The wooden planks of the ship creak beneath my feet as I stand at the rail, watching the horizon stretch endlessly before me. Three weeks since Thorin claimed me as his property, yet I still feel like an outsider on this ship. The crew treats me with a strange mix of familiarity and deference, their eyes lingering a little too long whenever I pass.

A shadow falls over me, and I stiffen before recognizing the telltale sound of Thorin's boots. He stands beside me, close enough that I can feel the heat of his body without touching him.

"The men tell me you've been spending all your time with the boy in the library," he says, his voice low and gravelly, like stones grinding together.

I keep my eyes fixed on the waves. "Ori has quite an impressive collection of books. I never imagined pirates would value literature so much."

His gloved hand brushes mine where it rests on the rail. "There is more to us than plunder, Baggins." His fingers close around my wrist, not unkindly but with undeniable strength. "And there is more to you than you realize."

He turns me to face him, his blue eyes sharp in the fading light. "We near land. You could walk away when we dock—start a new life where no one knows your name or what you've endured."

The offer hangs between us, tempting and terrifying. But as I look up at his rugged face, the first stirrings of something dangerous bloom in my chest—not fear, but something like courage.

Thorin's thumb strokes the back of my hand, a gesture surprisingly gentle for a pirate captain. "Or you could stay... and see where this journey truly leads."

The choice is mine, and for the first time in months, I feel the stirrings of hope in my chest.