“Don’t be ridiculous,” Estrella said.
She snapped her fingers, and the sea below us churned. The crystal around her neck glowed silver. Waves capped with white foam assaulted the ship and circled around it. The ship turned as the whirlpool caught it. The water glowed green. Estrella waved her hands to finish the charm. The Dragon’s ship spun in the sea while we walked through the air back to the caves.
“We need to talk about your voice,” Estrella said. “Have you trained in magical music? That was a strong charm.”
“You just created a whirlpool!”
“I never claimed to have no training.”
She smiled at me. Shadow stayed silent. He kept his eyes closed until we arrived in the underground harbor. Estrella lit a single star, and we collapsed in the tunnel. I slipped off the bracelets and slid them into my bag.
“Can you heal my leg before we go on?” Shadow said. “They’ll come after us as soon as the seas calm.”
“That might take a while,” Estrella said.
She examined the wound.
“It isn’t bad. Just a deep cut.”
She held her hand over Shadow’s calf.
A red light flickered for a moment, then the cave went black.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Apparently it takes more magic to move the ocean than I thought. I’m out.”
“But you said the crystal had enough power to-”
“It’s empty. I am sorry, Shadow.”
I heard a tapping sound, and a faint flame illuminated the cavern. Shadow’s grimace flickered in the candle light.
“If you can bandage it, that will be enough.”
Estrella nodded and pulled clean white bandages from her apron. She put a few drops of something on them and cleaned the wound. Then she stopped.
“Where’s Seda?”
I stared at her, horrified.
“He must have been buried in the hair,” I whispered.
“We have to go back,” Estrella said. “We have to save him.”
“We can’t,” Shadow said.
“Shadow, he’s all I have left! My mother-”
“They’ll be on the alert now, and we’re in no shape to battle anyone.”
“What kind of idiot brings a kitten to storm a pirate ship?”
“We didn’t know we would be facing pirates when we left,” I said.
“I tied him up for a reason,” Estrella said.
A few tears ran down her face, but her expression was hard.
“Give me the bracelets,” she said. “I have to go back for him.”
“No,” Shadow said. “You’re weak.”
“I am not weak!”
“I meant you’re hurt. You need time to recover from your encounter with the Dragon.”
“It’s not bad.”
“You were limping,” I said.
“It will heal.”
“But not fast,” I said. “And you’re out of power. I want to rescue Seda just as much as you do.”
“Obviously not!”
Shadow put his hand on Estrella’s shoulder.
“We can’t go back,” he said. “Not now.”
She glared at both of us and stood. Shadow handed her the candle. Estrella walked away, leaving us in the dark.
“You don’t think she’ll try?”
“She knows it would be pointless.”
“So now what?”
Shadow stood and took my hand. He pulled me to my feet and tucked my arm in his.
He leaned on me, limping. I kept my eyes closed, which seemed less disturbing than staring into eternal darkness.
“You’re sure you can see?”
He laughed.
“It isn’t funny. I can't see my own hand in front of my face. Is your leg alright?”
“It will probably leave another scar.”
We made slow progress through the tunnels, but Shadow limped with certainty.
“What would you do if you were King?” I asked.
“What?”
“You told Sir Gilbert you don’t want to be King. Why not? You’re always helping people.”
“There is much a King cannot do. Too many forces pushing against him.”
“And you don’t want the Princess?”
He laughed.
“Why would I want her? She has caused me nothing but pain.”
He squeezed my hand. I did not feel reassured.
William and Roslynn greeted us when we reached the cavern. Estrella lay on her bed in the next room.
“What happened?” William said. “Estrella wouldn’t say a word to us.”
“We met the Dragon,” I said.
Roslynn shuddered.
“We need to move deeper into the mines,” Shadow said. “He might come looking for us.”
“They have the owl eyes. They can follow us,” Roslynn said.
“Not if we’re careful.”
Shadow picked up one of the baskets of silk.
“What about the rendezvous with Captain?” I asked.
“No good,” Estrella said from the other room. “Apparently that port is Dragon territory.”
“So we’ll change the location,” Shadow said.
Estrella entered the room and crossed her arms.
“You’ll have to deliver the message in person. Unless Rook knows how to work enchanted parchment.”
Everyone looked at me. I shook my head.
“What about your super special crystal?” William said. “You know the one you abandoned us to earn?”
“Shut up, William.”
“Just saying.”
“There’s a mine tunnel near the cove,” Shadow said. “We'll contact Captain from there with a new location.”
William combed his fingers through his hair.
“We’ll have to split up.”
Shadow nodded.
“Rook and I will send a message to Captain. You, Estrella, and Roslynn will move the treasure.”
“That’s not fair, Shadow,” Estrella protested. “Captain is my contact. He’ll be expecting to see me.”
“You’re injured.”
“Why not just say I’m useless? I saved us back there!”
