The captain’s face was stormcloud-dark, eyes flashing dangerously as he took her in. Her mind moved to what a strange picture she presented, what this ridiculous situation must look like: an unaccounted-for young man with a mop of ruddy curls, fast asleep next to one of the ship’s massive guns.

Hawk bent and hauled her up by the front of her shirt, glaring into her face. “We don’t tolerate spies here,” he hissed.

His strength was profound. Her back hit the inner wall of the ship, punching the breath out of her. Wide-eyed with fear, she could only shake her head. He peered at her, so close that she could see the fine grains of his stubble. “Who are you, and what in the devil’s fiery arsehole are you doing aboard my ship?”

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. Hawk growled and swung her about, dragging her up the stairs to the main deck. Her feet kicked against the floor as they struggled desperately for purchase. She opened her mouth again to answer, not at all certain what she might say; but her voice was trapped in the chamber of her throat.

Hawk slammed her against the ship’s railing, looming over her. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just toss you off the port side, boy.”

A small crowd was beginning to form, the crew clearly curious and hungry for sport. She tried meeting their eyes, pleading for someone to intervene, but they only looked through her, laughing and talking amongst themselves. It was plain they had no pity for her plight.

The wooden railing dug into the back of her ribs, into her spine. Hawk grabbed her by the throat, shaking her, as though he thought that any secrets she possessed would come falling out like dice from a cup.

So, this was how he treated the men who crossed his path. Not so long ago, she had found him the perfect gentleman in her moment of peril. She had thought of him as her safe haven, her rescuer: her savior. What a fool she had been. She looked up at the sky stretched above them, a blank canvas of calm. Were she to die now, at his hand, at least she’d be laughing at the irony.

She was starting to choke against the captain’s strong grip. She tried to run through her mental catalogue of options, but the only plausible solution she could think of required exposing her true identity. Such an admittance would save her life, if not her honor, and while she was sore to lose the latter, she was running out of air. “Wait,” she wheezed.

Footsteps came clattering up the stairs, and she heard Finn’s voice. “Captain, wait! I know that boy!”

Hawk released her throat, and she gasped, coughing. The captain leveled a judgmental look on Finn, eyes narrowed. “You know him?”

Eloise sagged, casting Finn a grateful look as the cabin boy hurried to her side. “He’s my friend—Eli. Boarded last night before we set out. Was gonna introduce him but…well. He can be trusted, I swear it. I know he means no harm at all.” The boy threw a protective arm out in front of her, as if he could guard her from Hawk’s intentions with that single hand. It was… actually quite sweet.

Hawk glanced between the two, something in him seeming to soften—though just barely. “With Pierce gone,” he said, “I’m not trusting anyone. Even if this… person is your friend.”

He looked at Eloise as though she was something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Her cheeks heated at that cold stare, so different from the passing glance he’d given her as a gentleman. “Put this so-called Eli in the brig. When we’re farther out to sea, we’ll feed him to the sharks.”

The captain still believed her to be a spy, then. Eloise supposed that she could understand her current disguise as permitting her to spy on men unawares, to watch them behave only as they would in the presence of another man—but that was hardly the kind of spy Hawk thought her to be. She wanted to protest and declare her innocence, but it would hardly do her any good, and she knew it.

It was difficult to appreciate her disguise as the privilege it was when it had nearly gotten her killed.

“But if I kept on eye on him,” Finn hedged. “If I promised to watch him at all costs…”

“Finn. Is it you who captains this vessel?” Hawk asked coldly.

Finn hung his head. “No, sir.”

“Good. The way you talked just now, I was beginning to think you’d forgotten.” Hawk turned on his heel and gestured dismissively. “Take him to the brig, as ordered.”

Finn saluted and nodded, bowing his head. “Yes, sir. As you say, captain.” He grasped her by the wrist and pulled her along behind him, down, down to a little iron-barred room adjacent to the hold.

“Sorry about this,” said Finn, “but I’m on the line here, too.”

