Eira hadn’t realized until a speck of land dotted the horizon just how long it had been since she’d last seen anything but ocean. At the first cry of, “Land ho,” they had all been on deck, blinking into the
sunrise.
“It really is in the middle of nowhere,” Lavette appraised. The eight of them—plus Ducot—were lined up along the bow of the ship.
“You said it was two thirds the way to Carsovia?” Eira asked Ducot.
His arms were loosely wrapped around Noelle’s waist, holding her from behind. They rocked slowly with the ship. Noelle reached up and gently caressed his face with her now scarred and gnarled hand. They had grown more outwardly affectionate by the day. Perhaps it was something about being trapped together on a vessel that made hearts open. Eira’s eyes drifted to Cullen and Olivin, snapping back when Ducot spoke.
“About that far…it’s close enough to Carsovia that they tried one time to reclaim it from the pirates.” Ducot smirked. “That went about as well as one might imagine.”
“I am certain Adela’s diplomacy was stunning.” The way Lavette spoke, it sounded like a bad thing. But Eira admired the pirate queen for her shrewd and uncompromising nature—for taking what she wanted and needed and defending what was hers. If Eira was being completely honest with herself, it was something she wished to imitate.
“You said there was good food and drink on the island?” Noelle asked Ducot.
“Always. Being a common stop for us scoundrels means that there’s always a fresh supply of loot, booze, and tasty morsels to devour.” He leaned forward, nibbling at Noelle’s neck while making chomping noises.
“Yargen bless, you two, get a room,” Yonlin groaned. He looked to Alyss of all people. “Am I right?”
“I’m fine with them not having a room, more content.” Alyss tapped her pen on her notebook as Noelle laughed.
“You would feel that way.” Yonlin rolled his eyes, but wore an overtly affectionate smile. Eira caught it, but Alyss was too focused on her writing to notice.
“Will they have additional notebooks there?” Alyss had a singular mind. “Have you already filled that one up?” Cullen tried to look over Alyss’s
shoulder. “Ready to let us read a bit?”
“Hardly, this is wholly research and planning. I’ve yet to actually begin penning the story.” Alyss made a show of snapping the journal shut before Cullen could catch a single word.
“There should be some kind of notebooks there. But I’d imagine they’d be more like ship’s ledgers, therefore less portable than what you have now,” Ducot said.
“That’s fine.”
“I am glad to see that you lot are like the rest of my crew.” Adela’s sharp voice cut through their discussions. “Ready to spend the whole day lallygagging just because we’ll be in port by noon.”
“Of course not.” Eira shifted to face the pirate queen. “We’re ready to practice, aren’t we?”
“Speak for yourself,” Alyss muttered under her breath.
“Suck-up,” Noelle mumbled nearly at the same time. The two shared a conspiratorial look and a snicker. Eira rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear.
“Then let’s begin, we’ve a busy day ahead of us.” Adela tapped her cane on the deck and they broke apart, resuming their usual places opposite each other for practice and sparring.
As Eira was taking her spot, Cullen stepped by and whispered under his breath, “Find me on the island.”
Her heart skipped a beat. He glanced over his shoulder, fighting a smirk. The rest of them seemed to miss the brief interaction. But Eira wore it on
the flush that crept up her cheeks and the untoward thoughts racing to the forefront of her mind.
 |
The only instruction Adela had given them was to be back by midnight. Otherwise, they had free rein on the island to do whatever pleased them. And, judging from the stories on the rowboat over to the docks from the other crew, there was a lot to find pleasing on a pirate’s paradise.
“I’m going to find new writing tools,” Alyss announced shortly after disembarking.
“I’ll join you,” Yonlin said. “Us, too,” Varren added.
“Adela might have told us that there’s an understanding among all the pirates on the island…but it’s still an island of pirates.” Lavette side-eyed the bustling docks. People of all ages, all shapes and sizes, went about their business. The Stormfrost was the largest vessel on anchor out on the horizon, but she wasn’t the only one. Three other tall ships with black flags and scarred hulls were in port today.
