Clove’s warning echoed in my mind. By the time we got to Sagsay Holm, the Marigold might not even have a crew.

“What was that?” Paj asked, looking down at the dock, where Holland was walking through the archway.

West went to the helm, his attention on the sails. “It was nothing.”

The rest of the crew had no idea what had just happened. And West wasn’t going to tell them. Hamish looked utterly confused, holding the coin master’s log before him.

West handed the helm off to Paj, jerking his chin to the starboard side. “Keep an eye on him.”

He was talking about Koy, who was still reclined over the ropes, watching Willa tie off the lines.

Paj answered with a reluctant nod, and West unbuttoned his jacket and disappeared into the breezeway.

I looked back to Hamish, who raised his eyebrows. He was worried. Wondering where the line of his allegiance was. Cover for West or tell the crew about the deed?

I followed West into his quarters, closing the door behind me. He stood at the table beside his cot, recording a series of measurements into the navigator’s log. His lips moved silently around the numbers as he wrote. When he finally looked up at me, it was with the same distance that he’d had that morning in the tavern.

“Looks like we can be there by nightfall tomorrow if the wind holds,” he said, closing the book. The quill rolled across the table.

I nodded, still waiting for whatever else he was going to say. But he was quiet, going to his desk and pulling open the drawer to drop the book inside. He absently fidgeted with the maps on the desk and I stepped to the side to meet his eyes, but he turned another inch away from me.

I sighed. “You shouldn’t have done that. Given her the deed.” The sight of the muscles in his neck surfacing under the skin made me feel suddenly like my stomach was turning, my skin flashing hot. “I won’t let you lose the Marigold, West. I swear.”

He huffed, shaking his head. “You can’t promise that.”

“I can.” I caught my bottom lip with my teeth when it began to quiver.

West crossed his arms, leaning into the wall beside the window. The string of adder stones clinked together as they swung in the wind. Whatever thoughts whispered in his mind darkened the light in his eyes, making him tense all over.

“You have to tell them about the deed,” I said.

“That’s the last thing they want to hear.”

“It doesn’t matter. They deserve to know.”

“You don’t understand.” The words were just a breath.

“I do.”

“No, you don’t. You have Saint. Now you have Holland.” He swallowed. “But us? Me, Willa, Paj, Auster, Hamish … all we have is each other.”

“Then why did you force them to do this?”