Smitter waited until I stood. His foot tapped, impatient. I pushed off the floor and grabbed my discarded shirt.

“You’re leaving?” Lou asked, her brow raised. Her lips pursed, swollen and pink.

“If I don’t, he’ll just stay and…” I paused, choosing my words carefully. “…annoy us some more.”

She glared at Smitter, but he ignored her. I headed to the door, and he trailed behind me. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well,” I said over my shoulder, face burning.

When the door closed behind us, I whirled on my uncle, wielding my shirt like a weapon. “I can’t believe you just did that. Was that necessary?”

Before he could respond, we were met with a loud thud. The door behind us rattled on its hinges. Apparently, Lou mirrored my sentiments with a tossed shoe or worse, knowing Lou maybe a chair.

“She really does have a temper.” Smitter shook his head and continued to walk up the stairs. “Would you have rather I sent my virtuous sister to explain to Captain Lou?”

I groaned.

Smitter looked over his shoulder. “Didn’t think so.”

As we reached the quarterdeck, the tepid night air brushed my face and exposed chest. The warm temperature meant we were close to the siren’s island, where the weather remained welcoming all year long. Anthemusa had no seasons, just the occasional refreshing sprinkle of rain, a cool reprieve after hours under the sun. As a child, my first winter in Cava had been a nasty shock. But over the years, I had grown to love the change in leaves during the fall, the occasional spring shower, the shirtless summers sailing on the navy ships, and the pure white snowflakes of winter. Time stood still on the island, but elsewhere it moved and changed with the weather. I preferred action to stillness, change to stagnancy. But at the moment, it was hard not to appreciate the effects.

The night watch roamed the decks, dispelling some of the peace of squalling birds, wind-whipped sails, and crashing waves. The moon observed us, full and consuming. The light shadowed my uncle’s features.

“Do you have a new plan against Queen Lorelei now that the amulet is gone?”

My hand touched my chest where the gift from my mother and sister used to sit—a habit I hadn’t known I’d had, never realizing how it had become a part of me until it was gone. Rather than a dutiful weight lifted, it felt like a piece of flesh torn away.