The Veiled Descendants

by Sophia Menesini

  ​“Do you really think so?” Shea murmurs.

  ​“I don’t know, but I’m willing to try. Because this”—she holds up their joined hands—“is what I want. I’m not going anywhere. There are stranger things than this.”

  ​Jo takes Shea and leads her to the bed. She pushes her down onto the covers and climbs on top of her.

  ​“One last question,” Jo says.

  ​“Yes?”

  ​“Why was your blouse untied?”

  ​Shea blinks a moment, her mouth opening and then closing. She sighs.

  ​“I showed him my brand,” Shea confesses. “That’s it, I promise.”

  ​Jo nods and starts unlacing Shea’s top.

  ​“Then here is my vow. No one else will have you. Not unless I allow it. And the same goes for me. We’re partners, and if there ever comes a time when we allow another into our bed, it will be on both our terms. Promise me that. Regardless, I forgive you, but I’ve seen marriages made out of secrets and lies, and I won’t let that be us.”

  ​Shea pushes herself up until she’s holding Jo on her lap and she lightly rubs Jo’s cheek with her fingers.

  ​“I promise. I promise,” Shea whispers, pulling Jo closer till their lips are just about touching.

  ​“I love you, Shea, and together we can solve anything.”

  ​Jo closes the distance and kisses her fiancée with all of her passion. She feels Shea’s hands wrap around her waist and she bites the elf’s bottom lip gently, pulling it and causing her to moan.

  ​She pushes Shea back, enjoying the feeling of her body under her. Jo isn’t stupid, she knows who Shea is and what she is. She will not persecute her for her nature because it’s part of what Jo loves most.

  ​She pushes the last of her thoughts away as her hand wanders lower; they have the rest of the night and she can decide what to do about Beck when tomorrow comes.

  Chapter 21: The More You Know

  Beck

  Another night is falling, and Beck tries to keep his eyes on his drink instead of watching Shea sleeping on her bed. Tomorrow they’ll arrive in Orena, finally.

  Earlier today, he practically had to carry her off the deck again after her sixth training session with Poseidon. They hadn’t spoken since the night on the pinnace; he’d kept quietly to his work. He thought things would change since Jo had caught them, but nothing did. They were still together, and worst of all, they seemed even happier than before.

  Beck had been crushed when he walked into the mess hall this morning after seeing the merfolk and seen them kiss over morning porridge.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss, there were no words to describe its perfection, but he kept his distance from Jo and Shea. He didn’t want to cause any more trouble or heartache for himself.

  He returned to the deck after breakfast to restore the harpoon launcher, when he saw Shea fall during training. He quickly ran to her aid without thinking and found her utterly exhausted because of her excess use of magic.

  He didn’t have another choice; he scooped her up into his arms, much to her and Poseidon's complaint, and carried her all the way to the medical bay, trying not to focus on how adorable she was when she was tired. He found Jo and Nol working in the room and explained what happened. He didn’t feel any hostility from Jo, who simply got to work following Nol’s orders on what to get for the captain.

  Beck laid Shea on the examination table, chuckling to himself, remembering how she’d magically knocked him out their first day together.

  ​She smiled up at him goofily, probably from the exhaustion, and he couldn’t remember seeing a face so beautiful.

  Before the pinnace, they’d gotten close over the past week. They talked over shared meals, dueled each other when the days ran long, discussed both their pasts. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to sail right past Tenaro and keep sailing the world, just with her, until they’d seen it all.

  But it was fleeting, and then he stepped away so her fiancée could get closer to see her.

  ​Jo fussed and checked her over for injuries while Nol did the rest. He left quickly because he couldn’t watch Shea’s love-filled expressions as she stared at her fiancée and laughed at her antics.

  The rest of the day went by fairly quickly.

  He’s been spending time with James, the new bos’n.

  He’s working with Beck to get the harpoon launchers firing faster, and after Beck’s discovery on how to fix the firing mechanism he shared the upgrade with the other gunners.

