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“Tavi!” I burst out

Sword in one hand, she hung with the other, her little face etched with anger

But then she slipped and dropped, and I gasped, shooting out and catching her in my arms “Oh, shit What the hell?”

I cradled her, htenedinto her black embroidered pirate coat and leather boots

I looked down,her scowl “You okay?”

“I’ll slit your throat, you dog!” And she pressed the plastic blade of her toy sword into my neck

Oh, Jesus I rolled my eyes

I swung her up and tossed her overtoward the kitchen

“And you’re definitely your father’s daughter,” I teased

Zero sense of what could’ve just happened to her And zero care

“Let o!”

“Not a chance,” I retorted “What were you thinking, huh?”

“I was sneaking up on the ver to squir to poach me crew!”

I entered the kitchen, sidestepping the caterers, and plopped Octavia down on a side counter, out of the way

“You need to be careful” I looked down into her black eyes “Do you understand?”

She dug in her eyebrows, accentuating the little scar she had over the right eye from a tumble she took when she o

“Your parents wouldn’t be happy if you cracked your little skull open” I walked over to the fridge and plucked out a juice box, slipping the straw in for her “You dad wouldn’t be able to take it You kno much everyone loves you?”

“I’”

I stopped and stared at her That kind of talk could lead down a dark path I kneell

I walked over, and instead of giving her the juice, I set it down on the counter and planted my palms on either side of her “Look at me,” I told her “I know you’re not afraid But fear and caution are two different things If anything ever happened to you, your dad wouldn’t survive it Do you understand that?”

Barely five years old, she stared at me with a blank look on her face

“A true captain leads by exaer “A true captain uses her head, okay? Soe in a moment Caution is smart, and smart people find a better way”