Chapter 25

  Two more days passed before they finally were able to limp to Rumrunners’ Cove. The port city, once home to pirates, had been conquered by the Seliniaks two years ago, and now it served as a repair port for those on the front line. The Grand Admiral was pleased to see the red moon fg flying. That would make things easier, cheaper… and far more dangerous for her guests.

  The st two days, despite being exhausting and mind numbing, had been some of the best of Ael’s life. Each night, after the stories were done, she and Nereida retired together to her cabin. The sounds of her lover snoring helped her drift to sleep. She wasn’t alone any longer. Neither of them had moved forward on their retionship, content to just be together, share mostly chaste kisses and hold hands. But now reality loomed. There were two other ships in port as they approached.

  All Dragon-blooded were ordered below. While her people were not at war with the Sylphs or the Gnomes, or anyone other than the demons, there was a general distrust of magic among the navy. They knew Sylphs could make their ships practically fly across the ocean with their magic, and such an advantage hardly seemed fair.

  Of course, with the order to go below, came Nereida’s mutinous side. The princess was unaccustomed to being told what to do, the siren chafed at being forced below deck and the woman wanted to be at her lover’s side. Ael had even swallowed her pride and gone to ask Basiano how to reign in his sister, but the man had just ughed at her, given her a little, almost fond smile and told her “that’s your responsibility, not mine.” Given the stories Nereida told and Basiano’s responses, Ael was starting to think the princess had her whole family, save her miserable excuse for a father, wrapped around her little finger.

  Thankfully, she did not have to press the issue when little Egaz had taken ill; Nereida had no interest in nd, just in her son’s health. She made requests for honey if the expense could be spared, and bck hair dye. The second seemed out of the blue, but Nereida made no time to expin.

  The st phase before ndfall was to deal with the six that wished to leave her service. All were older, hardened men who could not abide by a siren on the ship, and siren on the crew.

  “I am sad to see you go,” she began her speech. “But I understand your hearts tell you that you must. I won’t try and stop you from leaving. I will, however, warn you.” She stood taller, letting herself be the dangerous woman everyone thought she was. She pced her hand on her sword, eying each man in turn. Two turned away to stare at the deck, while the others met her gre with an even expression. “Betray those on my ship, betray me, to another ship, and I will find out. And you will not know another moment of peace or rest.” Her voice was low and dangerous. “I will give you all glowing recommendations if you want them,” her voice softened. “Make the right decision.”

  She had prepared written recommendations in advance, and had Evander hand them out. Each parchment referred to each man by name, was personalized. She did not want enemies. But she swore, in the privacy of her own mind, that if any of them betrayed Nereida’s secret that she would find them and drown them. She regretted, a little, how easily Smithson had died. She had wanted to make him suffer. But Nereida had the right of it; it would have been past punishment into revenge. Nereida would never have been safe or accepted if she had given in to her darker urges.

  Docking was a difficult process, given all the damage to the ship from storm and then attack. Two tugboats were sent out to assist in berthing the ship. The Grand Admiral stood at the helm, keeping it steady. They were unlikely to leave for days. Hopefully the repairs would not take weeks. She very much doubted she could keep Nereida inside and out of trouble for weeks. She doubted the gods themselves could.

  Once they were properly docked, the Grand Admiral headed to shore, twenty crew folk and six former crew heading to nd for a day of rest. She was met by the harbourmaster, who knew her by rank and practically tripped over himself to make her feel “at home”… as if she could be at home anywhere on the nd!

  “I have here a list of repairs,” she said primly. “I am on a tour of service for the Crown, and will need to be able to return my ship to duty as soon as possible.” The harbourmaster looked over her list and whistled through his teeth.

  “Demons?”

  “Demons,” she acknowledged. “We made the best of it; one of their ships was lost, the other limped away.” She was not about to admit to letting the former sves have the ship. That would have consequences that she did not want to deal with; but her ledger was already full of too much red. “I can mark our approximate location but we had been blown off course by a storm.”