Eloise rubbed at the tender marks on her neck. “I’m still alive thanks to you,” she said. “I can hardly blame you for covering for yourself when I owe you my life. And now, we at least have the time to come up with a plan.”

“Right,” said Finn, unlocking the little room. It looked… awful. Cramped and uncomfortable. Eloise flinched as she stared into the dark, damp space. “Got any ideas?”

“Absolutely none,” admitted Eloise. “Is he always like this? The Captain, I mean.”

The door swung all the way forward, hinges shrieking as it went. Eloise stepped in obligingly, and Finn turned to lock the door behind her. “Hawk’s been pretty tense for a few days, to be honest,” he admitted. “More so than usual. It’s made him far moodier. The first mate disappeared in Wayfort, and no one knows where he is. Gone without a trace.”

Finn turned again, the door now locked, and faced her. As he shifted, Eloise caught a glimpse of a flash of gold around his neck: a small hawk on a chain, illuminated in the light from a window high above them. “What’s that?” asked Eloise.

“Oh, this?” He pointed at the medallion. “All of Captain Hawk’s men wear one. It’s a sign that we’re part of his crew. A secret symbol, if you will.”

In that moment, Eloise could see her survival plan taking shape before her eyes. “I know we just got here,” she said. “But I need to see the captain right away. Take me to him.”

Finn froze. “What, right now? What for? Do y’want both of us thrown overboard?”

Eloise considered the risk. It was possible, if she couldn’t get him to listen. Not too likely, considering what she had to offer, but possible. “Just do it,” she said. “It’ll be worth it. I promise nothing bad will happen to either of us.”

He looked at her skeptically, fear clouding his eyes.

“Please, Finn,” she said, meeting his stare head on.

He hesitated, but, shaking his head, he unlocked the brig and opened the door so Eloise could step out. “You’re a mad one, you are.”

“Thank you,” she said, and meant it. She followed him, smiling at his expression. The poor boy looked like he was on his way to the hangman’s noose.

They climbed back up into the light and walked down the deck to the captain’s quarters, earning curious stares from the rest of the crew. Finn grimaced, but knocked on the captain’s door at Eloise’s nod.

“Enter,” said Hawk, his voice gruff and irritable. Finn sighed, gave Eloise a sardonic bow, and opened the door.

Eloise stepped into the doorframe. The captain was at his desk, smoking a pipe, Beauregard the cat perched smugly atop a pile of books and ledgers. Hawk looked up to see who had disturbed him, exhaling a ribbon of smoke. He had very much been at his leisure; the interruption made him frown in displeasure, glowering at the sailors who had interrupted him.

“Eli wanted a word with you, sir,” said Finn, voice trembling.

Hawk slammed a fist down on the desk, sending Beauregard scurrying to a far corner of the room. “Have you got bat shit for brains? Exactly which part of ‘lock him in the brig’ was unclear to you?”

Finn grew paler, looking as if he might faint.

“Stop scaring your poor cabin boy!” Eloise exclaimed, undercutting the captain’s rage. “It was my request to see you.”

“You’ve got brass for balls, don’t you, boy?,” Hawk snapped, cracking his knuckles. “I let you off easily before—but this time, I’m breaking your neck.”

Heart hammering against her ribs, Eloise took a breath. “Threaten me if you want,” she said, as calmly as she could. “That won’t get you the information you need. Information that I happen to have.”

He paused, taken aback, and rose to stand, chair scraping against the floor. Finn was trembling like an autumn leaf, keeping behind Eloise as much as possible. Hawk took a step towards them, and then another, leaning back against the desk. He looked deceptively casual. “What could you possibly have that I need?”

Reaching into her pocket, Eloise pulled out the hawk pendant she had found on the dock. She let the medallion drop until the chain caught, the gentle clink of the gold resounding in the now-quiet room.

Hawk’s fury iced over. He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her towards him. Eloise yelped and caught herself, gripping the top of the desk for support as Hawk leaned so close his nose nearly touched hers. “Where the hell did you get this?”