Very cozy indeed. The bedspread grazed the bottom of my chin and left the tips of my toes exposed. I spent the entire night alternating between freezing from the top or the bottom. I didn't remember it being so rigid or small when Tievel laid me down on it, but my mind had been occupied with other thoughts then.

Someone breathed deeply across the room. Two hammocks swung from the ceiling and were placed as far apart as possible in the tiny cabin. Remiel hadn't been lying about there being no more cabins, and the captain made two things perfectly clear quickly. He did not care if any of us had anywhere to sleep, and if we forced him to assign the cabin to anyone, it would be the Reaper. Apparently, he'd paid handsomely for this trip, with an offer of more money at the end if he enjoyed his stay.

I suggested staying with Astreia and Yoko. They would happily invite me in, even if it meant giving up their alone time. Of course, there was every chance Astreia would simply invite me into their bed. She was never one to miss an opportunity to tease. None of that mattered because Tievel had dismissed the notion immediately.

"I thought we were beyond this," he said to me on the deck after delivering the captain's news. "I won't risk anything happening to you again."

His concern was touching and misplaced. "I can think of very few places I'd be safer than with Yoko and Astreia. Besides, it will give me more time to train."

"That's unnecessary. Please don't fight me on this. We will figure something out."

The something ended up being our current arrangement. Me in the bed and the prince and the Reaper sleeping in hammocks the crew provided with minimal grumbling after more coins exchanged hands. They'd both refused to take the bed, insisting I should have it since I was a woman, though Remiel did offer to share it with me. Thankfully, he said that when Tievel was out of earshot.

Needing to thaw out my toes, I sat up and tugged the blanket down, glaring at the men while I did so and wondering if their willingness to give up the bed had less to do with being gentlemen and more to do with the fact they both knew this bed was harder than a rock. What I wouldn't give for a pallet in the tent again.

Or for solid ground. The constant rocking of the ship was enough to make everything I ate settle in my throat, always on the verge of coming up. I'd been spared the worst of the seasickness Yoko described, and I refused Tievel's offer of healing. It wasn't worth the wasted energy. Not with the task ahead of us.

I laid down, huffing in irritation, when the short bedspread immediately slipped above my feet. Throwing the covers back, I slid out of the bed. I found my boots and dragged them over my aching feet. Sleep would not be visiting soon.

Tiptoeing out of the room, I dropped a dagger in the top of my boot, snatched a cloak hanging from a hook on the wall, and stepped into the dank corridor. I did not pull on the cloak until I made it up the stairs, but my mistake became clear as a cloud of pine and wood smoke enveloped me, unlocking a memory of the night in Friedesh. Beneath the stench of blood and sweat, these earthy scents had been present and soothing.

But this wasn't the same cloak as before. The Reaper's cloak was a thing of magic, and it would raise too many questions. I drew it tighter around me as a chilly gust of wind whipped across the deck. Remiel had no need of it at the moment since he was enjoying such a sound sleep.

The few men awake and working paid me no attention, or at least they tried to ignore me. I didn't miss the lingering side eye as I walked along the deck, my hand sliding on a railing damp with ocean spray. It had been like this during daylight hours. The few whispers that were not carried away on the wind called "Araphelian" and "witch." For the first time, I appreciated being feared. It made me feel safe.

The sea was calm and cobalt beneath a cloudless sky. The full moon hovered closer to the western horizon, its white light weak in the approaching dawn. It reminded me of the view from my bedroom and the many mornings I'd sat in my window staring at the Lorvien River until the eastern horizon bloomed with pink and orange.

A gnawing ache formed in the pit of my stomach. Coming of age in the palace, I'd rarely imagined the world outside. The few memories I possessed did not paint a kind picture. But sometimes, usually when I was reading a book, I'd dream about seeing the places the authors wrote about. In every one of those fantasies, Tievel and Astreia were at my side.

