“Honestly, Ensign Blue,” said Worley. “Marque or not, the kinghas a terrible hate of our captain. Any ship in the Navy would be well served by sinking theTouchstone. It would be agreeably regarded in High Temple and at the Admiralty Office, even with the young prince on board. I’m not entirely certain how we have survived so long in one piece.”
“What about theEndorathil’s captain? What was his name again?”
“Kinrath Ilvalour.”
I shook my head. Like poetry. Like bloody, beautiful poetry.
“The captain sometimes forgets I am his steward,” Worley went on. “He reminisces with the first mate over days gone by. I heard him say…”
He paused, looked around again. I leaned closer.
“I heard him say that Kinrath Ilvalour was the emissary of theRhi’AhrImpirius himself, once upon a time. That he was on the Cloudgate when the RuneTree was felled. I never know if it’s the truth or not. We all remember histories so differently.”
One Priestlord that made vengeance his purpose and set his bones to wreak havoc onbothroyal houses.
Was that, in fact, our commission, then? With chimeric in their arsenal and a failing Dreadwall, theRhi’Ahrhad carried this war to Oversea with precise, ruthless, and thorough attacks. And the Emperial Navy had been unsuccessful at fighting back. But theTouchstonewas different. Other than theEndorathil, theRhi’Ahrran from us rather than engage, while the Navy chased us rather than joined. It made no sense, especially with a Letter of Marque.
Then again, maybe Smoke was right. “Wreaking havoc on both royal houses”wasa dangerous game.One swift away from treason, one ship a-lee from outright war.
“Well,” he said, wiping the rain from his forehead and nodding quickly. “I’d best get back. I was just sending a bird to notify the Admiralty Office of our situation, but it’s almost time for thecaptain’s wine. He does drink so. I tell him it’s no good for his liver, but to be completely honest, I don’t know ifRhi’Ahrhave livers, so you see my dilemma.”
And with that, he was gone, disappearing back into the hatch with his birds.
My eyes slid past the hatch, now, and along the quarterdeck to the pup.
Still there, still watching.
I sighed. I was tired—exhausted, in fact—but there was no way on erthe I could sleep. So I tossed back the last of the rum, hooked the cup to my sash, and reached down to pat the rail.
“I’ll check on him for you,” I said to the ship. I could have sworn the canvas thundered a little louder over my head.
I wove through the night crew, the watchstanders, and the spinners, and made my way to the quarterdeck, then the pup. Normally, I’d never set foot on the pup uninvited, but Ihadbeen invited many times, so I reckoned I was due.
The winds howled, and the deck pitched under my boots. The captain stood facing the waters, feet braced, arms folded across his chest. He was drenched to the bones, and his hair was slick against his skull, his elven ears clearly visible now. I looked away to the sea behind us. I didn’t need to see him. I felt him. I felt every beat of his heart. We were runechasers both. The chimeric that burned across my very skin called to him in the same way his magik called to me. But was it only rune and the chasing of it that forged this bond? Would rune lead to ruin, the hollow ache of a hole not filled, the endless burn of a prize not claimed?
Suns. Why couldn’t I have just tumbled Fahr and been satisfied?
I sighed and stared out over the waters. It was difficult to see theEndorathilon our tail, if it weren’t for the regular flash of cannon fire from her chase guns.
“How did she survive?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” he grunted. “Ilvalour is the bane of my sorry life.”
TheEndorathilflashed again, but I steeled my nerve, defying everything that warned me of the dangers at our stern.
And the one standing beside me as well.
“He wants me hanged and theTouchstonesunk to the depths of the Old Sand. All the ships in all the seas wish her sunk.”
He slid his sea-dark eyes to look at me now, a bemused smile playing with his mouth.
“But she likes you.”
“Against your ardent council,” I said, echoing his words from so long ago.
He arched a brow.
“She has her own mind, as you well know,” he said. “Still, I regret that you have been dragged into this.”
