I dove back into the water behind, reveling in the coolness of it against the sweat of my skin. I swam quickly, only coming up for air when I reached the side of the ship. The crew had lowered a rope ladder for me, and I started climbing. I stopped midway, pushing my wet hair out of my face. I looked back at the pier and saw my opponent and the other man he had been with earlier standing on the edge of the dock. The second man was looking at the first sternly, but the man paid him no heed. He held my gaze instead. I gave him as graceful a bow as I could manage and blew him a kiss. I watched as
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