Chapter 35:

  Despite all her aches and pains, she had found sleep rather quickly. It felt as if her head had just touched the pillow when a soft pair of lips kissed her awake. Nereida was perched at the edge of their bed, worry on her face. Ael brought her hand up to her lover’s cheek, as if she could take her cares.

  “Pirates, love?” The siren’s voice was low, frightened.

  “It couldn’t be helped.” Ael sat up so that her love no longer loomed over her. “They’d have taken you.”

  “I’m not worth everyone’s lives!” Nereida hissed, her eyes full of pain.

  “You are to me.” Ael did not back down, as much as she wanted to sooth her beloved, she needed the truth now. “And it wasn’t just you. They may have taken the boys, even Epelda.” That took the wind from Nereida’s sails, and she defted. The siren leaned into the Admiral, closing her eyes as if that would block out her feelings. “And if you say this bungled mess is your fault, I will toss you in the brig!” That startled a ugh out of the princess.

  “Evander already set me straight.”

  “He’s a good sort. I’ll even forgive him for having “nice muscles.” I’m a forgiving sort,” she said the st but with a mischievous, almost mean grin. Nereida groaned as if pained.

  “Has everyone heard that?”

  “Only the ship’s officers, and Gregors, who was disappointed you didn’t comment on his muscles, since he was the one carrying you.”

  Nereida buried her head in a pillow and muttered about never living it down. Ael pyfully tugged the princess’s braid, not hard enough to hurt or dislodge her ribbon, but enough to get her attention.

  “It will pass, love. You’re crew, and you can’t live in small spaces like this without doing or saying something embarrassing.” Nereida made grumbling noises into the pillow for a moment longer. Ael decided to simply take a moment to enjoy seeing her beloved in bed, tracing her curves with her eyes. She’d do more than look, but in the middle of the day there was a chance she’d be needed.

  After a moment, Nereida sat up, her frustration spent, leaving her looking exhausted.

  “You should eat and then sleep,” Ael advised. “We have a fair wind, and can follow it for a while at least.”

  “Why only a while?” Nereida asked. Ael stood and pulled Nereida along to the map on her desk.

  “Near as we can guess, we’re here, give or take.” She plopped a marker to represent their ship in a mostly empty part of the map. “On our current heading, if we don’t adjust course, we’ll end up in the Cursed Sea.” She moved the little wooden ship into a part of the map denoted by a deeper blue and the words “there be no return.”

  Nereida examined the map, tracing the slight bumps on the border of the water and the cursed water.

  “What are these?”

  “Rocks. They come in clusters, and are all made of bck stone. Some say they are the remains of the Ocean Dragon.” Ael tapped part of the map. “You must have seen them when you crossed into the waters; great jutting things of bck stone. Some of the rger ones are carved into, but the sea is votile near the rocks, too rough for a ship to come close.”

  “They are carved with the names of dead queens and kings,” Nereida revealed softly. “When one of their royals die, they send a carver to put the names on the stones. Usually, anyway. Sometimes they are waypoint markers or danger markers. They taught me the rune for danger.” She traced two lines parallel running downward, then a diagonal line from bottom left to top right. “They said if they marked an area it wasn’t safe for swimmer or ship.” She sounded sad, far away. Ael reached across the table to take Nereida’s hand.

  “Love?” She gave the hand a squeeze.

  “I was just… remembering. When I was with the water-born, I still wasn’t like them. I don’t fit in any kingdom.”

  “You fit in here,” Ael soothed. She brought the hand up to kiss it.

  Nereida’s mood did not improve. Ael, not wanting to see her beloved upset, went to retrieve the scroll case that Matthias had delivered along with his warning.

  “We got word,” Ael said, sliding the case to Nereida. The siren’s eyes brightened, and she began to unscrew the case, her hands trembling. The royal seal was done in gold; a good sign, Ael knew that the Queen disliked silver, and so any bad news was sealed in silver or, dragons forbid, bck.

  Carefully, Nereida broke the seal and unfurled the parchment. Ael wanted to go to her, read over her shoulder, but the scroll was for her beloved and she would not peek at it unless it was offered. She had to take a few slow breathes, matching the rhythm of her breathing to the waves crashing outside.

  “My dear Princess Nereida,” the siren read out loud. Ael took her hand, urging her silently to continue. “I must admit to surprise that you have written to me. I had heard from my youngest brother of a countess with your name, one he pced on Admiral Ael’s ship. While it is not well done to lie about one’s nobility, I am sympathetic to your reasoning. I would expect my own daughters to lie if they found themselves among those they were not sure they could trust.

