The next morning when they woke up, the rocking had ceased. And when Amanda and Sirius came up on deck they found that the entire boat was still. They had anchored not far off a group of islands. The sun was high in a blue sky. There was no trace of the storm. There were also more people on deck than usual, almost as if the entire crew had been summoned and were waiting for something. Even Michael had been let out of confinement. He sat there on a wooden crate eating a banana. His eyes narrowed when he saw them emerge from below.

Standing not far from Micheal was Shiv. He was standing with his back to them, looking out at the islands. He turned as they approached. Dark circles bordered the underside of his eyes. He evidently hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

The eyes of the crew followed Sirius as he and Amanda approached the quartermaster.

“What is this Shiv?” Sirius asked. He gave a nod toward the islands. “We’re way off course.”

“I had to take a small detour. Michael has assured me that the delay will be no issue as long as we treat him with the respect he deserves while he aboard my vessel.”

“Your vessel, Shiv?”

The air around them was a restless silence. Men shifted uncomfortably, but not so much as to draw any attention to themselves. Not even the lapping of the waves could be heard. The sea today was deathly calm. All eyes of the crew were on Sirius and Shiv. Amanda wasn’t sure exactly what was going on but she knew it couldn’t be good.

“The crew has decided to hold a vote,” Shiv explained. “They don’t like how you put this firestarter above the safety of the crew or how you treat your guests.” Shiv gestured toward Michael. “You went to bed last night with this woman rather than help your crew navigate out of a storm.”

Amanda watched as Sirius shifted uncomfortably. He had no argument against that accusation, even though it was Shiv who had told them to get some sleep.

Shiv continued. “And of course it was on your orders that this man”—he pointed at Michael again“—was hung from the mast and disgracefully abused. The crew are dutifully ashamed at having followed such orders of course.”

Behind him Michael was nodding along in agreement. He seemed to have forgotten how many of the crew had taken pleasure in slapping him about as he swung, throwing things at him, and generally just jeering. Shiv must have offered him something Amanda thought. His next words confirmed it.

“As compensation for the way he has been treated we shall provide him with a larger room. From now on Michael will have free reign of the library and the bunk that lies within.”

Amanda noticed Shiv try to subdue a grimace as he spoke the words. Evidently he wasn’t happy about having to appease Michael. But he must be getting something out of it, or he wouldn’t be doing it. It was probably part of some larger game. Amanda was sure Michael was just a pawn, a short sacrifice for something long term. Shiv was no fool. And he looked directly at Sirius as he spoke. He did not glance at Amanda even once. What was he after though? Surely not just the captaincy or he would have taken it before. Was it just because of her then? Did he really hate her that much?

Sirius was looking around at the crew. “The crew voted, huh?”

Shiv gave a single nod and then loudly spoke. “If any man here should object or disagree with anything I have said in the last few minutes then let him speak now.”

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They waited. And they waited, but not a single voice spoke up. All remained silent.

Finally Sirius gave a slight bow of the head. “Well, if that’s what the crew want.”

“What!” Amanda exclaimed. She couldn’t just stand by while he had his captaincy taken all because he had been nice to her. “Are you mad?”

Her words died off as Sirius held up a hand to request her silence. He gave her a pleading look to go with it and so she conceded. Maybe he had a plan?

Sirius nodded toward the islands once again. “So why are we here?”

“The crew do not wish to share their home with one who may at any moment set it alight. Or with one who defends her. Here is where you disembark. The both of you,” Shiv told them.

Once more Amanda butted in. “You can’t do this,” she told Shiv. “You can’t just leave us on-”

And once more it was Sirius who raised a hand to quell her. He shook his head and in a soft voice said, “It’s alright.”

She went to argue but he shook his head harder and more urgently. She hesitated. Sirius didn’t seem worried. Was there something she was missing? Why didn’t he fight this?

She turned to look at Shiv and Michael. Michael was grinning at them. She longed to slap that smug smile off his face. Shiv wasn’t looking at her, nor were any of the rest of the crew.

Shiv gestured to one of the long boats. “Your boat awaits. Jimmi and Alice will get you your things. We will leave you with enough food and water for one day. After that you’ll need to source your own.” With that Shiv left them standing with the rest of the crew. Michael slunk off after him.

“What!” Amanda repeated to Sirius.

He shook his head. “It’s okay.”

“You’re not even going to fight this?”

“No,” he whispered. “Trust me. It wouldn’t do any good anyway.”

She looked around at the crew again. She could threaten them, force them to keep them on the boat. But then what? It wasn’t like she actually wanted to hurt anybody or damage the ship. She needed the ship herself and a crew to sail it and she had genuinely liked some of these men. What they were doing now, hit her like a kick in the guts. Sirius was right. She couldn’t fight this, at least not with fire. If they really considered her a threat they could always just kill her in her sleep anyway. At least they hadn’t done that last night.

She looked out at the island they were to be sent to. It was large and green, green enough to have water and probably some animals to hunt but she couldn’t see any signs of habitation, nor on any of the other nearby islands.

Amanda looked back at Sirius again. He was calm, sad looking but calm. Maybe the people lived on the other side of the island? Maybe there was a port where they could get on another boat and sale back home. To her home at least. But it wasn’t Sirius’ home. Little Rock hadn’t been that to him in a long time. She knew he loved the sea and this boat and the crew. She glanced back toward the main area of the ship. Ghost was down there, headed to who knows where. If she’d had any chance of getting the pegasus before, it was well and truly gone now. She supposed that had always been a long shot. But she’d pursued it relentlessly anyway. She had been stubborn, and now she’d pulled Sirius down with her.

As the crew readied their things and the long boat, Amanda leaned in close to Sirius and whispered to him, “This is my fault. They don’t want me here but they do want you. Just tell them you weren’t trying to defend me, that you were just trying to do what was best for the ship by keeping an eye on me. I’ll get off and I’ll find my own way back home. You don’t need to get off with me. Just tell them all that and ask them to vote again. They want you here, I know they do.”

She watched as he frowned and a flicker of something, maybe annoyance crossed his face. He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you.” He fixed his eyes on what the crew were doing then, not looking at her. His words had a finality to them. There would be no debate on that.

In silence they were escorted onto the long boat and then rowed into the beach. Once there they were told to get out. Their things were dropped on the beach with them, and then they watched as the row boat headed back toward the waiting ship, without them.

Amanda sighed. “So now what?” she asked Sirius. “Is there a port here we can walk to or are we stranded?”

She was surprised when she saw the hint of a smile on his lips, although he still looked sad.

“If you thought there was the possibility that we might be stranded why did you volunteer to get off the ship by yourself?”

“Well, it’s my fault this happened. I just didn’t want you to also have to suffer for it.”

He laughed softly and gave her an endearing look. “It’s not your fault.” Then he bent to pick up their stuff that was lying in the sand. “Come on.”

“So there is a port we can walk to?” she asked again.

“Nope,” he replied jovially. “We’re stranded.”