The Captive Kingdom

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  Roden gestured for Darius to begin walking, then trailed behind him along a dirt path headed toward the hills. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Strick turned to her Prozarians. “I want a full search of Belland, every home, beneath every rock, in every tree. Especially check the coves. If Jaron is here, he must have a boat docked somewhere. Find him!”

  A chorus of “Yes, Captain” followed her orders as the Prozarians began spreading out toward the hills.

  “I’ve got to follow Darius,” I said.

  Imogen gave my hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll go back and warn Tobias.”

  Behind us, Mott began to stand. “I need to speak to Trea.”

  I grabbed his arm. “Right here? Out in the open?”

  “Nobody here should recognize me. I’ll blend in.”

  Mott was bigger than three Bellanders put together; he would hardly blend in. But because of his size, I also knew there was nothing I could do to stop him. Even if I had ordered him to stay, his gaze was so fixed on Trea, I knew he wouldn’t hear me.

  He stood and left without another word. I gave Imogen a quick kiss. “Be safe.”

  “No one here is after me,” she said. “And I’ll give you the advice that Mott would have given, if he was in his right mind. Please don’t be foolish … or, any more foolish than usual.”

  I wished I could make Mott, or even Imogen, understand that foolishness wasn’t a choice I made. It was simply part of me. With that thought, my shoulders fell. Foolishness wasn’t a quality I claimed with pride.

  Strick dismissed the rest of the Bellanders, who eagerly crowded the paths back to their homes. I swiped a fresh tunic from the front of one home and a coat from the clothesline of another and joined in with the group, listening to their quiet conversations as we walked.

  “Darius saved Lavita’s life,” one woman said to another.

  “Three villagers disappeared earlier this week,” came the reply. “What did he do for them?”

  “What more can he do? If the stories are true, it’s his brother we need to worry about.”

  That gave me pause. What stories?

  The women went one direction, toward simple homes of stacked logs and dried mud. I followed the bulk of the group toward homes a little higher on the hillside. My only giveaway was the slight limp of my injured leg. Darius wouldn’t find that significant, but Roden would see through this disguise immediately.

  I wondered if he would report me. Clearly he was being mistreated by Strick, but would that inspire his loyalty to her, or would he look toward the chance for escape? I needed to find out.

  Gradually the crowd around me thinned as people returned to their homes. My path continued uphill, which made it more difficult to follow without being detected.

  Once we reached the lower hills, Darius pointed to a home significantly nicer than the rest, one made of rock and mortar rather than the wood of the huts everyone else seemed to have. I recognized Wilta’s description of it as Darius’s home.

  He said to Roden, “There’s no need to come any farther. You’ve fulfilled the captain’s orders.”

  “I’m glad she sent me here because I wanted to speak to you alone.” Roden shifted his weight, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Are you really Jaron’s brother?”

  Darius stiffened. “Is there any reason to doubt that?”

  “If you become king of Carthya, then I will serve you. But I must know if I am serving a true king.”

  Rather than answer, Darius asked, “Do you know where Jaron is now?”

  “No. Could he have made it to Belland?”

  Darius considered his answer for a few seconds, then countered with a question of his own. “Do you have any reason to believe Jaron is here?”

  A beat passed, then Roden said, “Jaron escaped the captain’s ship yesterday. I can’t understand how he could have made it here.” Roden paused, frowning. “But you’ve known him longer than I have. So you must know that Jaron is capable of nearly anything.”

  Darius stared at him a moment. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Good night.”

  Roden waited until Darius was inside his home, then turned to walk back to the beach, only to find me standing in the middle of the path.

  Startled, he froze, but he didn’t look surprised to see me. Instead, his eyes drifted to my leg, still bandaged. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s the same leg that you broke last year. Do you have a specific grudge against this leg?”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was angry.”

  “I completely understand. Once when I was angry, I raised my voice.” My glare hardened. “And that’s nearly the same thing.”

  He widened his arms so that I could see him better. “I took your punishment for escaping the ship. Isn’t that enough of an apology?”

  “What did she do to you?”

  “It might’ve been worse, but Amarinda begged for my life. And I’m the reason she is still being held on the ship. If I do anything that makes the captain question my loyalty, Amarinda will pay the price for it.”

  “Is she still being held in the captain’s quarters?”

  “You’re not listening, Jaron.” He looked around. “If I do anything disloyal, Amarinda pays.” Satisfied that we were alone, he lowered his voice to nearly a whisper. “From this point forward, I won’t be able to help you. So I’m begging you to get back on whatever boat brought you here, while you can.”

  “I have a few unfinished tasks first. People to save, invaders to conquer, maybe enjoy a nice meal while I’m here.”

  “Leave this place, or you will regret it.”

  My tone sharpened. “You know what I have to do here. If you won’t help me, then stay out of my way.”

  He licked his lips, kicking at the ground as he considered an answer, finally mumbling, “I can’t do that.” Now he looked up. “But you’d be out of my way if you were on the Shadow Tide tonight. You’d be out of everyone’s way since the captain gave permission for the pirates to go ashore and rest for the night. Starting tomorrow, they have to rebuild the ship you destroyed. The ship will be much busier then.”

