Revenge (Book 3 in the Rise Trilogy)

Cold, My Man, and a Ghost Ship

Cold, More Cold, and a Ghost Ship

"I-it's s-so c-cold," I mutter which is barely above a whisper.

"I told you that I could have done this on my own," Connor says to me as he stops trudging through the thick snow ahead of me. He walks back towards me with a small smile on his lips.

"B-but I wanted to s-stay and h-help,' I whimper as he stands before me.

"I know," Connor says with a grin before he sighs and  turns his back to me. "Hop on."

I smile as I throw my arms around Connor's neck and he hoists me up in a piggy back ride and continues to trudge up the mountain side.

"You are surprisingly lighter than I thought," Connor notes as the biting cold wind whips through our clothes again.

I roll my eyes with a sarcastic laugh. "Thanks, but you've carried me before anyways."

Connor chuckles. "That was when you were bleeding and dying helplessly in my arms and there was nothing I could do but carry you to White. I was not thinking straight."

I feel a sudden twinge of pain come from my middle again just at the thought of the memory.

Connor sighs. "Faulkner's guess better be right," he mutters. "Why anyone would believe the Northwest Passage exists is beyond me."

"It's all we've got to go on," I say as I hug myself closer to Connor's back.

We travel for a little further in silence before Connor suddenly lowers me to the ground to let my feet rest in the thinner snow.

"Look," I say pointing to the ship far out in the middle of the icy water. "That's cool but really freaking far out there."

"The Octavius," Connor says. "Hendric van der Heul's first and last captaincy." "This will be a lot of slipping and sliding," he says when his attention is drawn away from the ship as he looks down at the icy slopes and hills we'll need to get through to get to this ghost ship.

"I'll go first," I say as I begin to walk ahead of Connor keeping my eyes down to look at the steep slope of ice before us.

"No," Connor says as he takes hold of my arm. "I will go first."

I turn my head to look at him and laugh with a small grin. "I'll be fine." He doesn't look convinced. "You can't be around to protect me forever."

Connor sighs and releases my arm. I smile and reach up to press my cold lips to his warm ones.

"There'll be more where that came from, Mister Kenway," I say before slowly easing myself down the slope. Very slowly, I slide down and almost feel better about this whole thing. Then, I lose my balance and fall backwards and go sliding down the mountain at a speed I would prefer in a water slide, not on ice. I scream out of shock rather than fright as I fall.

"RILEY!" I hear Connor's urgent voice from above as I slip. Then I begin to panic.

It's not too far of a slide but I really begin to freak out when I roll down onto the ice and is begins to crack under my weight on impact. I stop sliding by the time I hit the center of the ice where it is cracking off from the rest of the glacier. I slowly get to my feet to see Connor sliding towards me.

"Connor!" I say quickly as he rolls onto the ice platform at the same time it is breaking off from the rest of the form. "Are you okay?" I ask as I help him to his feet.

"Yes," he mutters as he looks at me. "You?"

"Fine," I mutter. "I always hated water slides."

Connor grins at me be for the both of us walk towards the edge of the ice platform. "Would it bother you if I went first this time?" He asks me.