The galley was full. Everyone not on watch was there, save for Kraken and Cousin. They were still behind closed doors. The men sat with tankards full and plates empty as they talked.
“Weren’t right that she went alone,” Kor said. “One of us, hell, a boat load of us should have gone. Now, the little miss is crying for what we don’t know.” The grizzled sailor sniffed and glowered at the table.
“Aye,” Ollie said. His tawny eyes caught the lamp light. “Never seen her cry before. It’s real unsettling.”
“Kraken let her go because the Hunter was someone she remembered,” Gabb said. “Cousin turned down escort. Even Kraken.”
“Is he the Captain or not,” Jak said, stabbing a table with a meat cleaver. His tattoos reflected from the wide blade. “He should have ordered her to take someone.”
“The woman you love asks you a favor. Can you tell her no?” Gabb asked. His dark eyes looking very like an ocean predator’s. “Well? I wouldn’t be able to. Not when it is something that matters to her. None of us forced our way into the long boat. None of us.”
A grumble ran through the galley.
“She wouldn’t have let us,” Raymond said. He worried the ornaments in his braid. “We’ve said it all along, the girl is a demon in battle. None of us want to be on her bad side.”
“That orb thing she made was gnarly,” Bry said. He stroked his new enchanted bow. “I don’t have wielder powers and I could feel it. Scary.”
Kor slammed his tankard. “You saying you’re scared of her? Huh?”
“No one is afraid of her,” Gabb said. “At least, not here. All of us know what it is to be alone, imprisoned, discarded, or enslaved. Every man here knows abandoned.”
“Still, I’m glad she’s on our side,” Matty said. His crystal eyes unnaturally cloudy.
“What really matters is what are we going to do to help her,” Jak said. “She hasn’t eaten since she got back. I got a platter ready and all, but . . .” Jak shrugged. “They wouldn’t let me in.”
“She’s never turned down meat before,” Lancer said. His perpetual sunburn brilliant in the galley light. “What if she quits eating? I couldn’t stand it.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Monk said. He wrote a record of the day in his journal. “She’ll eat when she’s all cried out.”
Jak pulled his cleaver from the table as a wave of murmurs traveled the room. “The question is the same. What do we do to help?”
Ghost stood up and walked to the center of the room. The silent one said, “We can’t.”
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