  ​About midday from his work at the bow he watched Caen at the steering desk, talking to Aster and training him as the new helmsman.

  In between tightening gears, and sharpening the harpoons, he saw Poseidon join Aster and Caen on the helm’s deck and watched as Caen glared half-heartedly, alternating between the ancient sea god and the young elf speaking to each other.

  ​James had glanced up at them too and smiled when the blond waved at him from his position behind the wheel before getting back to work.

  ​Beck listened to James talk about Aster. He listened to him prattle on like a lovesick pup and laughed as the pirate blushed, asking for advice on how to talk to Aster about becoming more intimate. He laughed to hide his own heart from breaking, knowing that Shea and he would never be intimate in that way.

  ​Beck had just finished sharpening the last of the harpoons, the sun had begun to wane on the deck, when Shea burst through the double deck doors with Caen, who he hadn’t realized had left his post, following behind her. She stormed toward the afterdeck stairs, and Beck couldn’t stop the small smile he had when he saw her look over at him, as if checking on him, before quickly turning her head back.

  ​James had given him the go ahead to wipe down the harpoon, and then head in for supper when the shouting began.

  They had both turned to see Shea arguing with Poseidon down the steps from the helm as she followed him below deck.

  ​After that, James gave the rest of the deck crew their last orders for the day and sent them on their way so he could race for the afterdeck, to Aster.

  ​Finished with work, he’d gone back to his room and wasn’t surprised to find Poseidon missing. He cleaned himself up and headed to dinner where most of the crew had gathered.

  Strom served up food with two navy men to help and the galley was packed with everyone perched in groups, now mixed as more days passed and the crew became one.

  ​Once he had his food, he planned to head back to his room, but the worst happened. Jo caught sight of him and called him over to where she was sitting. He had quickly scanned the room for James, hoping to sit with his younger friend only to find him sitting on the other side of Jo at her table.

  ​He couldn’t do this; Shea was nowhere to be found, thank the gods, but still, it was Jo. And after the kiss, he couldn’t imagine what she was thinking by inviting him over. But he really didn’t have much of a choice.

  ​He warily sat down at the table, digging into his food and ignoring her. If this was some kind of truce, he wasn’t interested. He didn’t want to be her friend.

  Except, she started asking questions about his home, about Oceanus, and eventually he found himself laughing and falling into a rhythm with the queen. He couldn’t figure out what game she was playing but every comment and question felt genuine, felt like she really wanted to get to know him.

  ​Their conversation was later interrupted by Shea coming down the steps. He thought Poseidon would be with her, but no one else followed.

  Caen had entered before her and had sat down next to James at their table listening to Jo and Beck’s intimate conversation.

  Beck couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under Shea’s eyes and before he knew what he was doing, he was excusing himself from the table, grabbing her dinner bowl from her hand, which she protested, and sat her down next to Jo.

  He sat back down across from the two of them and he met Jo’s eyes as they watched, concerned, as the redh
eaded captain ate her dinner in silence.

  ​Shea quickly picked up on their staring. She glared and growled at both of them to knock it off otherwise she’d hang them headfirst off the bow.

  They didn’t stop staring.

  ​But Jo got the conversation going again, asking Shea about some couple named Phoebus and Dari and how they’d all be seeing them when they docked on Orena to collect their extra supplies.

  The topic seemed to cheer Shea up. Soon he could see her eyes becoming heavy lidded, and as she tried to stand, she nearly fell over. Beck stood immediately, but Jo caught her easily and much to his relief.

  ​He suggested she head to bed and Jo agreed, both of them going over Shea’s head, who again protested.

  Beck wished them a good night, but Jo asked for his help carrying Shea back to their quarters. He wanted to say no, but one glare from Caen told him no wasn’t an option.

  They’d carried her back to the captain’s quarters together. Then laid her in bed and no sooner had her head hit the pillow, she was out.

