Chapter 29:

  Nereida was drowning in emotions Ael couldn’t hope to name or understand. Ael watched Nereida put walls around her heart as she told the story. Never “I”, only “the princess”. She was awash in horror and hurt for her beloved. Nereida sobbed into her, and there was nothing she could do or say to relieve what had been re-lived. Instead, she held her tight. She had no intention of letting her beloved go.

  “You aren’t a monster,” she whispered softly. “You survived, that’s all that matters.” She kissed Nereida’s head.

  “I don’t know who Egaz’s father is,” Nereida admitted after a long cry. The words were broken by little half sobs. Ael wiped at the siren’s tears with her handkerchief.

  “It doesn’t matter. You are his mother. His father is dead, no matter who he was. He does not matter.” She helped Nereida y down on the bed, then joined her, throwing her arm across Nereida.

  “I was a whore.”

  “Don’t talk about my betrothed that way,” Ael said firmly. Nereida looked up with tear-filled, exhausted eyes. “I mean it. You survived .”

  “Betrothed?” She squeaked after a moment.

  “Well, obviously. You sent a missive to my queen.” She kissed a tear-track, tasting salt. “You sleep in my bed, when your children aren’t sick. You called them “ours”!” Her voice broke a little on that. She kissed Nereida gently on the cheek. “You’ve killed for me. At least four, possibly more.” She pressed their cheeks together, breathing the same air Nereida breathed. The sobs were gone now, but Nereida clung to her as if she were a lifeboat. Perhaps she was. “I’d give up the sea for you, love.”

  “I’d never ask that,” Nereida whispered. She pressed the rest of her body in closer.

  “We may not get the choice; both of us have monarchs we must obey… one or the other might order us both permanently to their court.” She closed her eyes, listening to Nereida’s even breathing. “But we’d be together, we would be alright. And you are safe now. I’m here. Sleep. You’ve run yourself ragged.” Nereida nodded a little. They y in silence together, the only sounds were the ocean beyond the wall and the sound of their breathing. Eventually, Nereida drifted into sleep, her body exhausted and her emotions run ragged. Ael pced her head on Nereida’s chest, listening to the even beat of her heart, before the gentle sound lulled her to sleep as well.

  The supper bell woke them. There was panic in Nereida’s eyes and she filed about in fear until her mind recalled where she was.

  “Stay here, love,” Ael said softly. Nereida nodded woodenly, still caught in the throes of her story and likely her dreams. Leaving her cabin, the Admiral found Evander. The repair crew was gone, leaving only the Admiral’s people on board.

  “Admiral? You have been gone all day!”

  “I fell asleep,” she admitted quietly. “It’s for the best, had I been awake I may have stabbed someone.” He lifted an eyebrow, looking at her curiously. “The story of the princess and the sirens was real.”

  “I had pieced that together, Admiral.”

  “It was worse.” At this he opened and closed his mouth a few times before looking toward her cabin.

  “Shall I ask her brother to see her?” He ran his hand through his short hair, pain in his eyes. He had clearly come to care about Nereida.

  “No, but could you sit with her until I get back? She shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  “My pleasure, Admiral.”

  She made her way to the cabins below and knocked on Basiano’s door. The prince stuck his head out and came into the hallway, calling to the children that he’d be back in a moment. Both were sitting up and eating, looking mostly healthy.

  “Admiral?” His tone was tentative, quiet and respectful.

  “She is in my cabin, she is alright…. Hurting, but I’m beginning to see that I’ve only ever known her hurt.” She chewed on her lip, gncing up and down the hall. More than half the crew was on shore leave, but she did not want an audience for this conversation. She looked back at the face of her soon to be brother-in-w. He had crows feet around his eyes that were wrinkled with worry.

  “How much has she told you?” She asked after a long moment.

  “Enough to know that when I get to the afterlife, I am going to hunt down the man she called husband and pull his soul to pieces.” There was no anger in his tone, just a quiet certainty. “And enough that I have no guilt in killing any demons that try to board us.”

  “When the children are better… I’d like to move them into my cabin too. She needs her family.”

  “I will stay right here,” Basiano said softly, a little, almost impish expression on his face. “There are things a brother shouldn’t see… and if you need a night to yourselves, you have but to ask.”

  Ael flushed a little. His tone was sincere. She looked down at his boots. They were well worn.

  “Matthias says hello,” she said, not wanting to grapple with her feelings. “Something about you being an excellent card pyer?”

  “Oh that charmer? Is that why Nerry was so flustered when she came home from the family dinner? That man could charm the pants off of anyone… or drive them to the moon.” He grinned. “I will have to stop in and say hello. Is he aboard the Knave?”

  “Yes.” She grit her teeth. Thinking about Matthias causes her a headache. Basiano ughed a full belly ugh.

  “I see he went with driving you to the moon.” He patted her shoulder. “Retives are often the worst for that. Once you have the boys moved, I’ll head to see him. I could use a break from this pce. I’m not sure how I’ll endure five more months.” He looked at her, his dark eyes sad. “Is there a way to cut the time down? It took the Sylph ship only three months, but I assume they used magic to get it to clip along that fast.”

  “They had magic and enough of them to keep the sails ever full. We have only Epelda, and I will not work her to death. We have to go around the Cursed Sea. It’s massive; going around it adds almost three months, maybe more if we are using an abundance of caution.” She shook her head. “No one ever returns from the Cursed Sea. I’d rather the abundance of caution.” He looked grim, his mouth drawn in a thin line.

  “I have no desire to die at sea. Do what you must, Admiral.”

  She nodded briskly, turned to leave, and then stopped. She turned back to Basiano.

  “Why the rush?” Pain fluttered across his eyes. He took a little breath, let it out slowly.

  “Our mother is sick. Nereida knows, but she… she doesn’t want to consider that we may already be too te.” There was a tremor in his tone, one she recognized all too well. There were no words for that kind of pain, no comforts. She simply pced her hand on his arm, a motion of solidarity. He said nothing in return. Ael gave him time to collect himself, before a mask slid into pce over the grief.

  “I should get back to the boys. I’ll bring them up after supper.” And he turned and left, the boys jabbering loudly as he entered.

  When she finally returned to her cabin, Nereida was sitting at the desk in the Admiral’s chair, Evander across from her. They were pying some kind of card game. Given the smug expression on Evander’s face, and the pair of kings he held in his hand, the first mate was winning.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to cut this short,” Ael said with a grin. “Evander, I’ll need your help moving the desk to a corner.”

  “Of course Admiral,” he replied, finishing the hand and collecting his winnings; a collection of buttons they’d used in pce of coins.

  “Not you,” Admiral added, fshing a commanding gre at Nereida. She ughed, clearly immune to it. “I won’t have you injuring your ribs again. You are nearly healed, and I won’t see you reopen a wound now.”

  “Fine,” she grumbled back, though she still looked amused. “But why?”

  “To make room for the boys. Just the younger two, seems a bit much to invite your brother to sleep here too.” Nereida stared a moment before she closed the distance between them to wrap her arms around the Admiral. Ael kissed her head. Nereida let out a little frustrated groan.

  “What?” Ael asked, fearing the worst.

  “With the boys being sick… I may have forgotten to tell them we’re courting.” Ael felt a deep ugh bubble up.

  “You’d best do that quickly, before your brother mentions an annoying sister-in-w to them.”

  “Maybe, love, that’s something we do together?”