The Stormfrost was anchored for two days. The smaller ship was tethered to it, its anchor not large or long enough to reach the depths of the ocean. The delay wasn’t addressed outright. Yet Eira knew it
was as a result of them.
Adela didn’t seem the sort to stay in one place for long. Especially not when that place was relatively close to the coast of Carsovia. But the blow they’d dealt to the empire probably helped her decision. Carsovia had other matters to attend to, right now.
As soon as Ducot was on the Stormfrost, he wanted nothing to do with them. His crew—his family—welcomed him with open arms. Eira hoped they could help him in a way none of them could.
She had been bracing herself for the resentment of Adela’s crew. After all, she had caused one of their own such pain. But nothing had changed. If anything, the crew seemed to regard them with a deeper sense of respect and understanding.
Every hour blurred into the next. Most of it was spent with her worst enemy: herself. Eira sat on the stern of the vessel and stared out in the direction of Carsovia, even though it was past the horizon now. If she closed her eyes and focused, her magic could be carried on the deep currents and crash against that distant shore. It could run through the rivers and underwater reservoirs in the earth all the way back to the fires that still, still burned.
Every hour, she looked for traces of Noelle’s magic. Of a sign her friend survived.
Every hour, there was none.
Finally, on the third dawn, the mourning period came to an end with Adela’s summons.
Eira went alone, as always. Crow didn’t even bother guarding the door, letting her in, or threatening her. Eira helped herself into the chambers that had become familiar as if they were her own. Adela was in her usual seat, so Eira assumed hers.
They both stared out the windows at the back of the vessel. Silent for a long time. Eira bracing herself for whatever reprimands would rightfully come. She’d lost a member of her crew…beyond losing her treasure or disparaging her name, Eira could think of no greater offense to Adela.
“I have felt your powers these past few days,” Adela finally said.
“I’m looking for her.” Eira didn’t bother to hide it. Though she did glance Adela’s way, challenging the pirate to question her on it.
Adela didn’t. Instead, she said, “Have you found signs of her?” “No.” The word was ash in her mouth—the taste of flash shale.
Adela hummed softly. “Neither have my men ashore seen any signs.” “You sent men ashore?” That brought Eira’s attention to her in full.
“Of course I did. She was a member of my crew.” Adela looked offended by Eira’s surprise.
“Thank you,” Eira whispered.
“The only thing more unforgivable than someone attacking me is a slight against my own.” Adela proved Eira’s suspicions right in a way she hadn’t been expecting. “Perhaps the one lesson I learned from that damnable Tower of Sorcerers: you take care of your own.”
Something Eira had failed at, time and again.
“Those men ashore have told me that there are endless rumors surrounding the Pirate Queen on Carsovia,” Adela continued. “Rumors that say Adela was the one to bring down the mines. That there are still scars on the earth from her frost.”
“Rumors and frightful whispers seem to be your lifeblood,” Eira said dryly. “What’s a few more?” She wasn’t going to cower in front of Adela, and she’d had enough guilt over the choices when it came to the mines. Eira wouldn’t allow Adela to create more.
“The closest thing a person will ever have to immortality are stories on the tongues of others long after they’re gone—stories out of fear and out of love.” Adela finally brought her eyes to Eira, pulling them from the sea
beyond. The world narrowed on the weight of the pirate queen’s frigid stare. “Perhaps I should be thanking you.”
“Thanking me?”
Adela tapped her frosty fingers on the armrest of her chair. “You are part of this story now, Eira. Part of this legend. And, judging from what I hear…you are honoring its viciousness.”
Eira shifted in her seat. The praise was genuine. Adela wasn’t one to say kind words for no reason. But now, of all times, it felt misplaced.
“Nothing I’ve done is worthy of honor,” she murmured. “You’ve inspired terror.”
“I lost my friend.” Vulnerability crept up in her. Faster than Eira could stop it. Adela was the closest thing she had to a figure of authority— someone whom Eira could trust. Who guided her… Someone—despite all Adela’s claims to the contrary—like a parent. Just once, Eira wished she had someone in charge to lean on to lighten the load. “What’s the point of all this power, all this skill, if we can’t save the ones we love?”
A faint smile crossed Adela’s lips. It was tired. Sad, even. Eira wondered just how many people the pirate queen had watched die across her years. How often had she suffered this? How much colder was her magic for it?
“It’s just power. Not complete control over the world around you. Not immortality. It’s a tool like any other. And while we can sometimes be strong enough to challenge fate…fate, in the end, will always win. Death will always come to collect his due.”
Eira swallowed thickly, remembering how she wanted to become strong enough to challenge the shroud of oblivion. How foolish the notion seemed now that she wasn’t standing on the edge.
“You know it to be true,” Adela said softly. The words were almost tender when they could’ve been biting. Understanding when they could’ve cut deep. “Even if you do not want to.”
Eira dipped her chin slightly. “I don’t know how I can face them when they watched one of their own get killed because I wasn’t enough.” Strong enough. Capable enough. “I’ve hardly been able to be in the same room as them.”
“They need you, Eira. Now more than ever. If you’re not enough now, then become enough for yourself and for them.” Adela’s tone shifted. Firmed. The words stung in the same way a mending salve could on a fresh
wound. Good…but still sharp. “You have entrenched yourself too deeply in your role to back away now.”
“What is that role?”