“You’ll be fine.” Ducot patted her shoulder. “There’s never fighting here. You’d be surprised how much better pirates are at keeping the peace than actual lawmen.”
Lavette rolled her eyes.
“Truly,” Ducot insisted. “Puck even has a wife with child here. Trusts her to be safer here than anywhere else while she’s in her more delicate months.”
“We’ll see.” Lavette still seemed skeptical, but slightly more inclined to believe him.
“Where are you two headed?” Eira asked Noelle and Ducot.
“There’s a marvelous beach on the other side of those hills and cliffs.” Ducot pointed. “It’s a quieter side of the island because the rocks prevent it from being an easy place to dock. But that means it has great views and some secluded tide pools.”
“Sounds wonderful, we’ll join you,” Eira declared for herself, Cullen, and Olivin.
Noelle was at her side, the men in tow, as they walked through the main markets. The town was somewhere between what Eira was familiar with on Oparium and the stilted houses of Ofok. Their roofs were thatched with large, woven fronds from the tall trees that swayed happily in the summer breezes.
“A moment!” Ducot shouted after them. Eira and Noelle paused in time to see him duck into a storefront, Cullen and Olivin behind.
“It was nice of Adela to give us some coin to spend,” Eira mused. The intense stare Noelle was giving her had an awkward and uneasy sensation crawling up her back.
“Adela, blah, blah, yes, we get it. She sees you as a little murder-baby to mold in her image.” Noelle tilted her head back and forth as she talked quickly, mocking the idea. It was comical enough that Eira didn’t immediately object. Though she would have for the sake of keeping the conversation on that topic. “But what’s actually important is what is going on between you and Cullen and Olivin?”
Eira groaned and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“They want to get in your pants so badly they’re practically tripping over themselves.”
“Noelle!”
“It’s true.” She laughed. “And obvious. So I know you know, too.”
“No, I do, it’s not that. I—” Eira pressed her fingers into her forehead with a sigh. “I don’t know what I’m doing with either of them.”
Noelle’s expression shifted, becoming more serious.
“I always thought that, when you fell in love with someone, you just… knew. You met them and they had your heart and everything slotted into place,” Eira said softly as she watched the store for them to reemerge. “That’s how it is in the stories, at least.”
“You’re around Alyss too much.” Noelle grinned slightly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes and the expression fell off her face quickly, the muscles relaxing into something more somber and thoughtful. “Stories are simple because they’re stories. But this is life, Eira. And it’s rarely neat.”
“I feel like I’m making a mess of it.” She sighed. Her lips still tingled from Olivin’s kisses a few nights ago. The feeling of his nails on her scalp sent shivers down her spine. The safety of Cullen’s embrace. The familiarity of the taste of his mouth that made the whole world stand still.
“When I’m around Cullen, I feel stable, safe. I look up to him greatly, in many ways.”
“But?”
“But…he also drives me insane sometimes—and not in the fun way.” Eira grinned. Noelle chuckled. “Though, he’s working on it. He’s trying to live for himself and it’s admirable. He’s genuinely…changing. And it’s fascinating to watch. I’m more intrigued with him by the day. But that also means I can’t be sure if I’ll love the man he’s becoming, or not.”
“And Olivin?”
“Olivin is…” Eira paused, her mind back in the other night. “Like a dream that you wake up from and just want to fall back into.”
“Dreams can be dangerous. They’re not the real world.”
“I know, and that’s part of the problem.” Eira sighed. “With Olivin, I want to explore, and discover. With Cullen I know what I have, I just don’t know if it’s enough.”
“What do they feel about it all?”
“They’re willing to wait until I know what I want. So far, at least.” “Good. They should give you room to explore and decide.” Noelle
nudged her shoulder. “And deciding should be fun.”
“You make me sound so scandalous.” Eira laughed, as if a dozen such thoughts hadn’t crossed her mind already.
“Be scandalous. It’s delightful.” Noelle beamed at the mere sight of Ducot as he emerged from the shop. “If you’re going to be stuck between two hard places at least they have very handsome faces attached.”
