He runs a hand through his hair. “It didn’t seem like pertinent information, and frankly, I thought it would make things awkward. I didn’t need a heartfelt reunion with my long-lost baby cousin.”
Imagining the horrified look on Sebastian’s face, I laugh under my breath. Sebastian’s going to be beside himself.
“He wasn’t exactly lost,” I point out.
“Are we finished?” he asks, looking down again.
“This really rankles you, doesn’t it?” I step around the desk, grinning. “Why?”
“Fussy family nonsense,” he mutters. “I want nothing to do with it.”
I ponder it for a while longer, studying him, happy he’s flustered for once. When he finally can’t take my scrutiny any longer, he looks back up. “What did you need?”
Since I can’t remember, and I don’t want to admit that to him, I turn with a smile and stride out of his cabin, softly shutting the door behind me.
***
It takes us two weeks to reach the forbidden waters. For some reason, I hadn’t thought the boundary would be terribly impressive. I expected a great expanse of water, nothing more than the coordinates telling us we’d ventured into illegal territory. I was wrong. An ocean barrier, a string of tiny islands formed on the backs of reefs, stretches as far as the eye can see. There must be hundreds of islands in varying sizes, some so close together no ship could slip through. Intermittent flags are skewered on the sandy shores. They wave in the sea breeze, their fabric red in warning. None shall pass.
“How far does the reef stretch?” I ask, disconcerted by the visible boundary.
“It would take several weeks to sail around the archipelago,” Avery answers. “And we cannot linger. King Harold has ships patrol the area.”
A warm, salty breeze tosses my hair, and I push it behind my ears, out of my face. “Are there sirens on these islands?”
“Not these, but there is another ring of reef islands inside. That’s where the sirens live.” He points to his sea chart, which he’s brought from his cabin.
The islands are like a broken archery target. This archipelago makes up the outside circle. Another circle of islands, the one Avery is pointing to, lies inside them. Our destination is at the very center. I stare at it, trying to make out what I’m looking at.
“A whirlpool,” Avery says, answering my silent question as he rolls up the chart.
“A whirlpool?”
“The largest known to man.”
I gape at the captain. “And we’re sailing toward it?”
“The island we’re looking for is at its heart.”
“An island cannot be in the middle of a whirlpool. That’s impossible!” I stare past the islands, and goosebumps raise on my arms despite the balmy weather and the sun beating down on my bare shoulders. “Have you gone mad?”
Avery grins down at me and gently smacks the top of my head with the map. “Possibly. Ask me again in a month.”
He leaves me on the deck, and I stare silently at the ominous flags. I’m not sure heading into illegal territory is a fitting way to lift a bounty on one’s head.
Yancey wanders up to me. He wasn’t far away, and I’m sure he overheard our conversation. “The pirate better know what he’s getting us into.”
“Oh, this isn’t our destination.” I smile at the big brute. “We’re just here to dump you in the whirlpool so we can be on our way.”
To my surprise, he almost cracks a smile. The expression looks foreign on his face—a little painful even. I peer at him from the corner of my eye. “Can I be honest with you?”
He grunts.
“You’ve been less of a nuisance than I expected.”
I assumed he’d hassle me, the sailors, Avery—basically anyone and everyone—every chance he got. He’s been strangely sullen.
Yancey turns to me, forehead knitted, eyes slightly narrowed. He studies me for several seconds before he swipes his hand through the air, low at his waist, and literally knocks me off my feet using a wind charm. I crash to the deck, tail first.
“See? Don’t you feel better now?” I call as he walks off.
Yancey glances back. He wears that expression again, that almost smile. I almost smile back.
I resist the urge to rub my rump in front of the entire crew. Once he’s gone, I catch the men trying hard not to laugh. I raise an eyebrow in their direction, and they scurry back to work.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Siren Islands
I roll a little gold ball across the ship, and Flink runs after it like a dog. Several men leap out of the barreling dragon’s way and then glare in my direction. Flink bats the ball about the deck until he has it firmly between his two front feet, and then he lies down, protecting it next to his scaled chest.
