‘The forest ground sometimes looks solid, and sometimes folk have found a patch they think is dry and tried to settle on it. But the more traffic there is, the sooner the “dry ground” starts to give way. Pretty soon the ground water breaks through to the surface and from there, well, it goes marshy pretty fast.’
‘But you do think that somewhere upriver, there will be an area of truly dry land for the dragons to settle on?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine. But I think there must be. Water flows downhill, and all this water comes from somewhere. Trouble is, can we navigate that far, or does it all turn into marsh before we get there? I think we’re about as far upriver as anyone has ever come by ship. Tarman can go where others can’t. But if we hit a place that’s too shallow for Tarman, well, that’s where our journey will end.’
‘Well, I hope we at least find a better beach to camp on tonight. Thymara has said that she is worried about the dragons’ feet and claws. The constant immersion is bad for them. She said that one of Sintara’s claws cracked and she had to trim and bind it for her. She said she treated it with tar. Perhaps we should do all the dragons’ claws, to prevent damage.’
Leftrin scowled at the idea. ‘I don’t have that much tar to spare. I think we’ll just have to hope for a drier camping spot tonight.’
‘We should trim their claws,’ Jess abruptly announced, pushing his way into both the room and the conversation. He shoved the end bench out from the table and sat down heavily on it. ‘Think about it, Cap. We dull the dragons’ claws down for them. Cut them a bit, tar them up. Do everybody a world of good, you take my drift.’ He looked from Leftrin to Alise and back again, grinning at both of them. He had small teeth, set wide in a generous mouth. It looked like a baby’s innocent smile set in a man’s face; it was disconcerting, even unsettling to her. So was Leftrin’s reaction to it.
‘No.’ He spoke the word flatly. ‘No, Jess. And that’s my last word. Don’t push it. Not here, not now. Not with the keepers, either.’ He narrowed his eyes meaningfully.
Jess leaned back, bracing his back against the wall and swinging his boots up onto the bench in front of him. ‘Superstitious?’ he asked Leftrin with a knowing grin. ‘I’d have pegged you for a man of the world, Cap. Not someone trapped in all those old Rain Wild notions. It’s awfully provincial of you. Those keepers, some of them recognize that sometimes we need to make new rules to make the best of a situation.’
Leftrin slowly stood, leaned both his fists on the table, knuckles down and shoulders tensed as he put his face close to the hunter’s. He spoke in a low voice. ‘You’re an ass, Jess. An ass and a fool. You don’t even know what you’re suggesting. Why don’t you go do what you were paid to do?’
The way Leftrin’s body blocked Jess’ access to her suggested he was protecting her. She wasn’t sure from what but felt profoundly grateful he was there. Alise had never seen the captain so clearly enraged and yet so controlled. It frightened her, and at the same time it spurred a powerful surge of attraction towards him. This, she suddenly knew, was the sort of man she wanted in her life.
Yet despite Leftrin’s intensity, Jess seemed unfazed. ‘Go do what I was “paid” to do? Isn’t that exactly what we’re talking about here, Captain? Getting paid. And sooner rather than later. Perhaps we should all sit down and have a chat about the best way to make that happen.’ He leaned around Leftrin to shoot Alise a knowing grin. She was appalled. What was he talking about?
‘There is nothing to discuss!’ Leftrin’s voice rattled the windows.
Jess’ gaze went back to Leftrin. His voice lowered suddenly, taking the note of a warning snarl. ‘I’m not going to be cheated out of this, Leftrin. If she wants a share, she’ll have to go through me. I’m not going to stand by and watch you take a new partner and cut me out for the sake of making a sweet little deal for yourself.’
‘Get out.’ From a roar, Leftrin’s voice had dropped to a near whisper. ‘Get out now, Jess. Go hunting.’
Perhaps he knew he’d pushed Leftrin to his limit. The captain hadn’t verbalized a threat but killing hung in the air. Every beat of her thundering heart seemed to shake Alise. She couldn’t draw a breath. She was terrified of what might happen next.
Jess swung his feet to the floor so that his boots landed on the deck with a thump. He stood, taking his time, like a cat that stretches before it turns its back on the slavering dog. ‘I’ll go,’ he offered lightly. ‘Until another time,’ he added, as he walked out the door. Around the corner but still within hearing, he added, ‘We all know there will be another time.’
Leftrin leaned across the table to reach the door’s edge. He slammed it so hard that every cup on the table jumped. ‘That bastard,’ he snarled. ‘That traitorous bastard.’
Alise found she was hugging herself and trembling. Her voice shook as she said, ‘I don’t understand. What was he talking about? What does he want to discuss with me?’
Leftrin was as angry as he’d ever been in his life, and by his fury, he knew that the damn hunter had woken fear in him as well. It wasn’t just that the man was misjudging Alise in such a base way. It was that his assumptions threatened to ruin Leftrin’s good image in her eyes.
The questions he didn’t dare answer hung in the air between them, razor-edged knives that would cut them both to pieces. He took the only safe course. He lied to her. ‘It’s all right, Alise. Everything will be fine.’
Then, before she could ask what was all right and what would be fine, he silenced her in the only way he could, drawing her to her feet and folding her into his arms. He held her firm against him, his head bent over hers. Everything about it was wrong; he could see her small fine hands against the rough, grimy weave of his shirt. Her hair smelled like perfume, and it was so fine and soft it tangled against his unshaven chin. He could feel how small she was, how delicate. Her blouse was soft under his hands, and the warmth of her skin seeped right through it. She was the opposite of him in every way, and he had no right to touch her, none at all. Even if she hadn’t been a married lady, even if she hadn’t been educated and refined, it still would have been wrong for two such different people to come together.
And yet she did not struggle or shriek for help. Her hands didn’t pound against his chest; instead they gripped the rough fabric of his shirt and pulled him tighter, fitting herself against him, and again, they were the opposite of one another in every way, and each way was wonderful. For a long moment he just held her in silence, and in that brief instant he forgot Jess’ treachery, and his vulnerability and the danger awaiting all of them. No matter how complicated the rest of it was, this was simple and perfect. He wished he could stay in this moment, not moving on, not even thinking of all the complications that threatened him.
‘Leftrin.’ She spoke his name against his chest.
In another time and another place, it would have been permission. In this time and place, it broke the spell. That simple moment, their brief embrace, was over. It was as much as he would ever taste of that other life. He tipped his head just slightly and let his mouth brush her hair. Then, with a heavy sigh, he set her back from him. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered, even though he was not. ‘Sorry, Alise. I don’t know what come over me. Guess I should not let Jess rile me up like that.’
She gripped his shirt still, two small tight handfuls of fabric. Her brow pressed against his chest. He knew she didn’t want him to step away from her. She didn’t want him to stop what had begun. It was like peeling a clingy kitten from himself to ease free of her grip, and all the harder because he didn’t want to do so. He had never imagined that he would be the one to gently push a woman away ‘for her own good’. But he’d never imagined that he would find himself in such a precarious position. Until he could deal with Jess in a way that solved his problem permanently, he couldn’t allow Alise to do anything that might make