  ​He turned to leave again without a word, but Jo stopped him. She gestured to a bottle on the desk and the two chairs, and that’s how he found himself sipping on a glass of rum watching his beautiful pirate elf toss and turn in her sleep, with the queen of Arethusa, and his enemy, sitting right beside him.

  ​Now, he takes another sip of the rum, enjoying the warming sensation in the pit of his stomach, and glances at Jo momentarily, only to choke on his drink as he sees her staring.

  ​He coughs. “Yes?”

  ​“You don’t have to look so afraid.”

  ​“Is that so?”

  ​“I’m not mad, not anymore at least. To an extent, I understand.”

  ​“Do you? How modern.”

  ​“Don’t do that,” Jo scoffs.

  ​“Do what?” Beck asks.

  ​“Go on the defense. I’m really trying here, so if you could just, I don’t know, drop the attitude that’d be great. You kissed my fiancée remember?”

  ​“I know. Fine.”

  ​Jo doesn’t respond and Beck goes back to watching Shea in her sleep while sipping on rum. Another few moments pass, and he can feel her gaze burning into the side of his face.

  ​“What?” he asks.

  ​“I know that look,” she whispers.

  ​He cocks his head, not quite understanding; she gestures to Shea’s sleeping form with a nod of her head and he looks down at his lap.

  ​“Sorry,” he whispers back, but he’s not really.

  ​“No, you’re not,” Jo calls him on it, chuckling, “but I get it. She’s hard not to like. And she likes you.”

  ​Beck nods. “She said that, yes.” Shea’s other words from the night of the pinnace come flooding back and he frowns. “But she loves you.”

  “Yes, she does,” Jo agrees.

  “So, what, you brought me here to rub it in?” Beck scowls.

  “No,” Jo tells him truthfully, “I asked you here to see if I could solve this dilemma we have on our hands.”

  “Dilemma? I love her, she says she loves me, but she also loves you. I kissed her, and you forgave her. End of discussion, I understand she’s with you. I’m dealing with it.”

  Beck goes to stand, but Jo stops him.

  “Please. Sit down.”

  Beck sighs, but he sits back down, grabbing his glass, which he set on the desk.

  “Well, regardless of this”—Beck gestures to the three of them—“I am sorry about one thing. About everything I said on the steps.”

  Jo looks up at him, surprised. She reaches for the bottle on the desk and pours some more of the amber liquid into her glass; she offers him some more as well and he takes it, sure he’s going to need it.

  “Me too,” Jo responds.

  “I didn’t mean what I said about your father,” Beck murmurs, facing Jo completely. This, at least, he can be honest about, and it gives him a reprieve from discussing Shea.

  Jo chuckles softly. “You weren’t wrong. Your father loved you, and mine, Mariner…he didn’t.”

  “Still. He was your father.”

  “I suppose.”

  They lapse into silence, drinking from their glasses.

  “So, you do love her then?” Jo asks.

  Beck chokes again, his head swimming, but he nods.

  “I hate you,” Beck tells her. “Or I hated you because ever since the steps I’ve gotten to know you and found out what a horribly good person you are. And even with what happened in the pinnace, with her”—Beck looks to the bed fondly—“in the back of my mind, I think you’re better for her.”

  Jo snorts but doesn’t respond. She allows him to continue.

  “I hate that you’re perfect for her. And now, with everything she said on the pinnace…I have no intention of coming between you two, and I’m sorry if I almost did. It seems you forgave her, and you should, because if you don’t, then I will do everything I can to be with her. But I think you know how special she is, I mean how could you not? But, Jo, I can’t.” He runs a hand down his face, tears prickling at his eyes. “I like her, I—may even love her.”

  ​He hadn’t realized that he looked down during his confession, and when he meets Jo’s gaze, he freezes.

  Her eyes are glittering with unshed tears, but what really catches him off guard is that she is smiling at him brightly.

  ​“You’re right. I do know how special she is, and I was really angry about the kiss. But I was also warned about it. You guys have had this connection since you met, and I don’t question her loyalty because she has been honest about it from the start, and ashamed. She’s also made it very clear that she’s not going anywhere.”

