I definitely never would’ve guessed.
It’d always been a pipedream to get out of the kingdom, but I never thought it’d actually happen. Yet, here I was, flying the skies and happier than I’d ever been in my life.
Sunada was so different from Asteris. Gearhart had looked welcoming and friendly, but my own kingdom looked so utilitarian and almost grouchy, if a place could look old and cantankerous.
Embergate was all grays and stone and built only for function with no artistry taken into consideration. It almost felt like Asteris took a person’s happiness and their mental health into consideration. Whereas Sunada only cared about getting themaximum amount of work out of a person, not caring one bit about their health, mental, physical, or otherwise.
Honestly, it was a good representation of what it was like living there.
The Kingdom of Sunada didn’t care one bit what it could do for its people. It only cared what its people could do for it—or rather, for the royal family and the other aristocrats.
The castle was the only shining thing in the city, sitting high up on a hilltop, right in the center of the city’s capital, looking down on all of its minions. It was white and silver and thrumming with so much fluxpower, I could feel it even from miles away.
Honestly, the entire kingdom was buzzing with power, especially with the mountains the fluxstones came from looming in the distance. Growing up here, I’d never realized just how much energy there was in the air or how many stones were constantly calling out to my magic. But after being away for so long with onlyTheBlack Wraith’sfluxstones to worry about, it felt like I was drowning in the energy. Asteris hadn’t felt even a tenth as strong in either flux power or stones begging to be filled.
It just went to show how selfish Sunada was, keeping all that magic, all that energy, to themselves. Their refusal to share the wealth wasn’t surprising in the least, but seeing and feeling it for myself made the ball of hatred I had for this kingdom grow that much more.
I took a few shaky breaths, letting the energy sink into my skin. I was sure I’d get used to it and the fluxstones would be easy to ignore after a few days, but we should be long gone before that.
This was going to be a very quick trip. In and out with my family safe and sound aboard our ship.
I couldn’t wait.
Cody was going to love flying.
The closer our ship got to the wall-top docks, the more my body tensed up, both from excitement and from nerves. Icouldn’t wait to see Kayla and Cody, but I was really worried that someone would recognize me as a wanted man. I didn’t think anyone from my old neighborhood would turn me in, but there was always a chance, so I wouldn’t risk it. Not only for my sake, but for my family’s—old and new.
I was wearing a disguise, but anyone who knew me wouldn’t be fooled.
Willy had given me his brown knitted cap to hide my red hair under, and on the trip back, I’d let my facial hair grow out. I now had a full mustache and a little bit of scruff on my cheeks and chin—I couldn’t grow a full beard if my life depended on it, so I looked a bit scrappy.
Honestly, I hated it and couldn’t wait to shave it off because it was itchy, but Max seemed to like rubbing my scruff, so at least there was that.
Max hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek. “I need to head down to help make port.”
I nodded, gave his arm a squeeze, and took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
I followed Max down the mainmast rigging and into the chaos. This port was super busy, so things had to be more exact so we didn’t bump into another ship. I’d only helped with docking twice so far—once at Duskwater Harbor and once in Gearhart—so I decided to follow Willy around and let him tell me what to do since he didn’t seem to mind having a shadow.
We’d changedThe Black WraithintoThe Golden Gooseyesterday, well before any other ships also flying into Sunada had a chance to see us. No one should know we were truly a pirate ship. We’d only used our new facade in Asteris, so there was no reason anyone should even be suspicious.
Max met with the dock inspector, and I wasn’t surprised he knew someone he could pay off here the same way he had inGearhart. I’d never realized how many people took bribes, but it certainly worked in our favor.
The crew disembarked, but Willy, Ariella, Max, and I hung back. The plan was to go shopping—or pretend to shop—at a store close to where Kayla worked, wait until she got off, and then Willy would approach her and give her a meeting spot.
It was too risky for me to head to my old home that I’d shared with her and Cody, and I didn’t want to risk her job or her boss, either. There was a pub a few streets away from her work, so we’d meet there, and she could send for Cody as well. I’d never been there before, so no one would recognize me, and it was typically crowded enough that we could hide in plain sight.
Or at least that was the best plan the four of us had come up with.
My nerves were making me a jittery mess, and Max must’ve noticed because as soon as the other pirates were gone, he leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “Alright?”
I nodded and blew out a breath. “Yeah, just… nervous, I guess.” I tugged the cap down. “You really think this’ll work?”
Max stepped closer and pulled the hood of the coat he’d bought me in Gearhart over my head. “Keep this up too.”
“You don’t think it’ll look suspicious?”
He shook his head. “There’s been a light drizzle off and on today, so I doubt anyone will notice.” He gave me another kiss, and I breathed him in, letting his scent calm me. “Ready?”
