Page 85 of Fire and Ice Cruise

“Yet,” Wes corrects, his captain face softening into something close to relief. “The doctor said to ice anything that hurts and check back with him in the morning. I’ll have a bucket of ice delivered to your room as soon as possible.”

“Aww,” Bess, Nettie, and I coo in unison.

Behind them, I spot Tinsley and Elodie entering the ballroom. Tinsley looks absolutely ragged, her hair escaping its clip in six directions, her makeup smudged, her smile teetering between genuine joy and the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Elodie makes a beeline for the cake flanked by two actual Vikings. Or at least staff members dressed as Vikings, complete with horned helmets and fake beards.

The Vikings start a drumroll on the table. The crowd gathers around, champagne glasses raised.

Wes and Ransom lead Marina and me toward the cake table, where waitstaff are frantically lighting what has to be a hundred sparkler candles on the world’s largest chocolate lava cake. The sparklers hiss and crackle, shooting gold sparks into the air like tiny fireworks.

“Happy birthday to you⁠—”

I shake my head at Ransom. “They already sang to us.”

“And you both earned another round,” he says.

The room erupts. Two hundred voices, none of them in the same key, all of them loud enough to wake the dead.

Which, given my track record, isn’t entirely theoretical.

Marina laughs beside me, her eyes bright with tears. I’m grinning so hard my face hurts. Everyone in the room launches into the world’s most enthusiastic rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Off-key and overlapping with nothing but beautiful chaos. The sparklers keep shooting gold light across our faces as we lean into the sweet monstrosity. The chocolate scent is overwhelming, rich and dark and exactly what turning fifty should smell like.

“—happy birthday, dear Trixie and Marina⁠—”

Bess and Nettie are front and center with their party horns raised as though they were weapons.

“—happy birthday to YOUUUU!”

An entire cacophony of horns blast, and a few people actually jump because of it.

Marina and I lean in together, take a breath, and blow our hearts out. Fifty sparkler candles don’t go out easily. We have to blow twice and the crowd cheers anyway.

Fifty flames between us, representing a century of living, learning, and apparently solving murders.

The candles finally go out and applause erupts.

Tinsley slumps against the dessert table. “I hope you both wished for an assistant. Because I’m about two emergencies away from staging a mutiny.”

Wes looks at Marina, and something shifts in his expression. He looks vulnerable, hopeful, and a little bit terrified.

“How about it?” he asks. “If you’re free and in need of employment, the Emerald Queen would love to have you stay on.” He pauses. “And so would I.”

Marina’s eyes go wide.

“We all would,” I practically plead. “We’re family now. It’s practically official.”

Bess nods. “You fit right in.”

Marina bites her lower lip, her eyes shimmering with tears that could go in either direction. Then she breaks into a grin so big it transforms her entire face.

“Yes,” she says, her voice cracking with emotion. “I would be honored to work on the Emerald Queen and live right here with all of you.”

The entire lot of us launch into one big group hug. One big chaotic, beautiful group hug. Wes pulls her close. Bess and Nettie squeeze from both sides. Ransom wraps an arm around me while somehow including everyone else in his wingspan. Even Elodie joins in, abandoning her Vikings to pile into our little huddle.

“Speech!” someone shouts from the crowd.

“No speeches,” Marina laughs through happy tears. “Just cake. And maybe more champagne.”