“I can’t walk without leaning on someone. Two injured people would make an easy target if the pirates are in the mines. And you still need to look through what we stole to make sure Captain gives us a fair price.”
Estrella blinked tears from her eyes and muttered in Castanian.
We packed up camp. Shadow and I each carried a small bag of jewels to prove to Captain that we had the goods. William, Roslynn, and Estrella picked up the rest of the baskets.
Shadow took my hand and blew out the candles. Cloth rustled in the darkness as Roslynn removed her bandages.
“Be careful,” Shadow said. “Roslynn should have no trouble finding her way without a candle.”
I held his hand and followed him. The others’ footprints echoed through the caverns, fading into silence.
My eyes never adjusted. I waved my hand in front of my face with my eyes open and shut. No difference. We walked on. Shadow stumbled on something, and I steadied him.
“So,” I said after walking in silence for some time, “Sir Gilbert is the Dragon.”
Shadow laughed, but didn’t sound amused.
“He was our neighbor, growing up. Estrella and I used to call him Dragon, but I never thought. I should have realized who he was.”
“Because of his red hair?”
“Yes. It wasn’t always red. His mother hired Madame Delilah to dye his hair blond so he could be a companion to the Princess. The spell went wrong.”
“And they couldn’t fix it?”
“Estrella’s mother tried. She said it was one of the worst loop spells she had ever seen and made him the wig charm instead. I expect he’s been wearing it ever since.”
“It seems silly, using a soul loop spell to change someone’s hair color.”
I felt Shadow shrug.
“Will the others be alright?” I asked.
“I expect so. Roslynn can see better underground than I can right now.”
“Are we going to the Dragon’s cavern again?”
“To the side of it. I’m hoping we get Captain’s attention before he sails into the cove.”
Beams of sunlight filtered through the opening. Shadow sat, and I knelt beside him.
“Captain won’t be here until dark.”
He pulled dried meat out of his pack and handed me a piece. I chewed it.
“Are you worried?” I asked between bites.
“About what?”
“Everything. The salt tax. The Dragon.”
The future.
He grinned at me. My heart beat faster.
“You beat him in a fair fight.”
“I’m not sure I’d call that playing fair.”
“Either way, you beat him, and he won’t forget. He might come for you.”
“For all of us.”
“I’ll do my best to protect you.”
He spread his hand out, and I did the same. Palm to palm, I felt every scar. My hands were still smooth, but my nails were chipped and had dirt under them. I had a few scratches.
“You hate nobility,” I said. “But you keep saving me. Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
I examined his eyes. Light gray with a hint of blue circled around his shining, too large pupils. He gazed into mine. What did he see? I had seen hundreds of paintings of myself, and none of them looked like the girl I saw in mirrors.
“You’re different,” he said. “You think about things. You care.”
“I’m not sure I am. I just wanted an adventure.”
“You’re not telling me you ran away to have fun?”
I laughed.
“It might seem ridiculous, but I’ve had more fun in a few days out here with you than I have in a lifetime in the palace.”
“Just wait for winter then. Snow and cold, famine, winter parties to raid. The Fairy Snow Festival at the Salara Museum is not to be missed. They use diamonds to decorate everything. We got a few bags full last winter.”
“You would let me stay that long?”
“Do you want to stay that long?”
I did. Sitting here with him, I wanted to stay forever.
Shadow leaned closer. Before I could think how to respond, he kissed me.
That brought me back to reality. I jumped back. His eyes grew even wider.
“Rook, I-”
“No, it isn’t-”
“I just thought-”
“I know. But-”
What could I say? It couldn’t be explained now. Maybe not ever.
We sat in silence while the golden light faded to red. I had so many things I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t.
Why would he want the Princess? She had caused him nothing but pain.
He didn’t want me. And the worst part was, he thought he did. He thought he knew me.
“We should go now.”
Shadow avoided my gaze, but offered me his hand. We rounded the corner and stepped onto a moonlit beach. Silver waves lapped the shore. Captain’s ship sailed around a bend, coming toward us.
“How do we signal him?” I asked.
Shadow pulled three yellow flags with black stripes from his pack.
“Nautical flags. Used for signaling supply ships for the mines.”
“What do they mean?”
He shrugged.
“I think it depends on what order you put them in.”
“So how do we tell him to meet us somewhere else?”
“All we need to do is catch his attention. He can send someone in a life boat to talk with us.”
“But how-”
“His spyglass is strong enough for him to watch Princess Salara eat breakfast while he’s sailing the open seas. He’ll see us.”
I shuddered and helped Shadow set up the signal flags.
Another ship sailed around the corner. It cast a blood red reflection on the waves and flew a Salarian Navy flag.
“The Dragon,” I whispered.
Captain’s sails hung limp in the windless night. The Dragon’s ship sailed across the sea, gaining on it. There was a flash of light, and the sound of canon fire echoed against the mountains and through the tunnels.
