The ship rocked gently as the last of the boarding party settled in. I led my girls—each one still buzzing with that post-voyage mix of exhaustion and anticipation—straight to the quarterdeck where Captain Mona waited. Tall, sun-hardened, silver-streaked black hair tied back in a practical knot, she gave I a single assessing glance before I even opened my mouth.
"Soundproof room," I said. No preamble.
Mona's lips twitched, not quite a smile. She flicked her eyes over the five women clustered close behind I, reading the easy intimacy in the way they stood, the casual touches, the shared glances. She didn't blink.
"Follow me."
