It had only taken Willa an hour to figure out our anchor problem. She sent Koy and West back into the water to fill one of the empty iron-framed crates from the cargo hold with rocks from the seafloor. Once it was rigged, we hauled it up and secured it to the ship.

It was a temporary fix, one that wouldn’t hold against another storm. When we got to Sagsay Holm we’d have to use the last of our coin to replace the anchor, giving everyone yet another reason to be angry about West’s orders.

I sat curled up in the netting of the jib with the quilt from West’s cabin pulled tight around me. I hadn’t been able to sleep as we sailed through the night, headed for Fable’s Skerry, abandoning our last day of dredging at Yuri’s Constellation. The reefs we’d spent the last four days diving were hours behind us, and even if we turned back now, our time would be up. It was a gamble. One that put Saint’s life on the line.

Trailing footsteps slid over the deck below and I leaned forward to see Koy at the bow. He pulled a small amber bottle from the pocket of his trousers and uncorked it, taking a sip.

“No rye on the ship,” I said, smiling when he jolted, almost dropping it.

He looked up at me, taking another drink before he climbed up and sat beside me on the jib. He handed me the bottle and I gave it a sniff, holding it up to the moonlight.

“Too good for Jevali rye?” He smirked.

It was the homebrewed stuff, and the scent called to life countless memories of Speck, one of the dredgers who ran a ferrying trade on the island. I’d wrecked his skiff the night I bartered for passage on the Marigold.

“You still haven’t told me why you took the job on the Luna,” I said, taking a swig. The burn of the rye raced down my throat, exploding into my chest. I winced, breathing through it.

“Coin,” Koy answered.

“Sure.” I laughed. Koy made more coin than anyone in Jeval, and his family was taken care of. If he was taking jobs on ships, he was after something else too.

He looked at me as if he was sizing me up. Weighing the risks of telling me. “Rumor has it trade between the Unnamed Sea and the Narrows is going to expand.”

“So?”

“That means more ships coming through our waters on Jeval.”

I grinned, understanding him. Koy wanted to be ready if the ships from the Unnamed Sea and the Narrows multiplied at the barrier islands, and they would.

“I figure it’s only a matter of time before Jeval is turned into a port.”

I handed the rye back to him. “You’re serious.”