“Lead them,” Adela said simply, as if it were obvious. “Be their captain. See your plans through to the very end and then make new ones. You still have work to do.”
“How can I lead them when I don’t always know what the right choice is?”
“Do not dictate. But do not shy from being the final voice when it is needed.”
“How will I know when it’s needed?” Eira had a thousand questions and she suspected that the majority she’d have to answer on her own.
“Time. Practice. And mistakes that you will vow to never make again.” The advice was cold, but earnest. “They will not move without you telling them to. If you abandon this post now, the crew you have assembled will scatter on the wind and, I assure you, will not be better for it.”
“I know.” Eira sighed softly.
“So we continue working on this plan of yours: the echoes that will undo him. Then, while you continue to hone your skill, you sail to Qwint and rally their banners. I suspect they will meet you with open arms— despite the rumors surrounding you. Once they hear of how you crippled Carsovia, you will be their ally. Gain the aid of Solaris—either through the princeling they left behind, or through the princess, who, like you, I’m sure survived and is somewhere on Meru wreaking havoc. Then, return to Meru and settle your business with Ulvarth as you have designed.
“Do not take no for an answer. Do not let anyone sideline you from your destiny. Do not hide your power. Show the world why they think you are my heir.”
When Adela said it all like that, so plainly, so clearly, it seemed almost possible. Easy, even. Though Eira knew it’d be anything but.
“Prince Romulin might not help me, if I’m even able to get to him. And I’m not so sure Vi survived, if I think about it logically.” Prince Romulin might not be willing to charge after the ghosts of his family.
“She’s alive all right.” Adela snorted. “If there’s one woman who could fight Death…” Adela shook her head, dismissing the rest of the thought. “The question will be if you can find her. But, if—when you do see her again, put in a good word for me, will you?”
“Pardon?” Eira shifted to face Adela.
Adela smirked slightly. “Tell her my meddling in Meru was only to find you, and nothing more. That, should I sail close to those waters again, it would be for similar reasons.”
Eira took a moment with the words, allowing the meaning to settle on her. Adela thought Eira would have some amount of sway with Vi. Enough to broker some kind of understanding, if the princess lived. But what her heart really settled on was the implication that Adela would go back to Meru again.
That she was looking after Eira. “You’ll return to Meru?”
“We’ll see what happens.” Adela glanced at her from the corners of her eyes. Slightly amused, but also cautioning not to pry too far into the hidden meanings of her words. “But, at the very least, I think there are some Pillar ships in the western waters that I can enjoy sending beneath the waves. And, you still need my help to draw out these echoes in the way you intend.”
“What do you want in return for your continued aid?” Eira knew Adela too well to think anything was charity. Little was done purely out of the goodness of Adela’s heart.
Adela exhaled the confident front she always wore, her shoulders sagging for a rare second of what almost looked like vulnerability. She stared back out the windows of the Stormfrost. But just as quickly, she looked inward, motioning to her cabin.
“As I said…power is not immortality. I cannot deny the ache in my bones. Or the wavering of my magic. Even a slip of a girl like you has felt it. While I think there are a good many years ahead of me, eventually, Death will come. And then what happens to all this? All I’ve built? My crew?” In tone alone, Eira knew the last one was the one Adela worried about most. “Was it all for naught? Will it fade into the sea? Will my crew squabble over my riches? Will one day the rumors of the Pirate Queen Adela stop living on the tongues of men? Will a dawn come where people do not tremble at the idea of my curse?”
“I doubt that could ever be the case in Oparium,” Eira offered hopefully.
Adela shook her head. “All legends die, without magnificent and terrible deeds to offer new moments worth talking about.”
The pirate queen shifted, crossing one icy leg over the other and looking pointedly at Eira. She leaned against one armrest, toward Eira. Her stare was pure intensity.
“So, what I ask for my continued aid is this: Once your battle on Meru is over, come back to the sea for good. Cast off your landbound tethers, board my ship, and take the Lagmir name.”
“What?” Eira breathed softly.
“You still have much to learn, but there is time for me to teach you.”
“You…want to give me the Stormfrost? The Lagmir name?” Eira whispered. Her whole body tingled with a rush of apprehension. With excitement.
“Should you continue to prove yourself worthy.” Adela gave a slight nod. “You have exceeded my every test thus far. You would be a suitable heir, so long as you don’t disappoint me.”
“But I’m not your daughter.” No matter how much time had passed, how long Eira’d had to accept the fact as truth, it still hurt to say. It still brought out the small part of her that was frightened. That was searching for a place to belong, desperate to find one beyond herself.
“You are not my blood. But that does not mean you cannot be my heir. Were I to have ever had a daughter, I would’ve hoped for her to be much like you.” Adela continued to stare at her with the same intensity. The same ferocity. “Well, Eira, what say you? Will you continue to learn all I have to teach? Do you cast in your lot with this icy, salt-crusted pirate from here to eternity?”
Eira took in a slow breath and let the offer settle on her. Doing this would change her life forever. It would put her in charge of more people— more risks like Noelle. It would make her responsible for all of them. Their happiness. Their sorrows. She would have to grow, constantly, stronger than ever before. She would learn magic beyond her wildest imaginations.
And, when she thought there was nothing more in her, she would have to find more to give.
Eira exhaled with a nod and a single word. “Yes.”
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Eira’s story reaches its epic conclusion in the next book!