  Beck scoffs and runs his tongue along his bottom teeth. “Well good for you.”

  “Beck.”

  He reluctantly meets Jo’s gaze and she’s still smiling at him.

  “I love her with all my heart. I’m not blind. And I’m not stupid. I know how she feels about you, but I also know how she feels about me. I fell in love with her in an impossible situation and then we were separated for a year. We both changed quite a bit. Sure, we wrote letters every week, we always talked, but I hadn’t laid eyes on her since the day she left. She’s like a Lionbird. She is freedom. And someone that’s not meant to be caged. And I wouldn’t want her like that.”

  ​“So, what are you saying?” Beck demands, confused.

  ​“I’m saying…that I think I can live with it. The looks, the feelings between you two. Beck. I trust you. And before you say you kissed my fiancée, I’ve gotten to know you quite a bit over the past few days too, and if they’ve taught me anything, it’s that you’re a good man. I just want her to be happy and she makes me happy; she’s all I need to be happy, and I know that I do the same for her. I know that she loves me unconditionally and that is…rare.”

  ​Beck nods, putting his glass down on the desk as the room spins.

  ​“But. You make her happy too. And I have a feeling, if we win this war, you’ll always be in our lives. Not just as an allying state but hopefully as a friend.”

  ​“I don’t understand. She chose you.”

  ​“And I am confident enough in our love to be able to give her a third choice, to not choose. I’m going to marry her, and she will be my wife, but if you truly love her and want her as much as you say you do, then maybe we could find a way for all of us to fit.”

  ​“This is insane.” Beck laughs. He’s never heard of anything like this.

  ​“When has Shea ever been normal, it’s naive of us to think her love would be.”

  ​“So, you want to share her?”

  ​“No. You’re quite right in the fact that she did choose me, and I will remain her main partner, but I’m willing to see if there’s a place in our life for you too. As a team, as…family. But until we figure that out, I’d like us to try being friends.”

  ​All this is surreal. Beck is beginning to wonder if this whole conversation is a
hallucination from the rum.

  “So, what do you say, Governor? Could you stand being friends, even family, with the queen and queen consort for the rest of your life?”

  ​Jo drunkenly reaches out her hand across the desk, scattering maps onto the ground. Beck examines her flushed cheeks, the pink staining her high cheekbones, her burning blue eyes, and the light wisps of blond hair. He starts to see the passion and righteousness that he hated as positive characteristics now instead of flaws.

  He can’t believe she’s won him over.

  ​Beck looks over at Shea and back at the hand that just might begin something powerful that could last the ages.

  ​“Yes,” he replies, grasping her hand just as clumsily. “For a chance to be in her life, and even yours, blondie, I’ll take it.”

  ​He winks at Jo and she bursts out laughing; they’ve had so much rum they can barely remember they’re supposed to be quiet.

  ​“You’re almost pretty enough to be a girl, you know,” Jo muses. “Unfortunately your equipment downstairs eliminates you from being my own mistress.”

  ​“Too bad,” Beck jokingly sighs, and Jo cocks a brow. “We could have just eliminated the middleman and the two of us could have run off together.”

  ​The comment makes Jo laugh again and Beck finds himself drunkenly laughing as well.

  ​“Hey!”

  ​The two of them stop laughing like idiots and turn toward the bed to find an angry-looking redheaded pirate glaring at both of them.

  ​“If you two are done deciding my love life for me, do you think you could pick your drunk asses up and find your way to the galley?” Shea growls.

  ​“If she wasn’t so cute, she’d be menacing,” Jo drawls to Beck with a snicker.

  ​“She’s just tired from all the magic use today. Blondie, I don’t think it’d be right to leave her,” Beck suggests, gesturing toward the bed.

  ​Jo grins as she understands his meaning. “You’re completely right, Beck, we should definitely stay and make sure everything’s alright.”