“You’re supposed to bring it back,” I remind him, but he only stares at me.
Laughing at him, I sit on the deck and wait. Black boots walk up, stopping right next to me. My eyes slowly travel up until I meet the captain’s gaze.
“Is that mine?” he asks, incredulous.
“I found it in your cabin, and I thought Flink would like to play with it. He’s been so bored, trapped on this ship. I didn’t think you’d mind.” I stare up at him with an innocent expression that I know he can see right through. “You don’t, do you?”
He chokes a bit, and I don’t bother to hide my wicked, satisfied smile. I know it’s childish and a bit petulant, but I couldn’t help myself.
Flink’s new toy is a gazing globe, made entirely of gold and polished to a mirror-like shine. It’s about seventy years old and crafted by, if I’m not mistaken, an artisan who visited Kalae in his youth. It’s worth around seven thousand denats.
“No,” Avery manages after a moment.
The dragon rubs his face against the orb, as besotted with the ball as a cat in a patch of catmint. At first, I only borrowed the globe to irk Avery, but now it does seem a shame to take it from Flink. Common and greater elemental dragons are strange beasts. Like raccoons, they love anything shiny. Apparently lesser dragons are no different than their larger cousins.
“He’s a funny beast, isn’t he?” Avery asks. “Has he settled on an element?”
“No, but he keeps returning to that copper color.”
“I’ve noticed. What’s the element?”
I stretch my arms behind me, rest my weight on my palms, and extend my legs in front of me. “I have no idea.”
The day is blissfully warm, and I close my eyes and tilt my face toward the sun.
We’re three days into illegal waters. None of the king’s ships have come after us, we haven’t met any pirates, and we’ve only seen three lazy sea serpents who didn’t want a thing to do with us. I expected more adventure here in this forbidden territory. It’s not any different than sailing through regular, boring waters. Even lazy Flink looked listless before I found him a distraction.
“We’ll reach the sirens’ islands tomorrow,” Avery says after several moments.
My good mood plummets. “Is this truly necessary?”
The wind ruffles the captain’s hair, making him look carefree. “That depends on if you would like to keep your head attached to your body.”
I look away. “I cannot believe your men are willing to make this journey just to save me.”
“They’re not.” With a cryptic smirk, he walks back to the helm.
***
The sea rocks the anchored boat. It’s gentle in its motion, but I’m not sure I’ll ever fully grow used to it. The sun has just set, and near the horizon, the water is crimson. One of Avery’s men stands in the crow’s nest with a spyglass to his eye. I cannot see the reef islands, but they are there.
Avery yelled for the sails to be slackened as soon as the man in his nautical tower yelled that they were in sight. And now we wait, have waited all afternoon. The captain paces and keeps council only with his mage. I sit on a crate, my usual perch, and watch them. Avery’s face is somber, as is Gregory’s. In s
ome ways, the serious way Avery approaches this situation eases my worry—proves that he’s taking the deadly mission seriously. But in another, it makes my fear grow. If Avery, a man who very rarely worries about anything, is anxious, just what are we getting ourselves into?
Avery has one hand on his hip, and he rubs his face with the other. He wears his full uniform, and the long black jacket makes him look older, perhaps even a little more capable. Maybe that’s why he donned it—to ease his crew’s worries. He nods at his mage, and they part.
Gregory walks my way, looking lost in thought. He doesn’t wear the long robe I first saw him in the night he saved Sebastian and me from the sea serpents. Instead, he’s dressed as one of the crew. He looks up as he passes me, giving me a bare smile.
“Can you do it?” I ask quietly. The whole ship speaks in hushed whispers though we are still too far from the islands to worry about noise.
