Curse Breaker (2)

30

I'm not sure if I slept at all when I next open my eyes.

The only indication of time passing is the absence of the ominous glow of the lanterns against the wooden wall of the cabin of the ship. It's replaced with a patchwork of light that pierces through the minuscule gaps in the wood above.

The rocking has dulled, implying a calmer sea by day. Shifting from my position, I stretch my legs out, surveying the cabin. A few crewmates rest surprisingly well against the side; it doesn't surprise me. When you spend your life on the sea, you must adjust to the constant motion.

I push to my feet, twisting the painful kink from my neck. My once blue dress is stiffened with salt, the rim of the skirt stained brown. I try to flatten out the creases as I make my way to the wooden ladder, gripping the rungs as I heave myself above deck.

The brightness above momentarily blinds me. I raise a hand to shield my eyes as the wind whips my hair in every direction. The cabin below deck leads to the hull of the ship, blocked from the rest of the deck by the roof of the cabin.

It appears to be empty, only giving way to the deep blue beyond. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes adjust to the light. Lowering my hand, I take cautious steps forward, gripping the railing and staring out at the ocean behind us.

Beneath the gaze of the morning sun, the surface of the blue sparkles like millions of tiny stars. It sloshes against the side of the ship, our wake leaving choppy, white caps that disturb the calm. But I can't draw my eyes away from the horizon.

Everywhere I look the ocean greets me. No mound of land interrupts its path, only the horizon in its way as the ocean curves in the distance, melding with the hazy blue of the morning sky.

I forget the uneasiness of the rocking. I forget Ereon. Momentarily, I forget the cloud. Vast, dark, terrifying. The songs of the open ocean whisper through the breeze.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head."

The voice jolts me from my stupor. In fright, I tighten my grip on the wooden barrier. Killian appears in my peripheral vision, his body facing the ocean just as mine does.

"Good morning to you, too," I say, ignoring the flipping in my stomach.

"Admiring the view?" he asks, following my gaze.

"I've never seen such open water."

"Scared?" he taunts.

"Not scared, exactly." A chill crawls down my spine, the claw of the gentle breeze. It's so beautiful. But I can see its power, even though it lies beneath the surface. "Are you?"

"I've always admired it. The ocean is beautiful and terrifying in the very best way."

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't sneak up on someone like that. What would you have done if I'd fallen in?"

"What I always do when I get you in a sticky situation." I can hear the shrug in his tone. "Get you out of it."

"Always?"

He shifts his body so that his back leans against the barrier, eyes on me. I keep my gaze on the water, beyond him. "You know, in the first storm in Veymaw, in the Palace in the mountains, the second cloud incident in Veymaw, last night. Should I go on?"

I twist my head to glare at him. His black shirt is rolled to his elbows, the top flapping open in the gentle breeze to reveal his chest. While my hair sits flat from the salt, his seems to have taken on more volume, blowing silkily through the air. His appearance catches me off guard, so much so that my glare probably comes across as something closer to a gawk.