This next stretch was tricky—she needed to drop down, so her hands were on this ledge and her feet … well, there would be nowhere for them to go. The hull might give her bare toes a tiny amount of grip, but there were no real footholds.

Then, with her weight on her hands, she needed to reach aft and grab the carved moulding around a small, fixed window, climb across that and around the corner to the stern.

Shaking her arms out, she nodded.

She could do it.

With another deep breath, she crouched, gripped the ledge, and let her feet drop. For a heart-pounding moment, they swung, the sudden weight dragging on her arms, but she gritted her teeth and tucked her legs in, gaining control.

Biting her lip, she released the ledge with her left hand and reached across to the window. It was only a foot and a half, maybe two, but with her entire weight hanging on her right arm, it felt like leagues.

She huffed out what was meant to be a soft breath, but it came out as a grunt, just as her fingers closed on the moulded window frame.

Bollocks.

The footsteps came closer.

She stilled, feet braced, arms burning. If she moved, she might make more noise.

At least it was still dark—wait, no, was that lighter sky to the east? Damnation, what time was it? Surely it wasn’t approaching dawn already. She swallowed, palms slicking with sweat, hair on the back of her neck prickling. That was always a warning, some gift of her fae blood.

If that man—his footsteps still sounded, steady, approaching—if he looked over the rail, he’d see her right away. There was no cover here.

The dagger at her hip was suddenly a leaden weight. She’d killed before, yes, but they were people who’d been given a chance to surrender and hadn’t taken it. They’d made the decision to defend their ship and its cargo with their lives. When they faced her, they had weapons in their hands and knew they were in a fight.

This was some poor sod who’d signed up to the Navy and whose bad luck had put him on watch tonight. He was just taking a stroll around deck, investigating that grunt he’d heard.

Gods, her arms burned.

She gritted her teeth, pulse roaring in her ears.

A hand landed on the rail three feet above her head.

Eyes widening, she stared at the thick fingers, the short fingernails, the dirt beneath them.

Go away! 

Actually, that she could do—or make him do.

Holding her breath, she let her feet hang and her awareness spread. The sea at night, cooler, fuller, thick with tiny creatures.

She swallowed. Focus. Those organisms weren’t relevant right now. She needed—

Booted feet shuffled on deck near her head.

It had to be now.