Corvus (Stars and Sails, Book 1)

Thirty-eight (Part 3 of 3)

"You don't think is stupid, Cap?"

"It's my only idea, Dav, just close the barrel," Aiden grumbled. His legs were aching from being stuffed tight into the barrel with Amelia Rose. There wasn't nearly enough room for both of them, but they didn't have another choice.

"You have only a few minutes of air, do you have the-"

Amelia Rose coughed, holding up the grappling hook and shaking it at Dav. She squirmed, kneeing Aiden in the kidney. He winced.

"Well, good luck. I hope you don't die or nothing bad like that," Dav said, popping the top on the barrel and whacking it closed.

The inside of the barrel turned pitch black. "What does he mean by that?" Amelia Rose whispered.

"He means that you made a suicide pact with me." Aiden sighed. "I don't even know why you're here."

"I have a lot to prove," Amelia Rose said. She tugged on something—it was a stiff piece of fabric that Aiden hadn't gotten a good look at. Now wasn't a good chance because half of it was curled around his back like a sash. "And I made a promise," she added, matter-of-factly.

"What promise?"

"To protect you, you absolute—"

And suddenly everything began twisting and turning. Amelia Rose shouted, but surprisingly it was Aiden who reached for her first. Everything was spinning. Aiden's head slammed into the top of the barrel. He reached out and tugged Amelia Rose's head against his chest so that she wouldn't hit her head. And they spun, over before circling around again like they were two comets caught on the same path. The nausea was almost too much to bear when the barrel meant resistance, followed by a clap and then the creaking stillness underwater. The barrel bobbed up to the surface. For a moment, they were just dizzied and floating on the water. Muscles and bones aching. The sounds of battle were muffled by their watertight container. It was just them and the waves tearing away at their little shelter.

"I want to throw up."

"But you always want to throw up," Amelia Rose moaned, rubbing her head.

"Are you okay?" Aiden asked. Amelia Rose pulled away from him. As he took his hands away, he realized her hat had fallen off her head.

"I'm—" she cleared her throat. "I am fine."

Aiden pushed his hands against the top of the barrel and pushed. "You know, I don't need you to protect me," Aiden said. "It's real nice and all, but I'm, you know, I'm a man. I'm all grown and stuff, I don't need nobody, you know, coddlin' me or—"

The top gave out with so much pressure that it fell into the water. The barrel lost balance and it wobbled side to side before spinning over. Sea water filled Aiden's mouth and ran into the barrel. The waves lapped into their makeshift vessel and every time either one of them tried to talk, they'd choke again. The water was too heavy and the two began to drop below the surface. Aiden found the grappling hook and pushed Amelia Rose out of the barrel. She squeezed out, pulling her stowaway piece of fabric with her.

Aiden pushed his feet against the floor of the barrel and pulled in his shoulders. He was stuck. He squirmed and the barrel dropped lower and lower. An arm wrapped around his and tugged him, and he wiggled out of his trap. Amelia Rose's pink cheeks were inflated five times their size. She was running out breath. Aiden kicked the barrel away and pulled her up to the surface with what appeared to be a sopping wet coat.

They broke the surface of the water and the two coughed on saltwater. The waves were so wild that it was hard to tread them or even catch a breath before being thrown back under again. The vessel had moved a bit further than Aiden had anticipated, but his grappling hook was long enough to make the shot. He lifted a hand out of the water and swung the hook, aiming for the nearest gunport. He tossed it into the air before the water tore him under. At the surface, he realized he'd missed. He shot again and finally secured the grappling hook. A mere 25 feet off from the crest of the waves was a feasible distance to climb.

"Be careful," he coughed as saltwater dragged across his throat. "The barnacles are sharp. Don't touch the hull."

"Go—" Amelia Rose bobbed underwater. Aiden pulled the choking girl above the water. The both held onto the line so that they wouldn't be dragged further away from the ships. "Go first. I'm a good climber." She bobbed underwater.

A wave splashed in Aiden's mouth. "You're not a good swimmer, Amelia Rose." He breathed. "Come on, just climb up there before you get tired."

She narrowed her eyebrows and looked at him the same way she did the night he killed Tanner. It was going to be her way and if Aiden wanted to fight about it, they'd both be out here treading water until they drowned. Aiden swam over to the side of the ship and grabbed a hold of the rope and gave it a tug. He pulled himself up and steadied his feet on a collection of barnacles, but they were slippery and covered in algae. Good thing he had good tread on his shoes. He tugged himself up, sliding his feet up the slippery hull, checking back every so often to make sure that Amelia Rose wasn't drowning.

Walking in the Algae was like walking through slush—slippery, thick, and unpleasant. As he reached the gun ports, the barnacles disappeared, and he wedged himself through the small cannon hole and onto the gun deck of the vessel. With the vessels too close to each other, it was impossible to fire without both vessels sinking. The gundeck was completely deserted, but it could only be so long before Aiden and Amelia Rose weren't alone anymore.

He made sure the grappling hook was firmly in place. Amelia Rose had already grabbed onto the rope, but he waved her up, as if he could pretend that she would listen at all. As she tugged herself out of the waves, her hat was still missing. She had a new olive green coat on and her hair was down. It was pasted down around her jaw with rainwater.

She placed her feet against the hull and stepped above the waves.

Aiden helped her by pulling on his end of the grappling hook. She did well, sliding her feet up the wall just like he had. The rain kept pouring, which probably was not helping her keep her balance.

"Walk slowly if you have to," he called down to her. He couldn't help but glance up at the Coronis. It looked like no one had seen them, but he could hear the sounds of fighting buried under the noise of waves, rain, thunder, and wind.

She was within his reach and he extended his arm out to her. A wave of water rose up and tore across the space between the vessels. Amelia Rose smashed into the hull and disappeared, he saw a glimpse of her slipping down the line and into the water below. His heart lurched.

"Amelia Rose!" He shouted, leaning out the gun port. She disappeared into the sea foam. Aiden fell quiet for moment until there was a tug on the rope. His chest tightened and he hauled at the rope, tugging her out of the water. She came up, coughing and muffling a scream. He tugged her up the side of the ship, until his arms were completely sore and spent. She pulled herself up slowly, but it was as clear that she was as tired as him.

She crawled through the gun port. Water spilled over the edges of her lips as she coughed. Aiden patted her back and she coughed again, finally ending with a quiet wail. She fell onto her side, wedged between him and the carronade, her eyes clenched shut and her teeth bared.

Aiden shook her shoulder, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Then, he looked down and saw her torn up pant legs. He didn't need to look any closer. The blood was telling enough of how deep the barnacles had cut her.