Her head jerked toward the docks. The rain still pounded on them in fat drops. It was coming down so heavily that it was almost hard to see the nearest building across from them.
Yet the only sounds on the boat were his footsteps and the soft drips of their clothes.
“Olivin…” Eira whispered weakly. He didn’t hear.
“Eira, you should have told me you were going to invite more friends,” Adela said coolly. One hand on her icy cane, the other outstretched, clacking her nails against each other. “I would’ve prepared better for another guest.”
The chill that had crept up her spine hollowed her throat with a soundless scream. Rain diverted over the boat as if dripping off an invisible shield. It streamed in rivulets down over either side, falling into the river.
“I can explain.” Eira moved with slightly jerky movements. The muscles in her chest were wound tight, quivering with her breath. Was she being frozen over? Or was it sheer terror that had her fighting shakes throughout her body?
“Perhaps you should.” Adela hummed, looking to Olivin. “He certainly isn’t going to.”
Eira’s attention darted to her friend. Olivin was frozen, mid-step. Every instinct told her to run over to him. To check and make sure he was alive. But Eira stayed in her spot, not wanting to give Adela any reason to react in a more aggressive way.
Her head was splitting, trying to calculate every choice, weighing every option.
“He was coming to save me. I told him I didn’t need saving,” she said honestly. “So he was going to leave.”
Adela walked over to Olivin, the tapping of her cane somehow louder than the rain. Every time it crashed into a puddle, flashes of ice crackled across the deck, hissing in the summer heat. She came to a stop before Olivin. Eira couldn’t see his face, but she could see Adela’s. The lines in her forehead deepened as she studied him, brow furrowing.
“Yet another at your beck and call.”
“He’s nothing more than a friend.” Eira swallowed thickly; the words didn’t taste entirely true. “Let him go, please.”
“Fine. I don’t need another mouth to feed.” Adela waved her hand as she stepped to the side. Olivin jerked forward, gasping. His hands went up to his throat. Eira inhaled slowly, exhaling relief. Adela looked down at the elfin man. She wasn’t particularly tall—Olivin could loom over her if he wasn’t hunched. Yet, Adela stood as strong and ominous as a black flag. She leaned forward slightly to whisper in his ear—loud enough for Eira to hear while making direct eye contact with her. “If you tell anyone I am here, I will find you and I will kill you. I will slaughter everyone you have ever held dear. Do you understand?”
Olivin managed a nod.
“Good. Get off my boat.”
He did as he was told, movements fluid enough to reassure Eira that he was once more in control of his body. She knew without doubt he was all right when he paused at the railing,looking back at her. Eira gave a small nod and he swung over, landing on the dock. The rain pounded his shoulders as he slipped into the night.
“Come, Eira,” Adela commanded, starting for her cabin. Eira followed in a daze. As soon as she and Adela were inside, the rain began hammering the boat, the barrier dropped. When Eira crossed the threshold of the door, all the moisture was pulled from her skin and clothes, sucked back outside, puddling on the deck.
Eira inspected her suddenly dry cloak. “How much magic can you manage at once?”
“Enough.” Adela headed to her usual chair, sitting in it heavily. The pirate queen did a good job of concealing any pain or hardship, but Eira had grown to suspect that her cane wasn’t a fashion choice.
“When I have my magic back, will you teach me how to stop rain? How to manage many things at once?”
“What makes you think I have any interest in teaching you my secrets?”
“I already know half of them.” Eira shrugged.
“Tell me, are there any more friends of yours I should know about?”
Eira noticed she’d changed the topic, but didn’t call attention to it. Adela would share her secrets or not, when the time came. There was little Eira could do to force it now, or then.
“I hope not.” Eira sighed, sinking into her usual seat.
“Good, I can only handle so many new mouths to feed at a time.” Adela shook her head and flipped through a ledger, exchanging it for another. It was odd to see the pirate queen, the infamous Adela, poring over records while resupplying in port like a regular ship captain would. What little Eira had ever imagined of piracy was nothing but high seas looting and pillaging.
“Are you…payingfor your supplies?” Eira couldn’t stop herself from asking.
Adela glanced over her shoulder with a slight smirk. “You didn’t think the pirate queen paid for anything, did you?”
“Well, honestly, no.”
