“No. We clean the deck once a week, but we have other chores.”
“Such as?”
“We rotate helping in the galley to make meals, and one of us cleans the latrines every day. But it’s a different person each time, so you won’t get stuck with that all the time.”
“Anything else?”
“Odd jobs. The barnacles are getting pretty bad, so we might be doing that soon.”
“Barnacles? But we’re in the sky, not the water.”
“Sky barnacles, genius. They usually only collect around pockets of warm air over the ocean, and they’re not violent or anything. They’re just... difficult to clean off. The casters complain they eat too much of the magic.”
“Eat magic? Sounds exciting.”
“Sure is.” She stuck a finger up her nose and wiggled it around, then pulled out a booger and tossed it over the edge of the platform.
I gawked and recoiled. “Ugh! That’s gross!”
“It’s the barnacles! I think some got up my nose! Want to see a bigger one?”
“No!” Still, I laughed.
Jae’s eyebrows jumped up and vanished into her shaggy hair, as if I’d offended her. “No way. Why not? It’s the biggest you’ll ever see, I swear it.”
“That’s so gross. You’re a lady!”
“Oh, don’t worry.” She punched me in the arm and winked. “You can still be my friend, even if you don’t know anything about us ladies.”
I wasn’t sure how long the voyage would last, but at least I had someone to talk to. The work and Loudrum’s blood-scent had kept my mind busy, but as the day waned, Mizen’s absence weighed heavily on me. Of course, I couldn’t tell Jae about the Blood of the Sun or the amüli who had invaded our estate or even my suspicions of Lord Loudrum. Mizen, though, I could have talked to about anything, and I yearned to fly through the canyon with him as we often did. Silence between us always comforted me.
“I’d love to stick around,” I said, “but I really need to go clean the captain’s quarters.”
“Do you have to wash the chamber pot?”
“Yes.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”
“Says the one who digs out snot.”
“Hey, that’s a life skill. It’s something everyone should practice.”
I rolled my eyes and headed off, stretching my arms and wings. The kinks were already a nightmare, and I had a feeling that Jae was right about how achy I’d be in the morning. At least I’d sleep well.
Once I arrived at my uncle’s cabin, I knocked on the cloud door. No one answered, so I let myself in. The door to his personal chambers swirled open, and a bucket of lye water, along with a few cloths for scrubbing, had been left out in the empty cabin. No doubt they were meant as an invitation. I exhaled, deciding to dive into work. I’d talk to him about my plan when he returned.
Every muscle and joint ached as I scrubbed and cleaned. My exhaustion tempted me straight to bed once I finished, yet a sharp pain in my gut reminded me to nab some food.
By the time I left the captain’s cabin for supper, Melroc was still gone, and no one I asked had seen him. By the time night was an hour old, weariness had overcome me. My plan had to work, but I needed Melroc’s help to pull it off. I just hoped he’d be willing to listen to me in the morning.
—-END OF SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW—-
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