Kamira looked toward the distant lights again, wondering how many ships there were. They were getting closer but didn’t look like they had changed course toward them. She reached out to gauge the sea surrounding the fleet, sensing their course and any shifting direction. They were steady on their course, so she was certain they hadn’t been seen, but she closed her eyes, pushing against the currents around them and shifting them to guide theCursed Soulfaster toward the enclave of rocks.
Cormac steered the ship expertly behind the cay so that they were completely out of sight and Cariin, along with a few other crew members, dropped the anchor. The black sails of theCursed Soulblended into the darkness well enough that they didn’t need to furl them.
There was a small section in the rock that was just large enough to see through to the other side. Well-hidden and settled behind the rocks, Kamira and the crew watched as lines of ships passed by. With limited range, it was impossible to count how many, but she guessed at least twenty, if not many more.
There was no doubt in her mind they were headed for Aksahri. The King in the North was going to claim the South. After many years of unrest, war had finally come to Emmoria.
She didn’t stay to see how many more ships passed. She wanted to check on Doraan, so Kamira ventured into the belly of the ship in search of him. After looking almost everywhere, Kamira realized he had most likely gone to the place he felt most comfortable—the very room she had lived in the past week. Kamira stood outside the room and knocked. "Doraan? Are you in there?"
Silence followed, and she knocked once more. "Doraan?"
An incoherent sound came from the other side.
"Can I come in?"
Another muffled reply.
When she opened the door, she was greeted with the pungent sweet scent of rum. It coiled around her, making her eyes water. A discarded amber bottle rolled along the floorboards.
Kamira coughed. "Skies, did you bathe yourself with that bottle of rum?"
"Wha' do you wanth?" he slurred, pushing himself off his bed into a standing position, instantly stumbling straight into her. She caught him, but his weight sent them tumbling to the floor.
"Oof, Doraan! Get off of me!" She pushed with all her might, but he didn't budge, his weight and size far greater than hers. Breathless, she grunted, “Will you roll over? You’re too heavy.” He began to laugh and she yelled, “Doraan! Get off!”
He rolled to the side, flopping over on his back beside her. "I can' belieth I thought you were a lad."
She turned her head and glared at him. "I think my disguise was rather good, thank you very much."
He guffawed, rolling back and forth with hysterics. "Even a boy of fourteen would be stronger than you."
She sat up and punched his arm. "You take that back! I am stronger than any boy of fourteen."
He only laughed harder, wheezing from the lack of breath, tears running down his face.
It was so youthful, so infectious, that she couldn't help but laugh right along with him, and then a thought sprang to mind that made her laugh just as hard as he did. "I can't believe I cut off all of my hair only to be found out only a few days later."
That sent them both into a fit of uncontrollable laughter that lasted until their stomachs hurt with the effort and they began to come back into themselves. When they were both silent again, Doraan still on his back, Kamira sat beside him and leaned her back against the cabin wall.
He asked, "How long was your hair?"
She smirked, looking down at her hands clasped on her lap. "Down to my waist."
"Bleeding skies, you cut off all that? You should have headed to Jaaria instead, hidden yourself there and avoided the need to blend in on this ship all together."
She huffed a tired breath, exhaustion beginning to take over as she finally had a moment to sit. Doraan sat up beside her, shaking his head slightly. No doubt the room was still spinning from the amount of rum he had drunk.
“I think this was a better option in the end. Even on horseback, I don’t think I could have made it far. The last place they would think to search for me would be on the sea. It was either this or face the gallows in Aksahri. I’d cut my hair off any day to stay alive.”
"Will you ever tell me what happened? What forced you to do what you did?"
She studied his glazed eyes, lids heavy from consumption. "Only if you tell me what made you so upset it drove you to drink an entire bottle of rum."
He grunted, falling back against the hard wood of the floor. "I might need to sober up first."
She nodded and remained quiet for a long time, debating whether to confess. "It was our wedding night."
Doraan sat up again and turned to face her, the haze in his eyes clearing as he gave her his entire focus.
