“What’s going on there?” Niridia asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why don’t I see him waltzing out of your quarters every morning with a spring in his step?”
I laugh. “Because there is nothing going on there.”
“Why not?”
I dare a glance back up at him, watch the purposeful way he moves, watch his muscles tense as he pulls on a line. “He can’t handle what I can do. My abilities terrify him.”
“Any person with sense is terrified by what you can do. That doesn’t mean we don’t all love you.”
“Thanks, but it’s different with him. He has a history with people trying to control him. The fact that I can literally make him do things takes his mind back to a darker time.”
“He’ll get over it,” Niridia says with a certainty that surprises me.
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s not an idiot.”
I take a deep breath. “I made things worse.”
“What did you do?”
“The few times that I’ve been able to control myself underwater—it’s always been because of Riden. I wanted to get a better handle on my abilities, so I asked him to help me. I asked him to make himself vulnerable like that over and over again.”
“And he said no?” she asks in astonishment.
“Of course he did. I shouldn’t have asked it of him. It was wrong—”
“No, Alosa. What’s wrong is you not trying to do everything in your power to protect your crew. You did the right thing. He’ll see that it’s right, too.”
“There’s no way he’ll come around.”
“Well, not on his own,” she says. “Men can be so thick sometimes. They need help every once in a while.”
I smile. I’d said as much to Riden’s face, but when Niridia starts walking off, the smile drops. “What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
“Niridia!”
“Riden!” she shouts.
He looks down, his eyes roving until they spot her. “Aye?”
“Come down for a moment, please.”
He leaps for the netting and begins to crawl his way down.
“Niridia, he already said no. Leave him alone.”
“Just let me try something. You do trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Then let me do my job on this ship.”
Riden drops into a crouch as his bare feet hit the deck. He straightens, notices me next to Niridia, but focuses on her.
“Do you consider yourself a selfish person, Riden?” she asks brazenly.
If he’s at all uncomfortable with the question, he doesn’t show it. “I can be,” he says.
“I’m the first mate of this ship, which means I see everything that happens. I see you comforting Deshel, see you softening every time Roslyn is around, see you laughing with Wallov and Deros. You’ve grown fond of us, haven’t you?”
“Aye.”
“Good. Now the captain tells me you could be invaluable in helping her control her abilities, thereby helping us survive the pirate king. Do you think she’s right about that?”
He closes himself off, his face turning away slightly.
I’m shocked when a weak “Yes” comes out of him.
“You risked your life for Roslyn once already. You very nearly died for her. Tell me, if the pirate king catches up to us, do you think he will spare her because she is a child?”
His head whips back around. “No,” he says, stronger.
“No one is ordering you to do anything. I just think it’s important for you to see things exactly as they are. You could tilt the odds in our favor, Riden. Remember that when you’re trying to sleep at night.”
And then she just walks off. Leaving me to deal with Riden.
With shirtless Riden.
“I swear I didn’t put her up to that,” I say. “I told her to leave you alone. I was just venting to her, and she got it into her head—”
“It’s all right.”
“Is it?”
“You will recall I was once a first mate. We can be a stubborn bunch.”
He scratches a spot on his arm, and I focus on that instead of his abdomen.
“She’s right,” he says suddenly, drawing my gaze to his face. “I don’t like it, and I can’t promise that I won’t lash out afterward—but we need to do this.”
“If there were any other way for me to do this, I wouldn’t have asked. I’ve tried my whole life to control this. My father put me through all kinds of—never mind. That’s not important. I’m just saying that if the pirate king ruled it out as a lost cause, then I know you really are my last option.”
“Hmm” is all he says.
“When should we start?” I ask tentatively.
“Probably the sooner, the better.”
“Probably.” A pause. “So … now?” I venture.
“Yes.”
I nod. “Let me make some arrangements.”