  Now I smiled. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

  He was farther down the trail before he turned back. “Don’t stand directly beneath the door frame of the captain’s office. She hid a key there. I’d hate for it to fall and hit you.”

  I arched a brow. “Perhaps you’ve heard that Carthya needs a new captain of the guard. When you’re finished here, maybe you would consider that position.”

  He stopped walking, and the light dimmed in his eyes. “I cannot be the captain of your guard anymore. When this is over, Darius will be my king.”

  Coming from Roden, these words left a sting in my chest that I had not expected. I would no longer be king. Instead, I’d return to the person I always was before: Jaron, the troublemaker, the embarrassment, the fool.

  With heavy thoughts, I began walking down a different path. Roden called after me, “Everything you plan to do here, I have to be there to push against it.”

  I only glanced back at him long enough to say, “And I will push back. Nothing has changed from our conversation on the ship. If you serve the captain, you must be defeated alongside the captain.”

  He spoke so quietly after that, he may not have thought I heard his final words as I walked away. “I’ve got to defeat you, Jaron.”

  While Roden might have been correct about the Shadow Tide being empty, the area around it was better guarded than I had anticipated. Vigils stood watch on posts in all directions, and for added security, others stood in a line that extended across the entire length of all the ships, six warships in total now. Most of the vigils on the beach appeared to be Bellanders who had been forced into service, but they were doing their job with strict observance. I wondered if those who were forced into service eventually became those who were rewarded for service, and if they then became willing servants.

  Maybe Roden would eventually turn against me
. He felt he’d had no other choice but to enter Strick’s service, and maybe that was true. But at what point would he choose service to her? At what point would his loyalties to me feel foreign?

  I also wanted to know if Darius considered himself a servant to her. He had been quick to go to his knees at the captain’s arrival and even quicker to beg for her mercy when she threatened him. Darius wasn’t a fighter, but he had never been one to cower before an enemy either. Or maybe he was. He and I had never faced any real threats when we were younger.

  I made my way through the bushes beyond the beach, keeping myself hidden and eyeing the vigils near me for any signs of weakness. If I was spotted, would I be reported? I had to assume it was possible. The Bellanders surely knew the consequences of disobedience better than I.

  But I did intend to get on the Shadow Tide. Both my sword and Darius’s were there, and if I happened to find anything useful while I was in the captain’s office, I would steal it too.

  With that in mind, I snuck far past the last vigil on duty and silently entered the water, then swam beneath the waves toward the Shadow Tide. When I reached a mooring rope that led directly onto the deck, I wrapped my arms and legs around the rope and began to climb, grateful for increasing clouds to mask the moonlight.

  I peered over the rail and saw no one, but I had no sooner rolled onto the deck before a vigil came from behind me and let out a heavy groan.

  I looked up to see Teagut on patrol, this time alone. He cursed at the devils. “Not you again.”

  I did a quick check to ensure that all my weapons were still in place, and found the one best suited for any confrontation with Teagut. “Twenty coins, my friend, to forget I’m here.”

  “That bag looks lighter than twenty coins.”

  “You’ll get the rest when I’m safely off this ship.”

  I reached above the door frame and felt around until I located the key to the captain’s office. It was there, exactly as Roden had described. I grinned and whispered my thanks to him.

  Teagut added, “For a second bag, I’ll tell you where they are holding Amarinda.”

  Eagerly, I turned to him. “Is she here?”

  “They removed her from the ship about an hour ago,” Teagut said. “Give me some time and I’ll find out where.”

  I closed my eyes and took that in as a headache began to form. “Who else is on this ship?”

  “A few crewmen, down in the bunks, all pirates. They’ll take the later watch tonight, so they’re sleeping while they can.”

  I put the full bag of coins in his hands. “Return to the deck, please. Watch for any trouble.”

  He shut the door behind me, and I listened for a few seconds to be sure I truly was alone. Other than its slow creaking as the ship moved with the waves, everything was silent. And I went to work.

  My highest priority was finding the two swords, but nothing replaced my joy more than the discovery of a different sort of treasure, the greater part of a spice cake, one that had probably been baked in anticipation of a safe arrival back here in Belland. Since I too had safely arrived, I clearly deserved to take a slice for myself. And by slice, I meant the entire thing.

  While I ate, I searched the captain’s desk. Most of what I found there were items that didn’t seem particularly useful, but I did pocket the tinderbox that I’d found shortly after being captured. I wondered when the captain had stolen that from me. I took a small knife as well, then continued searching. Beneath the bed were a few other sacks of coins on top of a small tin box, also locked and heavier than it looked when I picked it up. After taking the coins, I sliced off a length of rope that suspended the mattress and ran it through the box’s handle, then tied that over my shoulder. Whatever the captain found necessary to lock up, I found necessary to steal.

  I started to look elsewhere, then realized I had caught the reflection of metal while cutting the rope, but my attention had been in the wrong place. I looked under the bed again and saw two swords between the web of ropes and the mattress over it. Mine, along with a belt and sheath, and Darius’s.

  I put the belt on and slipped Darius’s sword into the sheath, but kept my sword ready in case its use became necessary. I sincerely hoped it would not.

