“No, you don’t.”
“Pardon?” That gave her pause.
“You have a cabin.”
20
“Cabin?” Surprise raised the word slightly at the end.
“Yes.” Adela paused, her gaze as sharp and piercing as the icicles that hung outside of her windows. “You didn’t honestly think I would have my chosen heir to theStormfrostsleeping with the rest of the crew, did you?”
There was alotto that statement and Eira didn’t know where to start. “What about my ship,Winter’s Bane?”
Adela hummed. “Not a bad name. I appreciate the homage. Worry not, Crow and Ducot will see she stays afloat.”
“I should be on my vessel.”
“Thisis the only vessel you should truly care about.” Adela tapped her cane for emphasis. “You will have many ships under your command, Eira. They will come and go. Sometimes, you will evenchooseto sacrifice them. But this ship is the one that your loyalty, focus, and heart must return to. Everything else is little more than pretty bits of wood. They will come and go, but theStormfrostis the flagship—the symbol of all I have built and all you will inherit. As long as she sails, the terror of the seas lives on.”
The way Adela spoke was like a teacher to a pupil. Or, perhaps…a mother to a daughter. Her tone was still as bitingas the wind over the deck of the ship. Her gaze was harsh. But somewhere between the cold warnings, Eira saw compassion and understanding. Just the same as she could hear between those words that Adela wasn’t simply warning her about ships. She was talking about people. Those that would come, and go, and sometimes require sacrifice.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Eira said, on every level. At least, her mind understood. But her heart was still raw from Noelle. Or was that what Adela was speaking to?It wasn’t your fault, was the softest whisper to those words, a balm in the only way the pirate queen knew how to give.
“Good. This way.” Adela led her out onto the deck and immediately off to the side, where there was now a small door.
Eira struggled to remember what this space had been previously. Storage? Part of Adela’s cabin? It was an impossible addition to the vessel, but the ship was occupied by some of the strongest sorcerers Eira had ever known and their leader was one of the greatest of them all. If there was any way to siphon off a little bit of space from here and there, perhaps bump out the side of the vessel a tiny bit more, Adela would find it.
A slight curl of Adela’s lips broke her usually stoic demeanor as she opened the door. “It’s not much, but it’s yours. Just don’t go expecting your own door guard.”
Eira sucked in a breath as slowly as possible in an attempt to cover her surprise. She stared at the small room. “Thank you.”
“Don’t disappoint me, or I’ll have to kill you.” Adela’s usually cold mask snapped back into place at the sound of Eira’s gratitude. The pirate queen who feared nothing seemed to be willing to do anything to hide the slightest bit of affection. But, at the same time, would make a gesture as grand as this.
“I know.” Eira gave her a slight smile.
With a huff and a mutter of having more important things to do, Adela walked off.
Eira knew she should go find her friends. Adela had immediately called on her following the fight and there hadn’t been time for her to do much other than verify by sight thatWinter’s Banewas still afloat, her crew seemingly intact on its decks. Surely, if they weren’t fine, someone would’ve come and told her by now, wouldn’t they?
Stepping over the threshold, Eira found herself enveloped in the quiet embrace of her very own haven. Much like the inside of Adela’s cabin, or the lower decks, the frost hadn’t crept beyond the doorjamb. Eira closed the door behind her so the rain didn’t pour in and leaned against it, her eyes tracing every detail of the narrow room.
Wooden panels lined every wall, warm in comparison to the ice outside. A medley of soft blankets and furs was piled at the foot of a narrow bed, against the back wall, as though the individual who helped Adela set up the cabin couldn’t have been bothered to actually make the bed. Shelves were tucked into the wall at Eira’s left, opposite a porthole on the right—the only source of light, save for a dark lantern.
Her hands trembled and a lump grew in her throat. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t particularly special in any way…but it washers. Adela had taken time, and energy, and space from the very thing she loved most—theStormfrost—to give toher.This wasn’t just a cabin, it was a public declaration of acceptance. Of all Adela had promised her in private and hadn’t said in so many words.
It was…home.
A knock on the door had her jolting, spinning, and pulling it open.
“I was told I could find you here.” Alyss smiled tiredly. “Mind if I come in?”
“Please do.” Eira stepped back. There wasn’t much room to step aside in the narrow space. To pass each other would require the two of them being pressed against opposite walls and still having to squeeze.
Alyss entered, pulling the door shut behind, no doubt having the same idea about the rain as Eira did. She held out a familiar pack. “I brought your things.”
“Thank you,” Eira said as Alyss did her own visual sweep of the room.
