyed that she had been left behind.
She was fifteen, she could take care of herself.
"Why didn't he take us with him? Like he usually does?"she asked, leaning against the ship's railing, avoiding looking at the Jolly Roger.
"Maybe he thought we weren't the right people for the job," Jonah said, sitting on the stairs leading to the forecastle deck, while he sharpened his sword. His leather coat lay discarded on the floor next to him — it was too warm to wear it — so he only wore a red button-up shirt above his black pants.
"Does he think I'm not strong enough? After everything I did—" Keeli swallowed, remembering the many things she had done to earn Captain Krait's trust, things she was not proud of. But she pushed the thoughts aside, it didn't do her well to dwell on them. She knew her heart was tainted, her hands eternally stained with blood. Her innocence had died screaming the day she killed that Marine and Captain Krait deemed her worthy enough to be a pirate on his crew.
Jonah noticed how she had fallen silent, the air growing heavy around her. He put his sword aside and came toward Keeli. "You did what you had to do to survive."
"And it wasn't enough." Keeli looked up at him. "Obviously, he still thinks I'm not good enough. Or he would've taken me along."
