He felt the same about Theo’s partner, Yarrow. Yarrow had been a sort of haven for Zander since he came aboard, making sure he had all he needed and generally making him feel… safe. He wasn’t sure what it was about Yarrow, but whenever they were around, the most unsavory crew members—the aforementioned assholes—seemed to give Zander a wide berth. Of course, Yarrow was The Valerian’s quartermaster and therefore its official disciplinarian. But all Zander had ever felt from them was a strong, steady warmth.
“How long have you and Yarrow known each other?” Zander asked Theo.
“I stopped keeping track long ago, mate,” Theo replied. “The day I met Yarrow, my life began. Time hasn’t had much meaning since then.” He paused to drink again and then met Zander’s eyes. “I was young, though, I’ll tell you that. Young and stupid.”
Zander smiled, imagining what the two of them would have been like, young and in love. They were both now in their early forties, but still more in love than anyone Zander had ever met.
“How did you meet?”
“Yarrow saved my ass,” Theo said, a grin forming on his face as he straightened, preparing to tell a tale. “I was living on the streets of Valparaiso at the time, pickpocketing and scavenging to get by. One day, I stole from the wrong person and got caught. Turns out the man was some royal prick, an officer, or a privateer, something like that. I don’t remember what he called himself, just that he seemed quite comfortable as he raised his sword to cut off my hand.
“But just as he was about to lower his blade, a blood-curdling scream sounded from behind him. It was so startling the man nearly dropped his sword, but his men’s hands remained firmly on my forearm, holding it down. When he turned to see who made the sound, there stood Yarrow.”
Theo’s arms had been moving animatedly as he told the story. They settled now over his heart, as if he had to still its rapid beating all over again simply thinking about the first time he saw his other half.
“Their eyes met mine for only a moment, but it was long enough for my entire body—my entire being—to lock on to theirs. It was over for me then, mate. I thought, ‘If I bleed out in the next few moments from having my hand cut off, at least this angel will be here to watch me die.’ But Yarrow made a beeline for the man, filled with such intensity not a single one of us could take our eyes away from them.
“‘Parles-tu français?’ they asked the man. And when it was clear neither him nor his friends understood them, Yarrow began speaking rapidly in French, waving their arms, crying, occasionally screaming nonsensical words.”
Theo chuckled. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, mate. ‘What the fuck do you pompous elephants think you’re doing here?’ they said. ‘Your stinking perfume can be smelt from the docks; it overpowers the fish.’ And then, without looking at me, they said, ‘I hope my friend here understands French, because if not, this distraction will be for nothing.’ And all the while, they chattered hysterically.
“Thankfully, I’d picked up several languages in my young life. It’s a valuable skill to have in a port town, especially when you’ve got nothing but your wits to feed you. As I listened, Yarrow gave me step by step instructions about what would happen next and which direction to run when it did—calm and controlled, just like the Yarrow you see here on the ship. But all the while, they shrieked and screamed and cried enough that all four men surrounding me couldn’t make heads or tails of what was going on. And in the midst of the confusion, they struck.”
Theo had a gleam in his eye now, and his hands were again waving in the air as if he were regaling Zander with the tale of Achilles at the gates of Troy.
“Yarrow’s blade came from nowhere, and before I could so much as blink, two of the men were on the ground, clutching at their wounds. Another was unconscious by the time I started running. I’ve never run so fast. But soon I stopped, and something churned in my gut as I thought about my rescuer. I couldn’t just leave them there. I wasn’t much with a blade back then, but I was cunning, and strong. So, I turned back, but as I twisted around, I nearly ran straight into them.
“It took my breath away, mate. There they stood, not a single scratch or bit of dirt on them, and in their outstretched hand was the gold I tried to steal. ‘I believe this is yours,’ they said.” Theo did a perfect impression of Yarrow’s subtle French accent, a contrast to his Chilean one. “We’ve been by each other’s sides ever since.”
Theo had a faraway look on his face as he concluded his tale.
“And Ace? When did you meet her?”
Theo looked sideways at Zander, smiling in a way that made him feel vulnerable.
“We met Ace about nine years ago,” he said. “Been sailing under her command for six.”
“Ah,” Zander said, feigning disinterest despite the fact that his heart was racing simply talking about her. He took a long drink from the flask Theo handed him.
“She told us about that kiss, you know.”
Zander choked, rum sputtering from his mouth as he leaned forward and coughed. Theo threw back his head and laughed, clapping his hand on Zander’s back good-naturedly.
“Don’t be self-conscious, mate. She wouldn’t have told us about it if it wasn’t a decent kiss at least.”
Zander buried his face in his hands, but he couldn’t suppress a laugh.
“Well, at least there’s that,” he said, shaking his head at Theo, who seemed to enjoy his discomfort.
“Listen, I only said something because I can tell you’re… how should I put it? Pining from afar?”
Zander rolled his eyes, but he didn’t deny it.
“Give it time, mate,” Theo said, clapping him on the back again. “Between you and me, I think she’s rather smitten with you as well.”
Tiny explosions sounded in Zander’s chest.
“But she’s also the captain,” Theo continued, dampening his excitement. “She’s got to act in a way that doesn’t throw her motives into question. She’s got to be fair, evenhanded. She’s got a reputation to uphold, you understand? The crew loves her to a fault for the most part, but she’s very conscious about how she’s perceived anyhow.”
Zander nodded and offered a grateful smile.
The truth was, he’d never stopped thinking about that kiss in the jungle. He felt helpless against the feelings that rose up in him every time he remembered the smell of her breath, the feeling of her calloused fingers against his cheeks. When she was near him, Zander felt the air rush from his body, as if it meant to meet her, to twist through her hair the way his fingers could not. Her presence was light and heavy at the same time, like a fine mist that caressed his skin even as it drenched him outright.
It confused him, the effect she had on him. It made him feel crazy. They barely knew each other, yet Zander spent an unsustainable amount of energy each day consciously trying not to fall mindlessly at her feet in worship, and thereupon be thrown overboard. He was crazy… wasn’t he?
For he dared not trust his eyes, which thought they had caught hers glancing his way each night as the crew shared a meal. He dared not trust his ears, which registered the slightest tension in her voice when he approached. He dared not trust his heart, for he did not know what lay within hers.
He was pulled from his reverie by the sound of a door being flung open. Just beneath the upper deck where he and Theo sat were three rooms. The largest of the three, whose door faced outward toward the main deck, was the captain’s quarters. Flanking that door were two smaller rooms, each facing inward toward each other. One was Theo and Yarrow’s shared quarters. The other housed George along with the crew’s physician, Douglas, who had severe gout and struggled going up and down stairs. The room also served as an occasional surgery.
A moment later Ace emerged on the upper deck like a small hurricane, the tail of her long blue coat whipping behind her in the breeze as she made a beeline for the railing of the upper deck. Yarrow followed just behind her, their hands clasped behind their back, their gait steady and sure, a myriad of weapons hidden beneath their long, untucked linen shirt. Theirs was a sharp contrast to the demeanor of Ace, whose movements seemed to mirror the very movements of the waves that lapped against the hull.
Ace was looking out at something on the horizon. She offered her outstretched hand to Yarrow, who placed a telescope in her palm. Ace was visibly excited as she beheld whatever was out on the water.
“Those sails good and ready, Chicken Leg?” she asked, the telescope still held up to her eye.
Zander’s stomach did a flip at the nickname she’d given him.
“Good enough,” he responded.
