traveled over the half-blood’s leg, and once satisfied that it would hold up to his weight, I stood back and let the crew gather around his bed.
I left the room as quick as I could to avoid the loathsome scent and sound of rejoicing. My head was beginning to hurt, a tingling itch crawling up my neck. About half way down the row of bunks, a wave of nausea overwhelmed me.
I sank to a crouch, my hands over my mouth and my eyes shut. My head felt terrible, and it was causing an immediate and unpleasant reaction in my stomach. After a moment of trying to calm myself, I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder.
Bolivar stood above me. Through my watering eyes, I could see that he looked genuinely concerned.
“Let’s get you some fresh air,” he murmured, taking my hand and helping me back up the stairs.
Feeling wind against my face did wonders, and I found myself breathing more comfortably after sitting for a moment in the open air. The ship was moving again, and the island was now far behind us. It was a few minutes until I felt like I not going to throw up, but that’s when I noticed that the captain was watching me closely.
I looked the man over, from his dark hair to his scuffed boots, before asking, “Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?”
Bolivar smirked before saying rather ominously, “Because you did not abandon our captain to die.”
I blinked. Either he was referring to himself in the third person or, “Rio? I thought-“
“Rio and I share the title of captain on this ship, though I am more often than not the one forced to act the part.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I suppose Rio neglected to tell you that his surname is Mortimer as well?”
My eyes widened. “Are you related?” Obviously they were not brothers, but there were possibilities on the human side of the half-blood’s family.
“Not by blood, no,” he conceded. “His father took me in when I was just a boy. Though Rio was already grown by that time, he treated me like his own brother. I spent the rest of my childhood with them, and when he got his own ship,” Bolivar knocked his knuckles against the deck lovingly, “he brought me on as his co-captain.”
“Is that so?”
That explained some of the odd behavior between the two of them. It also told