  Yet I had not taken three steps out of Strick’s office when someone called out my name. I turned to see a different vigil on the deck, one of the younger pirates, and shakier in holding his sword than Tobias ever was, if that was possible. I raised my own sword, making my intentions clear if he tried anything against me. The stairs to go belowdecks were between us, and he was definitely eyeing them as his means of escape.

  “I am the pirate king,” I said. “You will not turn me in.”

  “Captain Strick said you’d be dead by tomorrow. She said the Monarch will rule us now.”

  “The Monarch doesn’t have a sword within easy reach of your neck. I do.”

  He swallowed hard. “Then you are my king. At least until tomorrow.”

  “He won’t be alive tomorrow,” Strick said from behind me. “He won’t be alive by dawn.”

  I paused long enough to briefly mutter a question to the devils, wondering why they spent so much time on me. Receiving no immediate answer, I slowly turned around, keeping my sword ready. Strick carried no sword tonight, but the six Prozarians flanking her did. Those weren’t great odds in my favor.

  She smiled and took a step forward. “Did Roden tell you where to find the key?”

  I tilted my head. Had Roden sent me here as a trap?

  “Why did you let him live, Captain?”

  She took another step toward me, forcing me to back up by the same distance.

  “He will live while he remains useful.” Her eyes fell to my leg. “He bought himself extra time when he gave you that wound.”

  I shrugged it off. “This? I’ve had worse.”

  “It sounds as though it is already getting worse. We retrieved Wilta about an hour ago. She told us there’s a problem with your leg.”

  “It’s stronger than ever.”

  “Wilta said it’s infected, that it’s beginning to affect your strength, even your mind. You’ll lose the leg if the infection is not treated. Tell me where the Devil’s Scope is, and I’ll give you the medicine to heal that infection.”

  “Tobias left a jar of medicine in the sick bay, in an unmarked brown bottle. If you could bring that to me, with one gulp, I’ll be healed. Unless you want it.”

  “That is not the purpose of that bottle, though I will force its full contents down your throat if you want its sort of healing.” She frowned and stepped forward again. “Do not take me for a fool.”

  A grin widened across my face. “I wish you’d have warned me of that earlier. I’m afraid it’s too late now.”

  She paused to look me over, or to study me, really. “You have an answer for everything, a joke in the most serious of moments. Is that how you deal with fear?”

  “Don’t assume I’m afraid of you.” I shifted my weight. “You’re constantly trying to figure me out, like I’m an experiment for study. Why is that, Captain? Is this how you try to understand your own twisted mind?”

  By now, the captain had edged me all the way to the side of the boat. The water here was too shallow for me to simply jump in. I angled my sword so that the sharper end faced away from me.

  At that moment, Teagut’s head popped up from the stairs. “Thanks for keeping watch for me. I had to —” Then he saw the captain. “Oh no.”

  She glanced down at him. “So you are the one stealing my coins?”

  Teagut pointed to me. “He stole them. I just received a few here and there.”

  I looked at him. “Remember when I didn’t break your wrist? You still owe me a favor for that.”

  His eyes darted uncomfortably. “This isn’t a good time to discuss that.”

  “There won’t be a better time. You know what I came here to find.”

  Strick nodded to the Prozarians with her. “Arrest the pirate. Kill th
e prince.”

  “King,” I sighed. “I’m a king.”

  With that, I rolled over the ship’s railing and swung my legs toward the water, then pushed off from the wood to one of the mooring ropes leading down to the beach. I gripped my sword’s handle, wrapped my other hand around the blunter edge, and tried to remain balanced as I quickly scaled to land.

  Tried, and failed.

  I was halfway down when the sword slipped and I lost my grip and fell into the water. I was immediately hit by a wave that ripped my sword from my hand. I saw a glint of metal as it sank, carrying with it memories of my childhood, of the night I was crowned king, and of victory in war. In mere seconds, it was gone, never to be seen again. Much as I ached at having to keep swimming to shore without it, I had to keep going.

  Because back on the ship, Strick was screaming out orders for the vigils on the beach to come for me. When I looked up, at least twenty-five were headed my way, with their weapons already out.

  I still had Darius’s sword, but it didn’t feel right to use it. If it was true that I was no longer a king, then it seemed fitting to have lost my weapon, the sword that had defined me for nearly half my life.

  If Strick had her way now, that half of my life was over. And there would be no second half.

  By the time I reached the shore, it wasn’t only Prozarian vigils waiting for me. Thirty pirates stood to their left. Most of them were glaring at me, but I figured they were angrier with Captain Strick. I could’ve been wrong about that, however. These were harsh glares, even for pirates.

  I first addressed the Prozarian vigils. “I have the Devil’s Scope. Lower your weapons now or I’ll melt it into a teacup.” They looked at one another, and one by one their weapons dropped to the sand.

  A few of the pirates advanced toward me, and I raised my forearm with their branding upon it. “Does this still work to call for help?”

  “Should it?” one of them asked. “You got Erick killed. And you abandoned all of us on that ship when you sabotaged it.”

  “Are you servants now, her servants? Have you entirely forgotten who you are? Who I am?”