Page 5 of Hymn of Breath and Bone

Zephyr said this with so much ease, so much conviction, that, for a second, I was jealous of her. Jealous that her mate knew her, that they were open and honest with each other to a fault.

“Fine,” I gritted out. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that it wasn’t Zephyr or Astraios I was frustrated with, but myself. “I suppose I can’t arguewith that logic.”

“Where’s Marina?” Ana asked, peering behind me like she might be hiding there. “Zeph said I could meet her.”

“Did she?” I growled, turning my ire back on my first mate.

Zephyr met my scowl with a truly fearsome one of her own, one of the many reasons I named her my first mate. “Don’t bite my head off because you haven’t mustered the courage to tell her yet.”

Ana looked nervously between the three of us, Zephyr and I both scowling, and Astraios looking vaguely amused.

I sighed and scrubbed a hand over my face. “You’re right. I need to tell her.”

“You do,” Zephyr said, taking my arm and guiding me back down the passage the way I had come. “But not tonight.”

“Wait—what—” I dug my heels in, stopping Zephyr from dragging me back to my rooms. “I have to get something for Marina to eat.”

“Already done!” Ana piped cheerfully. “Reuben’s finest. Well, except the bread, but he can’t be perfect.”

“We have enough for all of us,” Astraios agreed, holding up his bag as if it were a prize. “And Marina.”

“She’s not expecting company,” I said, trying to snatch the bag from Astraios.

He jumped back, holding it out of reach. “None of that, Captain,” he said, oblivious to the visions that flashed through my mind of dismembering him. “Ana wants to meet Marina, I want to play cards, and clearly,youneed a chaperone. We’re a package deal.”

“Please, Cas?” Ana said, placing a gentle hand on my arm.

Ana’s gentle pleading was far more effective than Astraios’ nonsense.

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“That means yes,” Zephyr crowed delightedly, resuming our trek out of the passage to make the short flight back to my rooms.

Chapter 3

To my chagrin, Caspianreturned with both Zephyr and Astraios in tow, as well as a dark-skinned female I didn’t know.

“I’m Anatole,” she said, embracing me so unexpectedly I stood motionless. “But please, call me Ana. I’m Zephyr’s mate.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed, her presence finally making sense. I remembered both Caspian and Zephyr speaking aboutZephyr’s mate, who was next in line to take a council seat. I just hadn’t learned her name. “Of course. It’s lovely to meet you.”

Zephyr grinned and threw an arm around Ana, who was at least a foot taller than her, planting a kiss on her cheek. They were like mirror opposites, one fair and one dark, one the rugged pirate and the other a delicate lady. But they fit together somehow, and Ana beamed under Zephyr’s loving gaze.

“I hope you don’t mind that we invited ourselves,” Astraios said, placing several bags on the low table before the couch. “And I notice that once again, I receive no greeting.”

Caspian rolled his eyes in beleaguered amusement. I raised a brow at him, and he gave me a tight-lipped, apologetic smile.

Later. We’d talk later.

It turned out that the bags contained dinner, and a veritable feast was laid out on the low table for the five of us. I worried that perhaps it was too much food, considering the situation in the cliffs, but none of the sirens seemed bothered.

We dug into fish and rice and vegetables, all cooked to utter perfection and pleasantly seasoned. The only disappointment was the bread, which was almost as hard as granite.

“Another of Reuben’s failures,” Astraios said by way of explanation as I nearly broke my teeth. “Bread and breakfast, his two great nemeses.”

“Why does no one tell him?” I asked, laughing as Astraios tried and failed to break the roll in half.

“We do,” replied Zephyr and Caspian at the same time with the same dark resignation in their voices. Ana laughed at this, and I smiled as I gave up on the bread.