Where their ships had strength, ours had speed. We left at full sail, catching a good wind that helped us speed away. The fleet headed east—that is, all of us but Griggs’s ship. “Where is he going?” I asked the sailor next to me as we watched it head in the opposite direction.

The sailor stopped what he was doing as Griggs’s ship, the Republican, was pursued by two of the Imperial ships. “He’s sacrificing himself.” The sailor made the sign of the cross. “He knows we won’t stand a chance with all four of those ships on our tail.”

My heart sank as I watched him sail over the horizon with two Imperial ships following him. Our ship pressed on, speeding away from the danger.

Once it looked like we were safe, José stepped back from the helm, letting one of the officers take control. Sitting down on the crates with a heavy sigh, he extended his arms and turned his hands carefully in a semicircle. I walked over to him, taking his forearm in my hands. He didn’t fight me as I began to gently massage his wrists with my thumbs. We didn’t say anything for a long time as he watched me work.

“You are not supposed to see me weak,” he said with a half smile.

I made a noise, dismissing him. “I have shared your bed for long enough. I think that allows us to share some secrets.” I set his arm down and motioned for the other one.

“And what secret does this count as?”

“That you are human.” I smiled, looking up at him. He returned my smile before resting his head on my shoulder. “Do they always hurt after a long stretch at the helm?” I asked.

“No.” He squinted up at the sun, which had peeked out from behind a cloud like a shy child. “Usually only when it’s damp out, or if I have been holding my sword for too long.”

He took my hands in his large callused ones, accentuating how small mine were. “You are my calm in the midst of the storm.”

“Can I ask what happened to your wrists?”

“Gualeguay.”

“Ah, the infamous Gualeguay.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “There was this general, Don Leonardo Milan. He made it his life’s mission to see me behind bars.” He focused on our hands, interweaving his fingers with mine. “I thought I was going to visit a friend. Turns out that friend wasn’t as much of a friend as I thought she was.”

“She?” I questioned. José was no priest, but no woman liked to hear about her predecessors.

“Yes, she.” José had the good sense to blanch. “I would meet with her every time I was at port in Gualeguay. I thought she and I had an understanding…of sorts.”

“But you lost your head? As Rossetti put it.” I tried not to laugh at the blush that spread up from beneath his beard.