  “I am also surprised by your request. My cousin Ael is a prickly sort, which I am sure you have discovered, and though I do not doubt her passion, please be advised that she is not the most politically astute.” Nereida paused to giggle. Ael gave her a half-hearted gre. She hadn’t cared about politics until this princess entered her life.

  “I would be pleased to allow you both to enter into a marriage.” Nereida’s voice trembled. “I hope your family takes this as a potential step towards being allies, for the threat of the demons grows ever stronger.

  “Should you find yourselves in Seliniakos again, please present yourselves to the court that I might meet you. I look forward to hearing from a delegation from your people once you have safely returned.”

  Nereida put the parchment down, her hands trembling and a water smile on her face. Ael came around the desk, wiping her lover’s tears off her face with her thumb.

  “She gave permission,” Nereida whispered.

  “I may not be “politically astute” love, but I did catch that.” Nereida snickered, her trepidation banished.

  “I’m not asking you today,” Ael whispered, pcing a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Not after st night. Not when we are on the run and everything is coming apart.”

  “But you are going to ask?” Nereida’s voice was breathless. Ael smirked at her, starting to understand the “flirting game” she had with her beloved. She leaned in, touching her lip just barely to Nereida’s ear.

  “Wait and see, love. You can wait for me, yeah?” Nereida shivered and made a tiny little gasping noise.

  “I can wait,” she said after a moment. She smiled softly. “But you’ll pay for that.”

  “Promises, promises, my witch.” Ael whispered pyfully, kissing Nereida’s ear before straightening up. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her hands had become cmmy. She wanted to keep going, but outside the lunch bell rang. She could not spend any more time holed up before someone noticed, before someone came looking. Nereida pulled her hand, kissing Ael’s knuckle with a mischievous grin. Oh, her beloved was trouble. But Ael wouldn’t have it any other way.

  The Admiral left her beloved in the cabin to see how things were progressing, spoke to every officer about the pns, spoke to the crew above and the crew below who were awake. Everyone was tired, morale was low even with the fine wind. They knew their lot now, and the act of taking down the fg in the wee hours had been too real for them. It had almost been too much for her.

  By evening, she had worked herself into near exhaustion just trying to keep up morale by participating in work that won’t hers. She had joked with her crew, listened to their gripes, and worked alongside them until her fingers were blistering and sore. She even missed her evening meal with her blooming family to ensure her crew knew they were still important, that she hadn’t thrown them into chaos on a whim.

  The Admiral’s pn had been to brighten spirits, help her beloved put the children to bed, and then colpse in her lover’s arms. But just as the sun was setting, she received a distressing report from the Crow’s nest. On the horizon, just off their course to the North, there were two ships engaged in combat; a demon ship and one of their own. Not their own now, she had to remind herself, feeling ill at the thought. Her first instinct, after years on the sea, was to rush to help. They could be there in an hour, less if they pushed it, even without Epelda’s help. But what if they knew? What if they didn’t, and her actions allowed innocent folk to die?

  She called for Evander. Her first mate was pale and drawn, the bags beneath his eyes so dark it looked as though he had been fighting drunkards.

  “Gather the officers. We vote to help or flee.”

  “Vote?” Evander questioned.

  “I took their voices st night,” the Admiral admitted softly. “I committed us to this path. But I won’t ignore counsel. We are almost two days out from the front, and I… I am uncomfortable leaving them to die.”

  “Some pirate you are,” Evander teased fondly. “I’ll get them, and we will see if it is time to flee or fight.”

  Once her six officers were gathered, she id out the trouble. Each officer wore their troubles on their faces. None of them looked well either.

  “I’ll tie break,” she said firmly. “But I’ve taken enough the st day. I will follow your hearts too. You’ve earned that much and more.”

  “We swore to follow you to the ends of the earth,” Evander pointed out softly.

  “Aye and you may need to,” she agreed. “But this is not now. I won’t drag you in to save people who may see one of us hang.”

  “Demons are still demons.” The words came from Gregors. “Off with ye, Admiral, and we’ll vote.”

  She handed them each two stones; red for fight, white for run. She took ten paces away, taking the helm and maintaining course. The sea was calm, the wind slight, but the way the clouds raced across the sky promised better winds shortly. After a few moments, Evander presented her with their pouch of votes. She turned it upside down into his cupped hand.

  Six red stones.

  The Admiral nodded, carefully maintaining a neutral face. She didn’t want them to see her relief. But Evander gave her a warm smile, and she knew he, at least, knew her true feelings. She lifted her whistle and blew. All hands.

  It was time to prepare for war.