The man stops, nodding. When I was first getting acquainted with the crew, it took me by surprise that Gregory is only twenty-nine, just six years older than Avery. He’s accomplished for his age, though I have no idea where he learned his illegal skills. He certainly didn’t pick them up in any of the mages’ guilds in Kalae.
“Yes, I can muffle the ship, which in turn will muffle some of the noise from filtering in.” He looks toward the unseen islands. “The cloaking spell? We’ll have to hope for the best.”
That’s why we’re waiting for the dead of night, hoping to hide as much as possible to make Gregory’s job less of an impossible task.
“Avery says you’re good.” I pull my legs under me, crossing them on top of the crate, and study him.
He meets my eyes. Without any hint of bravado, he nods slowly. “I am.”
“But you can’t mask the men’s hearing?”
“Not temporarily. If I take away a sense, it will be lost forever.”
Like anything, magic’s not a perfect science. The unseen element is tricky and difficult to work with. But like the progress made in metal alloys over the years, advances are being made. The elves, a strange, elusive people, hold many of its secrets, but they do not share their knowledge.
“Tell me the truth—is this a fool’s mission?” I ask.
He crosses his arms and narrows his eyes in thought. “If it were anyone but Captain Greybrow at the helm, I would say yes.”
“You trust him with your life?”
“I do.” The mage almost smiles. “And you’re here.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“He might play games with his own life—but I don’t believe he would with yours.”
I swallow, uncertain how I feel about his words. With a nod and another thoughtful smile, he passes.
For long hours, I wait on my crate. Flink, who’s been mingling with the crew and begging for food, eventually accepts that we’ve skipped dinner for the evening. With a disgruntled huff, he plops at the base of my perch and glares at the crew.
It’s a moonless night, just as Avery planned, and the only light comes from the stars shining in the sky and reflecting off the rippled water. The sea is still, almost eerily so.
It’s time.
Avery quietly goes over instructions with the crew yet again. No one speaks, no one moves. Our objective is to sneak past the haunted islands undetected. He orders his boatswain to pass out wads of cotton, and the crewmen shove pieces in their ears. It’s an added precaution, one that no one is relying on.
I need none. The sirens’ songs will not affect me.
Gregory positions himself at the bow and raises his hands. The air ripples around us like we’re caught in a soap bubble. Avery motions for the anchor to be raised and the sails adjusted. The wind catches, and I cringe at the noise. It’s so loud in the night.
Before taking his position at the helm, Avery strides to my perch. He sets his hands on either side of my knees and leans in.
“Are you all right?” he whispers.
I nod.
“You can go to your cabin if you like.”
“I want to stay here.”
He squeezes my hand, and I wonder if he’s giving me courage or taking some for himself. He turns, but before he goes, I yank him back. Before he can ask what I’m doing, I kiss his cheek.
“For luck,” I whisper.
For a brief moment, that cocky smile returns, easing my doubt.
With silent footsteps, he takes his position at the helm and steers us toward the islands. I watch the crewmen instead of the land as it grows closer. They wear varying expressions, but all of them are tense. My heart beats quickly, and my skin goes cold and clammy.
The ship makes its quiet progress through the waters, and we reach the inlet where we will pass. Gregory stands strong, concentrating on his task.
I can’t bring myself to look at the islands, but in my mind, I see the sirens on their shores, watching the water with suspicious eyes.
Do the creatures rest at night? Do they sleep at all?
Are they truly beautiful, or is it a mirage? What is it about them that makes a man go mad?
My thoughts churn and writhe, and by the time we slip past the islands, I’m trembling. The men are no better. Some are sweating; some have their eyes clenched shut. Most keep their gazes turned toward the deck, under Avery’s orders not to look at the land. They are unnaturally still, painfully so. They’ll ache from staying in the same position for so long.
Flink sleeps at my feet, unconcerned.
The islands grow smaller at the ship’s rear, and the sea stretches in front of us, beckoning, congratulating. By the time Avery nods for Gregory to release the spell, the islands are no longer visible, and the first sign of dawn stains the eastern sky.