“You are awful!” Eira slapped her friend’s shoulder playfully. “What has Ducot done to you?”
“Made me a devious pirate.” Noelle cackled.
“What about devious pirates?” Ducot asked as he approached. Eira noticed how Cullen and Olivin flanked him, no doubt to help him stay on the right path in the crowded market. His magic would surely have a hard time keeping up in such a busy area.
“That I love this devious pirate.” Noelle kissed him on the cheek. “Now, are we ready to continue?”
“Essential supplies gathered.” Ducot lifted the bag he was carrying, the neck of a bottle reminiscent of the liquor Adela had stuck out at an angle. “Let’s venture onward.”
Noelle and Ducot took the lead as they left the center of the small town. But Eira, Cullen, and Olivin stayed close enough that it felt like they moved as one large pack rather than two smaller groups. The foliage and dense underbrush of the jungle beyond town was just like the paintings Eira had seen of the North. Just like Alyss had described to her. She hoped her friend would venture far enough from town to see it. Though, it might just make her homesick.
Home… The word had a definition in her mind, but no meaning. Where was home for her? It wasn’t Oparium. Nor was it the house she’d grown up in. The Tower of Sorcerers didn’t fit, either—none of Solarin did.
Eira continued mulling over the thoughts as they crested the hill and walked down through small but rocky bluffs that stretched out into the sea. It was exactly as Ducot had promised—a beach secluded by trees and rocks. Waters as blue as the sky, gently lapping powdery sand of pale gold.
They set up a small picnic area and, while enjoying some of the local delights Ducot had procured them, Eira asked, “What is home?”
“Pardon?” Noelle blinked at her. The rest of them seemed equally confused.
“Home. When you hear that word, what do you think?” They were all silent a moment.
“A ship on calm seas,” Ducot said.
“A warm house not far from my parents. Maybe a little brood.” Noelle grinned in Ducot’s direction.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” He laughed, though wore an easy smile that told Eira he wasn’t bothered by the idea in the slightest.
“Anywhere my brother is. Home is more people than place, I think. Home is what I can keep safe.” Olivin couldn’t stop himself from glancing back through the trees and toward the town where Yonlin was. Eira doubted he realized he even did it.
“The last place that felt like home…” Cullen’s voice was wistful, deep with longing. “Was our home in the East, where I was born. When it was just my father, mother, and me. But, since…” He shook his head and looked to Eira. “What about you?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, willing to help Cullen change the topic. His secrets were safe with her. “That’s why I asked.” Eira looked out to sea. “When I think of home…it’s a sort of blank spot in my mind. I know what home is, or it’s supposed to be. But I don’t think I’ve found it yet. I’d
thought that once I found my birth mother, I’d know—it’d give me all the perspective I’d need…but I still don’t know who my birth mother is or what home looks like.”
They were all silent for a long moment.
“Mother above, Eira, you can kill a mood.” Noelle laughed. Eira joined in, as did the rest of them.
“Sorry, sorry!” Eira held up her hands apologetically. Noelle’s remark shook her from the heaviness that had been settling on her shoulders. “You’re right. We’re in a beautiful place. And this might be the last opportunity we have for a while to just enjoy ourselves.” Because Carsovia was waiting for them, just beyond the horizon.
“Bringing it down again.” Noelle leaned over and pressed her finger into Eira’s nose with another laugh.
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Enough that I think taking a dip in my smallclothes sounds lovely!” Noelle stood, pulling her shirt over her head. Her modest breasts were bound tightly. Underneath her loose trousers were a pair of small, thin shorts. “Are any of you coming?”
Ducot was already stripping down.
Eira shrugged and stood. Cullen and Olivin, unsurprisingly, followed her lead. She was keenly aware of every sidelong glance from them as she peeled her shirt over her head. After their morning training, she’d elected for a looser-fitting, sleeveless top under her outer shirt, one with a drawstring just under her breasts—more for sweat than support.
