West took a step toward her, and her guards instantly drew closer, hands on the hilts of their short swords. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to—”

“You don’t trust me,” she said, eyes narrowing. “And I don’t trust you. I have no way of knowing if you’ll show up in Sagsay Holm or give me the midnight if you find it. I require the deed to the Marigold or the deal’s off.”

West turned to fire beside me, the line of his shoulders hardening, his skin flushing red.

“We’re not giving you the deed,” I said.

“There’s no reason to worry if you plan to hold up your end of the deal, Fable. What do you have to lose?”

But we both knew the answer to that question. I stood to lose Saint.

West turned to Hamish, who looked stunned.

“You can’t be serious,” he said, his eyes wide behind the lenses of his spectacles.

West held out a hand, waiting. Up on the deck of the ship, the rest of the crew was at work, readying the Marigold to shove off.

I watched in horror as Hamish reached into his jacket and pulled a worn envelope from inside. “West, don’t.” I reached for him, but he pushed past me, taking the deed from Hamish and handing it to Holland.

Holland opened it, pulling the folded parchment free. The stamp of the Narrows Trade Council was pressed into the top right corner of the document, the black ink penned in an expert hand. West’s name was listed in its ownership.

She slipped it back into the envelope, satisfied.

Behind me, West was already climbing the ladder. He disappeared over the railing as his voice echoed out. “Raise anchor!”

“See you in Sagsay Holm.” Holland turned, picking up her cloak as she made her way back up the slip.

I cursed, climbing the ladder. When I came onto the deck, Koy was draped lazily over a stack of piled rope, his hands clasped like a hammock behind his head. Willa slid down the mizzen, glaring at him before she went to the bowanchor to help Paj with the crank.

Hamish muttered something under his breath when he made it up the ladder, and we both watched West to see what he would do. He looked over Paj’s notes in the navigator’s log, but the cold I could feel creeping toward me from him made me shiver.

Hamish gave me a wary look.

“You just going to stand there?” Willa clipped.

I turned to see her standing over Koy.

He gave her an easy smile. “Yeah. Unless you want to pay me extra to crew this ship.”

Willa’s cheeks flushed with rage as she went back to the crank. Koy looked pleased with himself, tapping his fingers on his elbows as he watched her from the corner of his eye.