Gregory stumbles forward and then collapses against a crate. Several men come forward to support him, but he waves them away. I half expect the crew to yell a victory cry into the air, but we’re all too spooked. Even as we stretch our legs and rub our necks, we are mostly silent.
I close my eyes and bury my face in my hands. We passed the greatest obstacle unscathed.
Avery comes to my side and places a hand on my shoulder in a companionable way.
“Were you anxious?” I ask, still whispering.
“Terrified.”
I glance at the captain and grin.
He chuckles under his breath, and it sounds as if the weight of the world has just lifted from his shoulders. His laughter builds, and the men slowly join him.
“To Gregory!” Avery calls out, cutting into the cool morning air.
The crew mimics him, finally at ease enough to celebrate our victory. With the islands far behind us, we sail toward the heart of the circle, toward the great whirlpool and its legendary island.
As the men go about their business, I glance back the way we came, and goosebumps rise on my skin. We may have made it through unscathed this time, but we must pass through again when our mission is complete.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A Little Wager
“I think I’m going to ask Yancey to teach me how to do some of that wind magic he’s so good at,” I tell Avery as he unties a knot in a ridiculously large skein of rope.
“One problem,” the captain answers.
I lounge on a crate, swinging my legs and looking down on him as he kneels in front of his work. “What’s that?”
“He doesn’t like you.”
“I don’t like you, and we’re managing just fine.” I nudge his shoulder with the toe of my boot and smile when he momentarily loses his balance.
Avery steadies himself with a hand on my perch and looks up, smirking. He watches me for several moments before he goes back to his task.
We’re several days past the sirens’ islands, and life on board the Greybrow Serpent has returned to normal. Besides a pod of whales we spotted yesterday and a school of sleek silver fish this morning, we haven’t seen any signs of life. The skies have remained clear, the sun hot, and the nights cool.
; Avery stands, finished with the prickly rope, and rubs his hands together. “You like me. Even if you won’t admit it.”
I raise a skeptical eyebrow, taking a guilty moment to take him in. The captain is looking like a fine specimen of male perfection at the moment. Early in the day, when the afternoon chased the chill from the morning water, he tossed his jacket aside. This afternoon, when the sun reached its apex in the sky, he tossed his shirt as well. The dress code is far looser this far at sea.
You won’t hear any complaints from me.
In my defense, even though I can’t stand the man, you’d have to be blind not to take at least a little peek. He grins when he notices my gaze wandering, and I let my eyes drift away, trying to be subtle about it.
What’s that, Captain Snake Belly? Was I staring at your nicely-muscled shoulders? You’ll never prove it.
“I’m sure Yancey will be more than happy to sweep you off your feet if you ask him—literally, not figuratively, of course.”
“Of course.”
I involuntarily shiver at the thought of the Boulder attempting romance. He’s likely one of the conquering types from olden years. One day he’ll pick out a girl, drag her from her home by her hair, and then lock her in a tower. Every year on their anniversary, he’ll bring her a bear pelt and a belt woven from the hair of his enemies.
“I’m going to ask him now.” I hop off the crate, eager to have something to do.
Avery takes a step in. “You know he’ll never go for it.”
“Of course he will.”
“Shall we bet on it?” There’s a mischievous twinkle in his eye, one I’m too competitive to resist.
I cross my arms. “I have nothing to wager, but you know that. What do you have in mind?”
Slowly, just to irritate me, he lets his gaze linger on me, and then he grins when he meets my eyes again. “If Yancey turns you down, you have to join me for dinner tonight. In my cabin.”
It doesn’t sound like much, but I’ve refused since I returned to his ship, opting to eat alone in my own cabin instead.
“Deal.” I bite my lip, holding back a grin, and then add, “But if he agrees to teach me, you have to serve me dinner. On the deck. In front of your crew. In an apron.”
Greybrow Serpent (Silver and Orchids Book 2) Page 10