Jayln yawned, it had been hours. Whatever Fenrin was doing—she tried not to dwell on that—he should be done by now. She wasn't waiting out here all night, especially since she was sure somebody was watching her from the shadows. Whoever it was never approached and she made it back to The Pale Siren without incident.

As she walked back into the tavern, she turned to talk to Annabeth who was wiping down the counter. "Excuse me, did the peacock lady leave?"

Annabeth looked at her curiously. "Yes, she did." She opened her mouth to say something else, but thought better of it and just returned her attention to the dirty rag in her hand. Jayln went upstairs.

When she opened the door, Fenrin was lounging on the bed eye’s closed, his shirt and boots were on the floor but at least he had his pants on. She wrinkled her nose, the small damp room still had the lingering smell of sweat and sex. She opened the small window. The cold night air drifted in and Fenrin opened his eyes with a growl.

She turned to him, arms crossed. "Now, tell me your plan."

"I don't suppose you'd just let me sleep and tell you tomorrow?"

"No."

He sighed but sat up. "It's pretty simple. Maurya, the woman we saw with the captain, will keep him occupied tomorrow evening while we sneak onto the ship and talk to the crew. I convince them to mutiny and we sail off leaving the former Captain Jaired behind."

"And her price?"

"Hmm?"

"Maurya. I doubt she'll help us free of charge and we are out of money."

Fenrin laid back down a sly smile on his lips. "Oh, we came to an agreement."

Jayln's fists balled up. "Did you threaten her?"

"What? No, that wouldn't work on her type. We just cut a deal, she helps us and we protect her and give her a lift in the future."

"How are we going to protect her if we are sailing off tomorrow?"

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"Oh, right. I need you to write a letter to your father."

"What does my father have to do with this? Sit up and talk to me, Fenrin, I'm tired of not knowing what's going on." Jayln said letting her exasperation escape in her voice.

He sat up and grinned. "Well, that took less time than I'd thought, but you're going to have to learn to handle not knowing everything. We aren't in your little village anymore. And," he pointed an accusing finger at her, "I told you that you were naïve. Don't get mad at me because you can't keep up."

"I'm here so that we can learn to trust each other, but all you've done is ordered me around and made secret plans."

Fenrin growled. "I told you what you needed to know. There was no point in laying out before I was sure Maurya would help."

"I'm trying to be your ally here, not one of your men. Every part of the plan needs to be run by me if we are going to do this together."

He stood up and stepped towards her. "Fine, then let me lay it out for you so your simple village head can understand! I saw the ship that my father and I used during our pirating days. I saw the captain talking to a woman I knew had to be his favorite prostitute. A woman like that has a few key clients. I knew she'd be intrigued by a new face and I needed someone Jaired trusted to keep him away while I used my father's blasted name to get the ship."

He slowed, acting as if he were explaining to a child. "So I paid her to come over, we had wild sex then cut a deal. She'll use her charms to hold Jaired, then slip off to your village to hide out until we can come get her and bring her to the Solis capital as her fee. Meanwhile, we get on the boat, start our mutiny, crack a few heads that are stupid enough to disagree, and sail off to the far edge of the mountains. Try to keep up."

She nodded and yawned. "Was that so bad? Alright, I'll write the letter. Give me your cloak so I can lay out a bed. There's no way I'm sleeping up there with you."

Fenrin frowned, his condescending tirade not quite having the effect he'd intended, though what effect that was even he wasn't sure. He finally just grumbled, picking up his shirt and tossing Jayln his and her cloaks.

She laid down on them, folding her coat into a pillow and closed her eyes. Fenrin laid back on the bed, a strange mix of feelings in his stomach. He should be mad, wanting nothing more than to put Jayln in her place, but he almost felt a sort of pride. She had instantly approved of his plan and immediately did her part. It was so straightforward.

He closed his eyes, considering the quiet cogs that were surely spinning underneath Taka's surface. Lyra's precious Thieves Guild was probably on full alert, not sure whether to approach him or leave him be. Either way, Lyra would know where he was by tomorrow. Another day for any messenger rat to make its way back and he'd be cutting it close if she decided to stop him. He glanced down at Jayln's back. He would have no trouble with the guild unless Ly came herself, Jayln on the other hand...

The woman in question shifted and he turned to look back at the ceiling. What did it matter? If she got swiped by the rats, it'd just go to prove she wasn't worth it. He closed his eyes.