Cullen and Olivin couldn’t be built more differently. Cullen was lean, but muscular. His tanned skin had a golden sheen from the day’s heat. Thoughts of running her fingers over the divots in his stomach had Eira fumbling with the drawstring on her trousers.
Olivin, on the other hand, was lithe. Almost a pained frame. She could count his lower ribs when he inhaled deeply. But he was also a man trained for combat. Sinewy muscle cut against his pale skin, the shadows creating deep lines that accentuated every bulge and dip. He had narrow wrists and small hips, assuring her that his thinness was a result more of his natural frame than of poor nutrition.
Cullen was every image of a woman’s daydreams. Strong. Full. Exuding the capability to sweep someone off their feet, if not by magic than with the bulk of his muscles.
But Olivin had a sort of otherworldly appeal to him. A number of odd angles and shapes that stacked up to make an unexpectedly handsome frame.
Eira needed to get in the cool water. Now.
She followed after Noelle and Ducot, down the hill and to the sandy beach. The rocky bluffs created a natural cove that broke most of the waves, creating cool, clear water. Noelle and Ducot splashed in, hands intertwined. But Eira glided effortlessly, the water parting and collapsing around her, as though giving her a hug.
“Showoff!” Cullen accused her, yet he jumped for the water but his feet didn’t touch the surface. Instead, small pockets of air balled under his toes, pushing the water away as he took three steps like a skipping stone. Be it intentional, or his magic giving out over an uneven surface, he went off- keel and hit the water hard next to her, sending up a monumental splash.
Eira roared with laughter as he came up for air. “Graceful.”
“Guess there’s only room for one of us to be graceful,” he praised her as Olivin, rather normally, joined the rest of them.
Noelle remained close to Ducot, always within reach, as they lazily swam around. Eira wondered if it was because his magic was disrupted in the water. Or so they could brush up against each other whenever desired.
Eira floated lazily on her back as her magic propelled her slowly over the surface of the water. She stared up at the sky, blinking slowly like a cat sunning itself. When was the last time she had gone swimming in the ocean? It wasn’t the summer before the tournament’s start…she and Marcus had been too busy with their various Tower obligations to make it back home that summer.
Which meant it had to have been at least two years ago. Two years since she had been back to Oparium. Home? She tried on the word again. It didn’t quite fit, still. But just because it wasn’t home didn’t mean she couldn’t look back on it fondly.
The faces of her parents flashed before her eyes. Eira’s chest knotted and her magic faltered. Could she really be enjoying herself when they were possibly in the hands of the Pillars facing who knew what fate? Guilt put a chill in the water around her.
No… Eira swallowed down the feeling. She wouldn’t torture herself when nothing could be done. Agonizing over their circumstances would only upset her—make it harder to focus and put more tension between her
and her magic. She was helping them as fast as she could. It wasn’t as if she asked to get wrapped up with Adela. Or for the pirate queen to be one of the safest places for her and her friends to be. And she was heading to Carsovia so Adela would give her the ship she could get back to her parents on, cutting off the Pillars’ supply of flash beads in the process.
She was taking all possible actions to move forward. Worrying would give her nothing more.
“Hey, I think there are caves over here!” Cullen called, drawing their attention.
“Where’s Alyss when you need her?” Noelle said, swimming over. “Where’s the opening?”
“Down there.” Cullen pointed. The water was clear enough to see a small opening all the way at the rocky bottom.
“Oh, no, no thank you, I am not going down there.” Noelle paddled away.
“I’ve actually been meaning to try a new technique I’ve been working on.” Cullen looked in Eira’s direction. “Would you be willing to help me?”
“What do you need?”
“I’m going to make a bubble of air around me. I want to see how long I can sustain it for.”
Marcus trapped under the water flashed before her eyes. She pressed them closed and drew a slow breath. “Why don’t we try that in the open?”
“Because if I ever need it, I’ll be in a dire situation. And dire situations are more like moving through a confined cave than a calm open sea.”
Eira sighed. It did seem like a good skill for him to have, especially with them being on ships… “All right. But at the first sign of trouble I am getting us out in a blink.”
