The Fanged Crown: The Wilds by Jenna Helland Page B

prisoners?”
    Harp nodded his head. So far he hadn’t witnessed one of the notoriously brutal beatings Predeau unleashed on crew members and prisoners from time to time, but he’d seen the cat-o-nine tails’ distinctive scars on Kitto’s back—Predeau’s fingerprint that the child would bear his whole life.
    “Usually he likes to do it himself, but sometimes he asks one of us to do the lashes. And you better do it, you know? Kitto had been around. He knew that. But there was a little boy got nabbed with his da. Not like a baby, but you know, younger than Kitto. Predeau hands him the ‘tails and tells him to lash the boy. I think he stole a crust or something. But Kitto wouldn’t even hold the handle, just let it drop to the ground. You should have seen the captain’s face. Three times he put the ‘tails into Kitto’s hand, and three times Kitto lets it drop. Between you and me, it was kind of strong of him to do it, but it was stupid too. He took the kid’s lashes
    and some more. Captain was furious and made us all pay for what Kitto done, and we hated him for it.”
    “Captain Predeau?” Harp asked.
    “Kitto. It was his fault.”
    “What happened to the boy? “
    “The kid? His coin got paid,” Merik said, looking surprised at the question.
    “Do you plan to leave after your birthday?” Harp asked, pulling out the small flask of brandy that was the boy’s allotment for the tenday and handing it to him.
    Merik shrugged again and uncorked the flask. “I’ve been on the boat since I was thirteen. I hated it so much, I thought I’d die. I was sure I’d leave the day I turned eighteen But now I’m not so sure.”
    “There’s nothing for you on the ship.”
    “Where would I go? I hate it, but it’s my home, you know?”
    Harp sat quietly for a moment before checking over his shoulder to make sure there was no one in sight. They were sitting near the bow of the ship, both of them having finished their shifts before the dinner call. Harp pulled out his dagger and began to clean his fingernails. At the sight of the knife, there was shift in the mood. Merik, used to violence, felt it.
    “I don’t think you’re stupid, Merik. I might be wrong, but I don’t think so. Who bought you?”
    “What?” Merik asked in confusion.
    “Who bought you? Who beats you? Who makes you work like a dog for no pay?”
    The boy made a move to get up, but Harp grabbed his wrist and yanked him down hard.
    “Who, Merik? Is it Kitto?” He whispered, digging his fingernails into the boy’s dirty arm.
    The boy shook his head quickly, obviously shaken by Harp’s unusual intensity.
    “Say who it is,” Harp said.
    “The captain,” Merik whispered.
    “That’s right. And who should you hate?”
    Merik tried to wrench his wrist out of Harp’s grasp, but Harp tightened his hand. There were tears in Merik’s dark brown eyes. Harp felt bad about making him cry, but he felt relieved at the same time. At least Merik could still feel something. It might not be guilt exactly, but it was a stone’s throw away from being so.
    “Who should you hate? Kitto?”
    Merik shook his head again.
    “You’ve become a little captain, which makes you more whipped than Kitto. Don’t you get that?”
    Merik stopped struggling and slumped against the railing.
    “Do you know what you’re going to do on your birthday? You’re going to walk off the ship a free man. And you’re never going to look back. Find a girl, get married, and forget about Captain Predeau. Otherwise he’ll be the voice that whispers in your ear for the rest of your life.”
    Harp put his dagger away and helped Merik to his feet. When the boy walked off the ship in the morning, Harp was the only one at the railing to watch him go.
    With Merik gone, Predeau searched halfheartedly for a new ringleader. But with Harp around, the other boys were reluctant to turn on each other. They stopped targeting Kitto, kept quiet, and did their work. When Predeau unleashed his