I braced my arms on the railing and lifted my face into the wind, hoping it would dry the tears from my cheeks. I had cried sinceJoreen died, since leaving the only home I'd ever known, since agreeing to sentence my love to death, and since being molested by strangers. But those had been tears of fear and pain. Uncontrolled and involuntary, they'd done nothing for me but leave me shattered and sore.

These tears could only be born in the quiet and peace. They were slow to form but steady, coming from a place deeper than the heart—rooted somewhere in my soul. Tears that broke open old wounds, not to hurt, but to heal. I gave into the wave of grief, letting it crash into me and cleanse me.

At last, I lifted my head and scrubbed the wet from my cheeks and below my nose. This was not what I'd planned when I gave up on sleeping tonight, but it had been needed. I felt lighter and more at peace than before.

A tiny kernel of hope burrowed in my chest. In a few days' time, we would be on our way to Estrellum. I was not so naïve to think any of it would be easy, but knowing we were closing in on the end gave me strength.

Burrowing into the cloak for warmth, I propped my cheek on my palm and considered how I might spend my day. Yoko told me she was more than happy to continue my training but warned me we weren't likely to find a suitable space on the ship.

A yawn cracked my jaw. Perhaps I would sleep during the warmer hours and without the heavy presence of two irritable males filling my room. Well, one irritable male. Remiel enjoyed the tension and did his best to make things worse.

Sleeping during the day had the bonus of staying out of sight and, hopefully, out of trouble. Not that it was trouble caused through any fault of my own. Tievel's temper had always been quick, but today, he had been overprotective when I was in the presence of other men. Particularly one far too attractive Reaper.

I chewed my lip and recalled his behavior when Jeromi showed interest in the cells below the castle. My first inclination had been to assume Tievel was being overprotective because of the attack at the inn, but now I wondered if he was jealous. In the palace, his claim on me had rarely been put to the test. Most who knew of our friendship knew to stay away, and the few that were too dumb or ignorant rarely caused him much upset. He once told me no one could compete with a prince.

Tievel's confidence was his best and worst trait. It would make him a fine king one day if he kept it in check, but too often, it morphed into toxic arrogance. He certainly had not liked Astreia telling him he looked like a boy next to Remiel. She and Yoko thought I was naïve; however, I knew exactly why he'd been so amorous on the boat. It was for the same reason animals pissed on their territory—to mark it as theirs.

Unfortunately, my body wasn't as smart as my head, and if Remiel hadn't interrupted Tievel in the cabin, I would be far less appetizing to the atargats and probably not upset by the fact. I might not like that he thought of me as something to claim, but if I had not wanted him as much as he wanted me, I would have put a stop to it.

I gripped the railing and smirked as I came to a conclusion. It was a good thing we'd stopped. Not because I was saving myself for some better moment, but because it was time I took control of the situation. Everything about my life had been dictated by someone other than myself, and I was done. Learning to defend myself was the first step. Seducing the prince would be the next. Being together was inevitable. At least this way I could claim some control, rather than being swept along in a current of his desires.

"Thinking of me, little one?"

Remiel's velvet voice whispered past my ear, and I lashed out without thinking. The blows Yoko and I traded during training had been little more than taps—nothing that would prepare me for the hard crush of bone against bone. It hurt like hell but was beyond satisfying.

His head snapped back, and he grabbed his jaw. Shock flared in his eyes, but it quickly gave way to something else. A dark promise.

"That's the only hit you'll ever land on me. Hope you enjoyed it."

My hand throbbed, but I resisted the urge to massage it. "I did, actually. Also, it's the second time I hit you. Remember, in the mountains?"

Remiel rolled his eyes. "That barely counted as a hit, but I'll admit this one was impressive."

"Yoko has been training me to defend myself." I sounded smug, but I couldn't help it. Hearing something like that made the hard and painful work worth it.

The stern edge to his expression melted away, and he gave me an appraising look. "Good. You should have learned a long time ago, but better late than never."

All smugness evaporated. Leave it to him to turn a compliment into an insult. Why couldn't he have left it at my hit was impressive. A cool breeze stirred the silky dark hair falling across his forehead, and he walked a complete circle around me, stopping at my front. He dragged his finger down the front of my cloak and tugged, raising an eyebrow.

