The Otherworld

17

CASTE IS VERY EAGER. He insists on showing me around the ship, which is much bigger than I was expecting. It's huge, with two different flights beneath the deck, but somehow still able to float easily. Magic definitely has a part in it, but it all seems so simple I'm embarrassed to ask.

"Do you like it?" He asks when we're above deck again.

"I do." I say, smiling. He brightens, and I pat his head. "Thank you for showing me."

He beams at the praise, and it makes me smile. It also reminds me of Felix, who is following Finn around the boat as well for a tour, and I frown.

"Are the others nice?" He asks me, not seeming to notice my discomfort. The distraction is welcome. "They don't mind me being in the Bind, right?"

"I don't think they mind. Do you mind riding in a cramped car?"

"Nope. I've sailed on ships where I was really cramped. I don't mind as long as I'm with you."

My lips lift again. He looks away in embarrassment, and I catch his hand in mine, making his breath hitch. It's cute.

"Tell me more about yourself?" I ask, and he's eager to talk. I find out he's a cloud spirit, which means, apparently, he's an empath, and has a pretty good idea of what people are feeling. He's been traveling with Finn since he was a teen, but he's always wanted to travel out of Atalanta.

Maybe the trip won't be so bad.

--------

I've changed my mind. It is bad.

Over the next week, I get more and more jealous of Finn. I hate seeing him with Felix, laughing and touching him, and enjoying himself. I hate that I hate it, so I distract myself by dragging Dei into my bed. Not that it takes much convincing, he's surprised but not displeased when I respond to his flirting with a kiss that leads to sex.

"Hey," He says at one point while we're taking a break, propping his head on his fist to look at me. His wings stretch and flutter behind him. "Not to say I care, but am I a pity fuck?"

"No." I mutter. "I don't pity you."

"You seem off. Is it about--"

"No." I snap. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." He lays back, tucking an arm under his head, eyes closing. "Ready to go again when you are." He starts telling me some story about him and Pho, but I'm not really listening.

I'm being unfair to him, and I know that. But I really don't want to talk about this new jealously stirring up inside me.

Later, after we've eaten dinner, I catch a surprising sight of Chase leaving the bedroom that him, Alastor, and Arlo are sharing most of the time, with bruising bite marks on his neck. He looks smug, then I see Alastor shuffling behind him, blushing deeply, shirt buttoned on wrong, lips bitten red.

And it doesn't make me jealous, not when they're with each other. I...like it, even, seeing them getting close this way. Even with Caste, I realize, when I see Dei and Caste sneaking out of a spare room with their clothes out of place. Pho and Arlo are the only ones I don't catch. Pho seems to dislike Finn, and spends time in his room, and Arlo is busy asking about things to the crew.

The good thing about being on the ship with no where to go, is that I also grow closer to them as well. I'm not looking to talk to any of the crew, so I spend my time with them, hiding away and distracting myself from Finn and Felix. 

And it's easy, shockingly, to have a conversation. I as Alastor about the different places we've been to, and he's happy to talk with me. Chase tells me about the different lives he's lived, the different eras he's lived through. I spend the most time with Dei, I think, mostly sleeping with him, but listening to stories--probably dramatized--about his life.