On These Black Sands (Aisling Sea Book 1) by Vanessa Rasanen

Author:Vanessa Rasanen [Rasanen, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crab Apple Books
Published: 2021-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

26

Aoife

An hour later Aoife stood on the shore of Foxhaven, not caring that her feet were still getting wet from the tide as it came in and washed out.

She couldn’t move.

If she had found this port overwhelming while on the deck of the Siren’s Song, it was much more so when standing on the outskirts of it. Crew from Declan’s ship moved around her, careful not to come into contact with her, as if she had some plague or disease.

Or bad luck. They couldn’t have that rubbing off on them.

“Hey! Lass! Are you going to stand there all day?” A voice sounded up the shore, as rough and gravelly as the face it was paired with. The man had stopped moving bottles and trunks from his boat into a small wagon already overflowing with goods. He smiled at her, his teeth broken and chipped, a nasty shade of yellow. “If you’re looking for work, I might have some for you.” His blue eyes twinkled at her as his tongue wet his lips. She was sure the work he offered was of the less reputable variety.

Declan had been right when he’d said these pirates weren’t like those she’d met thus far. What had she gotten herself into?

“No, thank you.” She cringed at how formal she sounded. She’d never fit in here. “I have work lined up already.”

She forced her feet forward, up the beach, refusing to look at the man as she passed him, though she saw him give a shrug as he laughed.

No one else spoke to her as she weaved around the various crews and island workers. Some eyed her briefly with curious looks. She hoped she’d find Lucy soon and that perhaps the woman might have some clothes she could change into. She hadn’t even done anything other than lounge about and sleep in these, and they were already grungier and smellier than she was comfortable with. Though she supposed that did help her blend in a bit.

She had expected walking on the sand would be difficult after being on the ship, and she was right. While the soft white sand of the beach didn’t help matters, she found the boardwalk and cobblestones no easier to traverse. She wondered how many people she passed assumed she was drunk, despite it being just after midday. Among this lot, though, that would earn her less ridicule than the truth—that she simply hadn’t found her land legs yet.

Aoife didn’t know where to look as she walked, and she imagined she appeared ridiculous as she looked from one colorful building to the next, her eyes wide and curious. She tried to guess what business or family might reside in each building—if families even existed on this island.

There were no signs anywhere, and it was impossible to determine whether something was a pub or a brothel or a clothing shop. But she soon realized that shops—whether selling clothes, weapons, or food—displayed their wares, albeit haphazardly, in the front windows. It was nothing

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