She grins, and for a moment her eyes light up in the same way they do when she’s joking with the other lackeys. “Don’t get too chummy with me, Cas. I’ll eat you alive.”

I can’t help it. I snort, and it gains momentum until I’m cackling. “Was that a threat? God, you’re the least intimidating pirate I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.”

“Then clearly you haven’t spent enough time around Varma.”

It’s like Swift’s room is a whole other world, a subdimension of the Minnow where Swift isn’t a pirate and I’m not a prisoner. Here, away from the gaze of the rest of the crew, we’re talking and laughing together as if we’re something like normal. There’s something that unlocks in Swift when she’s sealed away from the rest of the ship, something honest. Something I actually can respect.

12

12

The next morning, the captain wants to oversee my training session with Bao. She paces along the trainer deck as I lure the pup back to the ship with the homing LEDs. There’s a spark of excitement in her eyes, and it’s keeping the tension in my muscles.

Bao’s blowholes flare as he approaches, blasting a fine mist into the air that hangs over the morning sea. A piece of fresh meat hangs out of the corner of his mouth, the twisted remnants of some fish he’s caught. At least he’s figured out how to feed himself on his own. That’s a weight off my shoulders, and the fact that he’s eaten recently makes me much less apprehensive about what’s about to happen.

I’m dressed in a brand-new wetsuit that Santa Elena furnished. It’s made of some of the most breathable fabric I’ve ever encountered, but it’s snug and warm around my torso. A new, top-of-the-line respirator hangs around my neck. If it weren’t for the circumstances, I’d feel utterly pampered.

Bao’s had a night to adjust to the ocean, which means today’s the day I start water work with him. If he’s going to be in my charge, I have to get him comfortable with having me in the sea at his side. Mom and Dad never let me do this stage of training. It always went to the most experienced, the bravest. I’ve only ever watched first contact from behind the glass of a tank.

But now that’s going to change, because I’m the only one on this ship who knows how to make a Reckoner comfortable with human presence. I haven’t told Santa Elena that I’ve never done this before, but I think she senses it somehow. She’s so intent on watching this part of the training process that she’s forgone her other duties on the ship just to be here.