“Of course.” He beamed. “We’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful.” Olivin had a gentle smile. There wasn’t a trace of jealousy or malice as Eira might have expected. If anything he looked…confident. As if his expression said, Go ahead, go with him. You’ll find out why I’m the one you’ll want to come back to.
She wasn’t sure how much of that was his intention and how much was her imposing her own thoughts on him. But Eira was once more hot all over. She looked back to Cullen and quickly said, “Ready?”
He nodded.
Eira dipped underneath the waves. As her head lowered, the water cratered. Her magic helped push the water away, creating a bubble in which she could breathe. Doing so required practically no effort on her part.
Cullen had much the same, but rather than pressing the water away, he was holding the air to him. Eira beamed at him. He nodded and headed farther down.
It was easy enough to maintain the air around her head that Eira could put a little current behind them as they descended to the opening. Sure enough, it was a craggy mouth of a little cave. Bracing herself, she followed behind Cullen, quickly swimming into a deep blue of filtered and fading light.
Just when the water was nearly as black as pitch—just when Eira was going to suggest they turn around—another speck of light lit up ahead of them. Cullen continued to swim on and, despite her better judgment, she continued to follow. Her heart was racing and the air in her bubble was beginning to grow thin. How long had they been down? A minute? Ten?
She inhaled slowly through her nose. Panic would use up her air faster and then require more magic to keep the water at bay. This was not a frozen lake with a madman trying to murder her. The tunnel—thankfully—hadn’t branched; so if the light ahead of them was a trick of the water, they knew exactly where to go to get back.
But the light was real.
The tunnel opened into a cavern. Opposite them was a small opening to the water beyond. A small, narrow strip of beach had been pushed up on the far side. Sunlight bounced in and off the water, painting beams of light on the stalactites.
“We must be on the other side of the bluff.” Cullen was breathless. “Let’s rest there before heading back.” Eira pointed to the beach. He
nodded and she drew the water around them just like Adela had done to transport Eira between the two boats. Holding Cullen in her watery grasp required a firm but delicate, giving yet confident touch—as if she were to try to hold sand in her palm and not lose a single granule. Difficult…but it worked.
“You’re not the only one with new tricks.” She grinned at his surprised expression.
Cullen chuckled, lying back on the sand. “I’m glad we both have used these weeks to our advantage.”
“It’ll be useful, being on ships. Developing that skill was good thinking,” she praised.
“I didn’t do it because we’re on ships,” he said with his eyes closed. “Then—”
“I learned it for you, Eira. I thought, when this is all over, you might want to go swimming in the ocean together. Marcus told me how you and he would harpoon lobster in the late summer and cook it on the beach.”
“He told you that, did he?” Eira wore a slight smile as she stared out to the sea through the above-water opening of the cavern.
“He said to never get on your bad side when you had a harpoon in hand.”
“I never hurt him, I’ll have you know.”
“He never said you did, just that you threatened.”
As the fond memories faded, she brought her attention back to Cullen in the here and now to find him staring back at her. “What?”
“It’s been a long time since I heard you really laugh…since I saw you so easy and free.” He propped himself up on an elbow.
“I’ve never been an easy and free person.” Eira uncurled herself and lay back, hands behind her head.
“You should try it more often, it suits you.”
“Maybe…when all our enemies are in the ground, our families are tucked safely in their beds, and there is nothing more to be done for empires or kingdoms, I will be.” She gave him a tired smile.
Cullen reached over, gently pulling her wet hair to one side of her forehead. The pad of his finger on her slick skin was enough to give her a jolt. Eira was suddenly aware of how alone they were. How it was the first time they had truly been since the ball. They’d been around each other for months now…but it was always under the eyes of others. Always with pretense and concerns they couldn’t escape. With people who could hear or see or walk in. With the weight of the world crushing them.
But here…this little seaside cavern felt like it was made for just the two of them. As if everything could be let go of with a soft sigh.
Without another word, he leaned forward, hazel eyes as intense as embers about to catch flame. Eira inhaled slowly, her chest filling with desire—with the smell of salt and taste of him.
