Emperor of the Dead

Chapter 14

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November 4, 1800, 4:00 am
Sehyun Han, Suzy Aranaz

"Tell me, Suzy, what you told everyone else yesterday," said Sehyun Han, running a hand through his hair and squinting his eyes. No matter how he tried in the morning, he couldn't hide the fact that he was tired and hadn't slept. He hadn't even faced Marty yesterday who was now sleeping in his room.

Then Suzy proceeded to inform Sehyun about her encounter with Suzy.

Falling onto the floor, Sehyun groaned. On the main deck, anyone could come by and see him in such an odd position, but he didn't care. "Why do I always end up having to do all the hard things? Is it so bad that I don't want to do anything in life other than exist and be rich?"

Ignoring her captain, Suzy suggested, "You still have an hour or two until dawn. Go to sleep."

"If I sleep now, I won't wake up until tomorrow."

"That's alright."

Han held out a hand. "Help me up."

Instead of assisting the captain into a standing position, Suzy laid down next to him. "Please don't mind."

"Why would I?"

The two laid in silence, watching the stars be taken over by a warm orange glow.

"What are you planning to do today, captain?"

He sighed, watching the arm he kept floating in the air for no reason. "I was going to ask you."

She gave it a moment of thought. "Well, first I would suggest you meet Marty and Maya. They're sleeping right now, but I'm sure they felt bad you didn't even bother saying hi. That was rude, Captain."

He gave it a thought and let it go. There was no point in feeling guilty for being overwhelmed yesterday. The meeting with Hades was a lot to take in, especially the debate he had himself about killing another. "Didn't they bring a dog with them?"

"They did, but just have a reunion with them, Captain. Maya seems especially off. Then I suggest you catch everyone up to speed and find out what orders you plan on giving Iona, Illorin, and Reyna. And then tomorrow we have to collect Asra and then make a few plans."

He nodded. "Where did Aeryn go?"

Suzy reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper as elegant as the one she received from Hades but in a much brighter colour scheme. "I forgot to tell you, but Poseidon summoned her."

Taking the note from her hand, Sehyun read the words half-heartedly, often reading sentences wrong and having to re-read them. "Interesting. Well, it's nice the ship will be quiet for some time. Maybe, hopefully, Poseidon zaps her somewhere far from this ship."

"Didn't you say that you wanted to be her friend?"

"That was before I found out how annoying she is? I keep giving her the benefit of the doubt, but it's impossible to talk to someone who's already decided you're a monster of some sort."

"Elaborate."

He turned to his side and rested his face on his palm. "Every sentence that comes out of her mouth is very inconsiderate. You see, I'm too shy to say what I actually think to her face because she's going to throw some sort of tantrum and ruin the atmosphere of the ship and she's going to make me feel really awkward about it. Honestly, I can't be anything more than someone she plays poker with. It's the one thing she's good at."

Suzy raised a brow. "I didn't know you thought like that."

"What'd you expect then?"

Suzy giggled. "I never heard you say you're shy. Most of the time you're boasting about yourself whenever it's appropriate."