"So, this is where my cloak went."

I shoved his hand away. "It was dark, and I was trying to get out without waking either of you up."

Remiel hoisted himself onto the railing and walked along the top as if it were as wide as a road. Not once did his step falter. It reminded me of the night on the bridge before my world imploded, and then it reminded me of something else.

"Three," I said, grinning. "I've hit you three times."

A booted foot paused in midair, and he frowned down at me. Without his face covering, his thoughts were visible, and it was clear the moment he remembered what I was talking about. He jumped down and backed me against the railing, putting a hand on either side of me so I couldn't escape, but he was very careful about not touching me.

"You never explained how you made that snowball so quickly."

For being close to someone with such cool skin, I felt extremely overheated. Heart skipping beats and sweat beading on my skin, I waited for him to press his advantage. No one on the deck would stop him. I surely couldn't, for all my earlier bravado. Knees buckled and only my elbows on the railing kept me upright.

"Morana?" Remiel uttered my name softly, plaintively. He backed up and air rushed back into my lungs. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing," I replied, cursing mentally as I struggled to form speech. "Sea sickness maybe."

"You were fine a moment ago, and the water is calm." He moved back into my space, missing nothing as my breath hitched and chest tightened. "Did someone hurt you? Did he hurt you?"

He snarled the last question, and the small hairs on my body stood upright, recognizing its proximity to a predator. The Reaper was a man of contradictions. Teasing and boyish one minute, violence and steel in the next.

In Friedesh, I'd watched him spin his sickle with deadly grace, cleaving monsters in half with ease. Face covering, black cloak, and bloodied weapon—I thought those things lent themselves to his formidable presence, but he stood here now, stripped bare of all that. The monsters that night might have begged for death if he'd talked to them with the same lethal inflection in his words.

"No, Tievel didn't hurt me. He saved me." The admission tasted like ash in my mouth.

"Fuck," Remiel growled, shocking me as he slammed his fists on the banister. "If you would just let this go, you wouldn't be in a position to need saving."

"I won't need saving again because I am going to be stronger. I'm not some damsel in distress. Not anymore."

"That's what I like to hear." His knuckles turned white before he flexed his fingers and looked at me through the hair falling across his eyes. "But no matter how fierce you become, it won't stop me from tearing down anyone who hurts you."

"Of course." I licked my lips and tried to work the moisture back into my mouth. "Can't have your one shot at killing the prince ruined."

He laughed. It was short and harsh. "Precisely."

An apricot blush spread across the eastern horizon, and new voices sounded on the deck as the morning crew went to work. "I should go below and try to get some sleep."

"You can take my hammock and use my cloak as a blanket. I'll sleep on the bed tonight." At my confused look, he added. "Your teeth chattering together kept me up half the night, and that mattress is harder than the floor."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, a delicious but unwelcome warmth unfurling in my stomach as I thought about the intimacy of sleeping in his cloak and his bed.

"I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy, but I won't be far."

"We still haven't talked about what you discovered. Is Tievel hiding something?"

"There will be time for that later. Go get some rest, Morana." He grimaced. "In your bed. By yourself."

Any softening I had toward him disappeared when he said that. I should've known better than to think he wouldn't mention walking in on Tievel and me. Grumbling, I spun on my heel to keep from shouting curses at him and drawing unnecessary attention from the sailors, but I whipped my head back around. Something had shimmered in the air beside him. I squinted hard but couldn't see it again.

Remiel looked from me to the space next to him. "What is it?"

"Nothing," I said, and stomped across the deck to the stairs leading below. Risking one final glance back, I caught him still watching me, and the shimmer was still absent. "It was nothing."

But I couldn't shake the feeling as I walked down the corridor to my cabin. The door opened quietly, and Tievel didn't stir. I slipped across the room, bypassing Remiel's hammock to crawl onto the unforgiving bed. The cloak stayed because I was already wearing it, but I refused to let him do anything nice for me. Not when there would be strings attached.