“The Letter of Marque,” I breathed, and he nodded. Now it made sense.
But he wasn’t just hunting. He was avenging, and my heart quickened at the thought.
“Therefore, regarding the question you have asked,” he said, his eyes daring me to make the leap.
So,soclever.
“The boy,” I said. “Why did the harpiar think he was on theTouchstone?”
“Because he is.” Thanavar grinned a lazy, catlike grin and leaning back in his chair. “I stole him.”
I blinked at him, my mind racing. The Stolen Prince of Oversea. The myth was true, and the boy washere.
“The king knows?” I asked, my voice thin like ash.
“Would he offer a Letter of Marque otherwise?” One eyebrow rose.
There was a prince aboard this ship—the Crown Prince of Oversea. A princeandthe last Priestlord ofLindurithain.
No wonder theTouchstonewas notorious. No wonder she was chased.
He slid a tiny wooden box my way. Inside was a golden hoop, and my heart hammered in my chest. To be honest, I’m not sure it had eased for a moment since I stepped through these doors.
“I will give you a third chance, Ensign,” he said. “Something that has never happened in theTouchstone’s history. But I am afraid there are two caveats.”
More? I glanced up at him, my mind spinning with all the possibilities.
“One. If you choose to join theTouchstone’s crew, you will serve her as a member of the Emperial Navy.”
“The Navy?” I gaped. “How can I still be Navy if I’m a privateer?”
“That is your course to chart.”
The Navy did not get on with privateers because they existed outside the usual chain of command. The professors at Berryburn wanted them outlawed at best, sunk if we had our way, and told us they wanted us quartered and sent to the Old Sand. I’d be a target every day I walked her decks. Did he really believe I could succeed, or was he setting me up so that someone else could do the deed, keeping his hands clean and the Marque unsullied in the process?
“And two. You will chase chimeric for me, and together, we will find the Cloudgate.”
Find the Cloudgate.
“Deep calls to deep, Ensign, as the Cloudgate now calls to you.”
Find the Cloudgate.
With a trembling hand, I took the earring and held it a long moment.
“If I put this on, I become a part of the crew,” I said. “I belong to the crew, to theTouchstone.”
“You do,” he said.
“I’ve never belonged anywhere,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“I have belonged only one place,” he said. “But that place is gone.”
He missed one.
I glanced up and swallowed back the ache in my throat. Maybe I didn’t have to run anymore. Maybe I would finally belong.
There was a rap at the door, and Echo peered in.
