Her eyes are glassy and red around the rims. So is the tip of her button nose. She glares at me from behind her desk.
“What do you want, witch?”
“I came to check on you.”
“And why in gods’ names would you do that?”
“Because,” I sigh, slinking further into the room. “That was your father. In the cave.”
She steels herself. “And?”
“I can’t imagine having to do that. To see that.”
Her icy gaze falls to the jug of clear liquor sitting on her desk. She pours some into a crystal glass and tosses it back.
“I’ve done worse. And I’ll do more before my time here is up.”
I help myself to the empty seat across from her. “I lost my father too.”
Her smart blue eyes land on mine. “Do you think that makes us the same? That we’re now bonded by the sisterhood of dead fathers? Shall we braid each other’s hair and exchange dark secrets?”
I prop my chin on my hand. “You really are a bitch, aren’t you?”
She snorts a laugh, twirling the empty glass in her hand. “Suppose I am.”
“You’re not made of steel. You don’t have to pretend you are. Feeling doesn’t diminish your strength.”
“Doesn’t it though?” She gives me a sober look, then twists around to grab a second glass from the bar cart. I watch as she fills both and slides one across the desk to me.
“Here.” I eye the drink, then her. “Don’t worry, I used up all my poison earlier.”
I accept the glass, lifting it into the air. “Cheers. You fucking owe me.”
“Fine, Blackblood. I owe you.”
Our glasses clink.
“Look.” I plop my forearm on the desk. Two pink crescent moons peer back at us. “Twin scars. It’s kind of badass.”
A reluctant smile spreads on her lips. Shaking her head, she kicks her feet up on her desk and reclines back in her chair.
“Yes. I suppose it kind of is.”
* Cue:Mamma Miaby ABBA
50
SERENA
The Pirate King’s heeled boot collides with the door, forcing it open with a loud crash. We spill into the foyer, herded by pirates holding cutlasses to our throats.
It’s all an act, of course. We know each of them by name. Have gotten drunk with them for the last week on our trip north. And now we’re performing with them.
“What a dump.” The Pirate King scans the hall, dusting off her hands and the remnants of blue powder she used to knock out the behemoth soldiers standing guard. “Knock, knock, anybody home?”
“ALIX!” Eaton’s shout echoes down the spacious torchlit hall.
The princess peels around the corner, her face shifting from confusion to ire. The two guards at her back draw their swords as she pops a dagger from her belt.