“He’s been hit!”
Shadow pulled down the flags and stuffed them into his bag. We stood on the beach watching, helpless.
Sir Gilbert’s ship drew alongside Captain’s. At this distance, I couldn’t tell who belonged to which crew. All I saw was motion. Men running on the decks of both ships. The glint of swords. Captain’s ship tilted to one side and began to sink.
“Come on.”
Shadow pulled on my arm, leading me back to the mine.
“What about Captain?”
I pulled out the bracelets. Shadow shook his head.
“We can’t help him now.”
A red glow illuminated the water as Captain’s ship burned. The mast crashed into the ocean. Bits of the sail caught the wind and flew through the air like flaming birds.
“He’ll be a hero,” Shadow said. “Destroying a pirate ship this close to Salaria.”
We descended the tunnel into darkness. Shadow’s hand trembled as he led me through the mines. We walked in silence for a long time, crossing underneath the mountain.
I tried to keep track of the twisting pathways, but the only direction I could sense was the downward slope of the floor. How deep did the mines go? Shadow stopped and squeezed my hand.
Three taps echoed through the cavern. Estrella’s face appeared above a flickering blue candle.
“What happened?”
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” I asked.
“Keeping watch. No one has come through. It looks like the Dragon has other things to do.”
“Like torching Captain’s ship.”
I said it without thinking. Estrella clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Is Captain alright? Did they see you?”
“They set his ship on fire,” Shadow said. “It sank. There was nothing we could do.”
Tears glistened in Estrella’s eyes. She led us deeper into the cave to a small room covered with badly done paintings. I stared at the faces for a moment, then realized what they were and turned away.
Salara portraits.
Was this where Mother sent the truly terrible artists? Deep into the mines?
Roslynn had removed her blindfold, although she kept her eyes closed in the candlelight.
“Captain is gone,” Shadow said.
“The flags didn’t work?” Roslynn asked.
“The Dragon attacked his ship,” I said. “He’s gone.”
“Oh.”
Roslynn wiped a tear from her closed eyes.
“So what do we do with this?” William gestured to the baskets of silk and jewels. In this setting, they seemed worthless.
“We can sell them locally,” Roslynn said. “Salarian nobles won’t dare to wear them in public, but they might still buy them.”
“The opera dress is too distinctive,” I said. “No one would risk having that in their home.”
“It will take too long,” Shadow said. “Half the country will be in the mines by then.”
“Let’s go after the Dragon,” Estrella said. “We can expose him to the King and collect the reward.”
“They won’t believe us,” I said. “To them, Sir Gilbert is a hero.”
“And he’s destroyed a pirate right off the coast,” Shadow said. “His reputation will only grow.”
“We should have ransomed the cat,” William muttered.
Estrella glared at him.
“We could contact
Lady Alma,” I said. “She won’t be happy to be missing all her supplies. We could ransom the silks and jewels back to her.”
“Are you insane?” William asked.
“That’s risky, but it might work,” Estrella said. “With the Dragon raiding ships, she can’t be certain when she’ll get more supplies.”
“Won’t she just recycle some old outfits?” William asked.
Estrella raised an eyebrow. I shook my head.
“Never,” Estrella said.
“She’d rather die,” I said.
“We'll decide tomorrow,” Shadow said. “Right now, everyone needs sleep.”
Estrella volunteered to take the first watch.
Whatever beds the miners in this part of the cavern had used were long gone. I leaned against the smoothest rock wall I could find. Estrella blew out her candle, and I stared into the dark.
Would any of the nobility believe Sir Gilbert was the Dragon? I had seen it, and I hardly believed it. Maybe if we removed his wig and showed them his fiery red hair.
But what would that prove? Only that he was the recipient of an irresponsible spell.
I felt my way along the edge of the cavern and crawled. I had too many questions to sleep.
“Estrella?” I whispered.
“What?”
She tapped the candle so I could see well enough to crawl and sit beside her and then extinguished it. The darkness made me more aware of sounds. I listened to everyone breathing.
“Tell me about the Dragon. How-”
“I really don’t want to talk about him right now.”
“Please? Shadow mentioned you knew him as a child.”
She sighed.
“He was my neighbor. And my friend. My fiancé for a while.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“We were young, but it was a good match. Especially for him. And I loved him. I stayed in Salaria with him when my mother left for Castana.”
“Why didn’t it work out?”
“Once his father was appointed Governor of New Salaria, he didn’t need me anymore. What support could I offer? They left for the islands, and I was trapped in Salaria, penniless. Practically an orphan. Captain and Joe helped me find work as a healer on the docks. And when Shadow reappeared, well, I would have followed him anywhere.”
She broke off with a sob.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just- I met Sir Gilbert at the palace before I left. I’m just trying to understand.”
“He is the same as his father. Willing to do anything to get what he wants.”
Rook and Shadow (Salarian Chronicles Book 1) Page 21