Raven Girl

Chapter 28

They had no choice but to stop and make repairs. Gylfi found cracks in the hull and they got to work patching them up, using spare wood and hammering it in. Nadine and Regina took the sail down and, while the boys put the spare one up, tried to see if they could sew it back together. Their fingers were hurting by the end but they had a whole sail again – although Nadine had her misgivings, and thought that a strong wind would most likely rip their handiwork apart. The dragon figurehead was gone – very fitting, for it to have been destroyed by a water dragon. While Elias and Gylfi finished the repairs, dusk blanketed the fjord. Regina set up a fire and assembled a cooking pot – silently for once, which was a change, as she usually complained when it was her turn to cook.

Nadine, in the meantime, fetched a piece of grouse bone out of her pack and started carving. She leaned back against Ares, who kept peering over her shoulder to watch, deftly chipping away at the little bone. The grouse bird had been delicious and Nadine had been tempted to give Kutkh the bones, so he could extract the marrow with his powerful beak, but she'd decided to keep it in case it was needed.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked, stirring the stew.

"Making a whistle. To use for Ares. Because Gylfi thinks it's my fault he didn't arrive on time." She was still fuming at the accusation. It was his fault for not telling them.

"Right." Regina cleared her throat. "So... anyway... What do you think about Gylfi?" She sounded strangely sheepish.

Nadine frowned. Ares shifted against her, the warmth from his body seeping into her own. "He's not bad, for a pirate. He's handy with a sword, which will be good once we're infiltrating the fortress."

Regina gave an uncomfortable laugh.

"Wait. You mean..."

"Well." Regina was keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the stew. "I've never had a girl... friend... to talk to. I used to hang around with noblemen's daughters, and they were always so fake and prying. I'd like to have a simple conversation with someone... normal, for a change."

Nadine raised her eyebrows. "I've never been one for discussing boys." But she paused. She sometimes longed to be like the girls Regina talked about with such scorn – prissy and vain, with no worries but the colour of the dress she would wear to her next party. "I remember thinking I'd need to keep my guard up when I met Gylfi for the first time. He's surprisingly attractive."

Regina choked. Nadine guessed she was more shocked than anything, and gave the aristocrat a grin.

Finally, Regina said, "Do you think Gylfi hates me because of my father?"

"No, of course not. I mean, we all hated each other at first, but now I think things are a bit more complicated. Why? Do you like him?"

Regina turned scarlet. "No! Of course I don't. Why do you ask – do you?"

Nadine thought of Gylfi: his tanned skin, golden hair and sea-salt scent. His easy smile. "I think he's the sort of boy who is easy to fall for. I bet he left a lot of broken hearts back in Havenby, besides Ingrid."

Regina threw the ladle down, where it splashed into the cooking pot. "I don't care about him, anyway." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "The boys in Arkanovsk used to practically follow me around."

"I had one friend, another thief, called Jet," Nadine said. He'd been in her class, back when she attended school. Right now, he seemed very far away. "We kissed once – it was a messy kiss."

"Did you love him?"

"I don't know. I think our lives together would have consisted mainly of stealing. Not the sort of life I want to lead forever. But I'll never find out – everything has changed now."