Lanard took a wobbly step into the open, and Lou extended her sword. “She said when she’s old enough. You may give Dara a hug, but leave room for the gods between you. In three years, when she turns seventeen, you may begin courting her. But not before then. And never in the galley.”

Lanard nodded feverishly. Dara couldn’t wait. She wiggled out of Hannah’s clutches and rushed into Lanard’s arms. He laid his chin on top of her head, and she sighed.

Lou took two steps forward. I matched her advance.

“Well, I see your people have a claim over my men. Is there anything else I can help you with now that I’m six crewmen short?”

“Actually, there is.” She swung her sword, the tip landing under my chin.

I stared defiantly down my nose, and her mouth twitched.

“You gave me three questions. Anything I wanted to ask.” She lifted my head with the cold metal, and I obliged.

“I think I’ve answered more than three questions since we made that deal,” I mumbled, careful to not overuse my jaw.

Lou shrugged. “Possibly, but you did say three, and I still have one left. Would you deny me the honor of your word?”

“I would not. By all means, ask away.”

“For my third and final question, I ask, Captain Rylander Bordeaux of The Sea Singer, are you in love with me?”

My lips tipped as I knocked aside the blade with the back of my hand, then reached down its length to take the hilt and jerk it back, pulling Lou into my chest. Her eyes blinked in the smallest betrayal of surprise. I tossed the blade away and used my rough fingers to tilt her chin upward. Every person on deck faded away, leaving only her. Only me. Only the ebb and flow of everything shared between us. My eyes raked down her face, starting with her fiery amber irises, to her perfect nose, and landing on her pink, pouted mouth. She licked her lips and released a soft moan.

“I’ve loved you since the moment you stepped onto this ship many months ago, and I’ll love you after my dying breath.”

At Lou’s sultry smile, I grabbed the brim of her hat and carefully lifted it away, flinging it out to the sea. Her soft, blond curls spilled down her back. I ran my fingers through them, gripping her hair at the nape, and drew her toward me. My mouth crashed against hers, and she kissed me back. Our lips were meant for one another, forged by the gods to be united. My tongue stroked hungrily, wanting, needing all of her. I tasted the salted air, the triumph over the sirens, and a future already being written across that daunting blank page. She shuddered as I nibbled her bottom lip.