There was no point in protesting or trying to correct Crow. Her opinions, like much of the crew, seemed to paint Eira as amusement, insult, and a dangerous enemy. It wasn’t likely to change until Adela corrected them, if Adela ever did.
Crow led her to the cabin Eira had met with Adela in last time. The pirate queen was situated in her same chair, journals out, just as they were yesterday. Crow left without word, but did give a small shove in the center of Eira’s back.
“I trust you were comfortable with your accommodations.” Adela made it sound as though Eira was a real guest and not a prisoner.
“I have no complaints.” They would fall on deaf ears anyway.
Adela glanced up from the journal she was inspecting to study Eira with equal intent. Eira had never been more aware of someone’s gaze than she was as she crossed the room and sat opposite the pirate queen. “I’m surprised to hear it.”
“Really? I thought it would be obvious, given the extent of hospitality you go to for your guests. A balanced meal, my own private room, what more could I ask for?” Eira leaned back in the chair, making herself comfortable. Her back ached from sleeping on hard wood, again. But she wouldn’t show it.
Adela wore a thin smile. “Indeed.”
“But I’m sure you didn’t call me here to discuss how I slept.”
“Not in the slightest.” Adela patted the stack of journals. “You never told me how you came across these. I can only assume my old hideaway was finally discovered?”
“Yes.”
Eira didn’t need further proof of Adela’s astute reasoning, but the pirate queen put it on display anyway. “And since these journals fell into the hands of a young woman, rather than being confiscated by the Solaris crown, it leads me to believe that you did not share its existence with the current leadership of the Tower.”
“I didn’t.”
“Who else knows of its existence?”
“Only one other person,” Eira dodged slightly.
“And that is?” Adela continuing to press the matter told Eira that the answer was important for reasons she could only speculate.
“No one important.” Eira shrugged. She wasn’t about to tell Adela that one of her friends, and one of Adela’s other captives,knew of the secret room. It would be too easy for Adela to just kill off Alyss if she wanted to ensure the secret workroom remained hidden.
Adela shifted, putting her right ankle on top of her left knee. “Come now, Eira, we’re friends. Are we not? Clearly you’re not one to keep secrets from friends.”
Friends. Eira resisted snorting. Adela had been as friendly as a viper.
“It was another Waterrunner,” Eira lied with ease. “They were killed in the trials before I came to Meru.”
“Pity.” There was nothing about Adela that made Eira think she found it a pity at all. The pirate queen was blasé about it at best. “How didyoufind it?”
“I can—could”—the correction was painful—“hear echoes in objects.”
“I’ve heard of this power of yours.” Adela continued to expand on just how many details Ducot had reported about her. “Tell me more.”
Eira wondered if the fact that Adela was asking meant that she could not sense and hear echoes. If that was true, then Eira had knowledge of a skill the pirate queen would no doubt deem valuable. “I’ll tell you. But first, are my friends all right?”
Adela chuckled. “So predictable. Yes, I’ve kept to my word, so far, and they are well.”
The “so far” had Eira less confident than she might have otherwise hoped, but there wasn’t much more that she could do in her current circumstances. So she kept her word as well, hoping that any favor she could earn with Adela would pay off when it came to her friends.
“The echoes, as I call them, are a kind of unintentional vessel. I believe they’re made when someone with significant power possesses a strong emotion while having a conversation, activating their power. Or, perhaps, uses their magic whenspeaking. Either way, the key is that the words are tied in with the magic.”
“Much like creating a vessel to capture words intentionally…” Adela mused, stroking her chin. Eira nodded. The practical theory was all there. “And you heard one of these unintentional vessels that led you to my old hideaway?”
“Yes.”
“What was it that you heard?”
Eira hesitated, not because she’d forgotten—she could never forget those words—but because she wasn’t sure how Adela would take to the truth. What if it had been a secret? Adela’s icy eyes continued to stare, breaking down all of Eira’s walls.