  “Nasty weather tely,” the harbourmaster agreed, bobbing his head up and down like a curious bird. His long nose was almost pointed enough to be a beak. “I’ll get the repair crew on it once they are finished with the Knave of Storms.” The Grand Admiral had to check a groan that threatened to escape. That was the ship captained by Admiral Matthias Iroastis.

  “Thank you,” she managed, turning to storm back to her ship. She had no desire to meet with that infuriating man.

  She got three steps out the door before she crashed into him. She had been caught up in her own thoughts and concerns, and had not seen him as he rounded a corner. Bck and red armours cshed into each other and she fell back into the grass, her feet unsteady still in nd.

  “As I live and breathe! Admiral Ael, how are you?” He offered his hand to help her up. The blond man before her was cut like a statue and about as intelligent as one. He had a strong chin, perfectly pced nose and long blond hair in a single braid. His golden locks were a rarity in court, rumour having it that he was a descendant of the Peri, the dragon-blooded of the Sun Dragon. Most people swooned at his attention, and he paid equal attention to anyone pretty enough to catch his fancy. He made Ael’s jaw hurt from too many false smiles and empty ptitudes.

  “Been better,” she grouched. “Demons, you know?”

  “Oh absolutely! Oh it’s been a dogs’ age since I’ve seen you. You absolutely must come aboard my ship while repairs are ongoing. Tell me the magnificent story of how you defeated those rogues. I simply won’t take no for an answer!” He fshed a grin at her. “Perhaps for supper, I’ll have a lovely roast delivered.”

  “I have pns.”

  “Oh cancel them, love!” He patted her head like one would a child. “After all, how often do you get to see family?” She kept the growl out of her mouth, but knew when it was time to surrender. His brother, after all, was married to her cousin, the queen. She couldn’t easily avoid this. Nereida was going to be displeased. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  “Who do you have pns with, love?” He leaned toward her conspiratorially, a light in his eyes. She grasped for something to say to not implicate her beloved. His grin was almost predatory as he watched her face. “Oh ho ho! A special someone perhaps? Is your cousin finally making an honest woman of you?” She bristled at his words but couldn’t find her words to deny or deflect. “Ah, and here I was hoping you and I could find wedded bliss together. What a pair we’d make! We’d rule the seas!”

  “Or kill each other,” she muttered. He ughed as if it were the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

  “Invite him,” Matthias said with a ugh. “I can’t wait to see the man that could tame you! Though no promises that I won’t try and steal him for myself.” And he flounced off before she could get a word in edgewise. Her stomach ached suddenly. She toyed with inviting Basiano in her beloved’s stead, but that was even less likely to stay under her control.

  Once her ship-based tasks on nd were done, the Admiral went to a tailor to commission a few pieces, putting two on rush for the afternoon , paying through the nose for the rush. She purchased the honey and the dye her beloved asked for, as well as a few fresh flowers, some fruit for the boys and a game of dragon’s flight for the boys to py. It would probably be difficult for the younger one to learn the strategy, but noble children should be exposed to strategy at a young age.

  She trudged up to her ship, overburdened with gifts. Perhaps she could buy her love’s forgiveness. Unlikely, but it was a pleasant thought that pretty baubles might distract her. She was not looking forward to Nereida’s reaction. Evander spotted her first, an amused expression dancing on his face.

  “Did you buy the isnd?”

  “Not this time,” she smirked back at him.

  She stopped to drop off the smallest package in her room, pcing it in the drawer with the contract, before she headed down to the crew quarters. She knocked on the now familiar door. Basiano’s dour face came into view as he cracked the door.

  “It’s not sunset yet,” he observed.

  “There’s been a change… could I speak to Nereida?” He looked down at her with mischief in his eyes, seeing a bit of purple fabric sticking out of her bags.

  “What did I say about purple underwear?”

  She gaped up at him, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to form words but they simply abandoned her. He burst into a booming ugh and moved aside, motioning for her to come in. She entered slowly, the heat in her cheeks leaving her unbanced. The two little boys saw her and jumped off their bed.

