“Sable,” I blurt out, and he freezes. “Do you think the Glim will help us? With both of our…problems?”
For a moment, he doesn’t react. I bite down on my lip, unsure if I have overstepped. But eventually he turns toward me and sighs.
“I hope so, little fish. For both our sakes.”
I nod, thankful that he gave me any answer at all.
“Now come,” he says with regained confidence. “Or the good stuff will be gone before we arrive at the tavern.”
With that, he turns on his heel and begins to stride back towards the narrow path we came from. Seems like he is done discussing our respective curses for the moment. From the corner of my eye, Cailia is standing in the door frame. Her shoulders are no longer tense as she watches her brother leave.
I would like to stay a little while longer. To talk to her more.
Long enough to ask how the sea speaks to her. Long enough to understand how she learned to wield her magic instead. Long enough to ask whether she could help me with mine.
Instead, I will leave with more questions than answers.
“We’ll see each other again,” she says quietly.
Her gaze drops to the necklace around my neck. She nods toward it. “And keep the charm.” A small smile tugs at her lips. “I made it for Sable when he was little. But he doesn’t need it anymore. He’s gathered enough of his own.”
“Oh, I found it—”
“On the Noctis. I know.” Corals shift with a brittle sound as she tilts her head. “It will bring you luck. Now go, before he grows impatient.”
I nod, even though my chest tightens at the word go. I hold her gaze for a heartbeat longer, then turn away.
Sable is already halfway down the path, his silhouette almost swallowed whole by the dark. I hurry after him and catch up at the bridge spanning the jagged cliffs upon which the island is built. Moments later, we make it back to the center of the village that is now buzzing with life. Next to me, Sable relaxes as his shoulders brush mine. Shops line the path, their doors now thrown wide open. Glass charms and mismatched panes catch the lanternlight, throwing fractured colors across the ground. Coins are exchanged as different goods are handed over. Bright fabric, carved figurines, and of course, liquor.
It’s kind of chaotic and disorienting, but it’s also so…alive.
He walks beside me, his attention drifting to the crowd. When he glances at me, there’s something lighter in his expression, a hard contrast to his previous mood. Whatever Cailia said must have worked.
“Come,” he says, almost casually, “I’ll show you my favorite tavern.”
Sable walks ahead of me and slips through the crowd. I almost lose sight of him twice, but eventually, we make it to a tavern set slightly apart from the others, wedged between two leaning buildings. A crooked sign swings above the door, painted with a faded symbol that I don't recognize.
“Stick with me, little fish.” Sable places a hand against my back again and slightly pushes me forward as we walk through the open doors.
Pirates crowd around makeshift games, coins are exchanged, and dice made out of bones are thrown in the air. The air is thick with the heat of all the bodies, smoke curling low beneath the ceiling. It smells of spilled ale and sweat, all of it blending into a smell that my siren does not really like. The tavern itself is carved straight into the rock, its uneven walls reinforced with rough timber wherever the stone looks like it threatens to give. Lanterns hang from hooks and beams, their dim light throwing shadows over scarred tables and mismatched chairs. A long bar stretches along the far wall, crowded with bottles in dark colors. Behind it, a broad-shouldered man serves the pirates, slamming mugs down and pouring drinks without ever pausing.
Music weaves through it all. They are singing a scandalous song about a fine woman who gets swept off her feet by a pirate and ends up in bed with him. Someone plays a fiddle in the center of the room, and men and women dance around him.
I instantly notice a familiar face, one of the men dancing is Grim. He’s dancing with a brunette woman, swaying on his feet with both hands wrapped around her waist. Their movements are fluid and perfectly in sync. I have never seen him so at ease.
Sable steers me through the crowd of bodies toward the back of the tavern, where a long booth has been claimed by some familiar faces and a few others I don’t recognize.
“—and I swear on the bloody sea,” a blond-haired man is saying, already halfway through his tale. “The maelstrom has us dead to rights. Waves as tall as masts. One wrong turn and the Noctis would’ve been swallowed into the depths.”
Groans and laughter follow.
“Aye, and the Cap‘n thought we were done for,” another voice cuts in, grinning. “Didn’t you?”
Sable laughs, but doesn’t deny it.
The pirate slams his tankard down, sloshing rum across the table. “Then this one—” he jerks his chin in my direction just as Sable guides me to the edge of the booth. “—comes out of nowhere. Stands at the rail and tells the Cap‘n how to cut the current.”
I still, heat creeping up my neck, as heads turn to look at me.