Iron Seas 03 - Riveted

it.
    Was this what the future would be? Always hoping…always disappointed?
    The engine slowed to half speed. A great huff of steam released from the stern. Annika looked beyond the bow. Heimaey wasn’t far, the black cliffs of the island rising up out of the sea.
    She swallowed the ache, faced him again. “We’ll be there soon.”
    “And Vik not long after.”
    “Yes.”
    Where he’d depart the ship. She might never see him again.
    Now she felt sick. She led him to the side, where they wouldn’t be overheard. The butter candy tasted cloyingly sweet now. Her tongue found sharp edges that had formed in the smooth surface. She spit it over the rail and braced herself for his reply. “Have you thought on what I said?”
    “Yes.” His strong gaze held hers, unwavering. “It doesn’t matter who they lie with.”
    “No. It does matter. It matters to my mother and your aunt, it matters to me because I love them, it matters to all the women of Hannasvik, whether they lie with other women or not—and it must matter to many New Worlders, because they’d done their damnedest to stop women from loving each other.”
    He nodded, as if to show that he understood the distinction. “I don’t think badly of them for it. I don’t think it’s a sickness.”
    Relief slipped through her, unwinding the knot in her stomach. “Thank you.” She drew a deep breath. “And you still want to help look for Källa?”
    “Yes.” He seemed to relax as well, his shoulders no longer so stiff. “So you will stay in touch with me?”
    Would she write him, tell him of all the people she met, the things she saw?—and did she want to receive his letters in return?
    Oh, she did .
    But how long would it be before she lived for those letters? Upon a week’s acquaintance, she’d already come this far. How long until she was all in? And if he wasn’t…would he ever be?
    If she stopped this now, Annika could save herself. She could return to Hannasvik after finding Källa and be content.
    “Annika?”
    His ease was gone, shoulders stiff again. Why did this even matter to him?
    She had to know. “What would be the purpose? The only reason you sought me out was because I might help you fulfill your promise. Well, Hildegard will come for you now; your promise will be fulfilled. Why continue this?”
    “Why?” His jaw hardened. His gaze burned into hers. “For two people who don’t fit anywhere, we get along well. The purpose is…friendship.”
    Friendship. That was worth a lot. All that Annika had of value were friends—and family that she didn’t see often enough. Without them, she had nothing.
    But she wanted more. Her eyes stung. She looked down as her vision blurred, and her body stilled.
    His hands had clenched on the gunwale—his steel fingers had splintered the wood. This mattered more than he was saying. Perhaps all he had were friends, too. Family that he didn’t see often enough.
    Annika wasn’t adventurous. She didn’t take risks. But she would now.
    And whatever came of it…would be what came of it.
    She glanced up into his rigid features. “All right. Friendship.”
    His sudden smile washed away the tension. “Thank you.”
    Thank you. Just as a friend would say. Already, she wanted more. Already, it was hurting. She wasn’t just a coward—she was greedy, too. Hopefully, this need would soon dull.
    He must have been watching her face and misinterpreted her reaction. Softly, he assured her, “I won’t betray your trust.”
    “I know,” she said.
    It was one of the reasons she liked him so well. Her life was richer for having him as a friend, so she couldn’t pity herself for long.
    And friends and family weren’t all they had. Annika had her engines, her clothes—and he had his volcanoes. Phatéon flew past one of the smaller islands, a giant snow-covered rock jutting out of the water. In the summer, it would be green with moss and grasses, with puffins nesting on the cliffs and the women from Heimaey waiting at the edges, trying to catch the birds in their spring-launched nets.
    But the island didn’t smoke or steam. “Will you tell me that this was made by a volcano, too?”
    He didn’t immediately answer. Annika glanced at him, but he was looking past her, beyond the ship. His brows had furrowed, and a tight frown flattened his wide mouth. She followed the direction of his gaze to the main island, at the small town nestled behind a cragged cliff. Rows of cottages formed two neat streets that