  “Gradmiral!” The youngest cried out happily, slurring her title together to form a single, silly word. She ughed, the embarrassment melting away as the boys chattered at her both at once, asking question after question on top of each other until she was dizzy.

  “Boys,” Nereida spoke softly, but it garnered attention all the same. “One at a time. One question each, and then let the grown ups talk.”

  “When can we go to market?” Alejo looked between the Admiral, his mother and his uncle, a pleading pout on his face.

  “When we know it’s safe,” the Admiral said. “And not until your mother says so; in this, she even outranks me.”

  “Woah.”

  “Woah indeed, Alejo. Egaz? What’s your question?”

  “What’s in the bags?!!” It was less a question and more an excited shriek. Ael ughed, bending low.

  “Gifts,” she whispered pyfully. Both boys shrieked this time. She was going to go deaf. How were all parents not deaf?

  The boys were most excited about the new game, which she promised to teach them another time. They were each handed an orange, and went to their beds with their juicy snack. Ael produced the flowers, which made Nereida blush and Basiano grumble about her gift being “predictable.” She shot a gre at him but he seemed immune to her ire.

  “I have.. I have a favour to ask,” she said quietly, gncing down at her toes. She did not want to see Nereida’s fury. “Unfortunately, I ran into family,” she began. “A particurly annoying fellow admiral who is, sadly, reted by blood to the Prince Consort.” She shuffled her feet until she felt Nereida’s hand on her shoulder.

  “You’re cancelling dinner tonight?” She didn’t sound hurt, so Ael took a chance and looked up.

  “Oh it’s worse than that. I told him I had pns… and he insisted I bring along “the man that could tame me.” If I’d had wits, I’d have told him to shove off, but my wits have a tendency to abandon me when he is around.”

  She expected fear or frustration or anger. Instead she got ughter from both her beloved and her brother!

  “Oh love,” Nereida said, wiping a tear from her eyes. “Well, alright then. It’s not as if we didn’t know the political game was coming. How are we to py this?”

  “I uh…” She reached into the bag and pulled out her other gift; a dress suitable for semi-formal dining, complete with corset, ruffles and matching beads to be woven into her hair. It had been exorbitantly expensive, given it was primarily in purple, with red trim and accents.

  “Pretty!” excimed Alejo from the bed.

  “Keep your sticky fingers over there, sir,” Basiano called. The boy pouted but did not move from his spot. Basiano then turned his attention to the dress.

  “It is lovely,” he decred. His eyes were hard as he looked to Ael. “What will you be wearing?” She swallowed, and carefully pulled out her own tailored suit. She preferred traditional menswear for high society functions, as moving in fancy dresses was nightmarish. The suit was made of the same luxurious material as Nereida’s dress, down to the colours. Basiano made a strangled sound. Ael looked up at Nereida, the princess’s reaction the more important of the two.

  Nereida reached out and touched the suit, her hands trembling and her voice unsteady.

  “Ael… are you sure?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

  “Completely.” Basiano let out a long, low sigh.

  “Congratutions, sister,” he said after a long moment. He looked at Ael with a fierce expression. His dark eyes examined her for a long moment before he spoke again. “I accept your offer on behalf of her house.” He held out his hand to shake hers. Slowly, Ael put her hand in the Samander's hand. His hand was exceptionally warm and she could feel his magic in his touch. She felt the magic linger for a moment when he withdrew his hand. He gnced at his sister, his expression softening.

  “You get to expin this to the boys,” he said softly. “After whatever nonsense you two get up to tonight.”

  “It’s just dinner.”

  “A family dinner,” he stressed. “With her family, in our colours. This will get back to people, countess.” He stressed her false title. “Dance the edge of the bde tonight.” And he turned and jogged to the boys, engaging them in silly, loud py.

  Nereida sighed heavily and looked at Ael with teary eyes and a fond smile.

  “Help me with my hair?” She asked, looking a little shy. Ael felt her breath hitch. Dragons above this woman would be her undoing.

  “Yes,” she whispered, slipping her hand into Nereida’s. “Come with me to my cabin and I’ll make sure you turn heads.”