“You might not be powerful enough.”
“I will be,” Eira vowed. She thought of what Olivin had said—that he would carve a world with his own hands that’d be safe for him, and Yonlin, and her. “I’m making myself powerful enough. I will be the monster that guards your door.”
“Perhaps.” The smile that Alyss wore didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Eira could only return the slight, tired expression. But when she opened her mouth to speak next, she was interrupted by theabrupt opening of the cabin door. Jolted to her feet by how it slammed against the cabin wall.
“Eira,” Cullen panted, wide-eyed and pale-faced.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“You—on deck?—”
Eira was already moving as he struggled to speak. In her mind, a thousand possibilities swirled. They were under attack again. The Pillars had brought the entire force of Meru’s navy. Ulvarth himself had come.
Cullen grabbed her wrist just before she pushed past him into the rain, halting her. Their sides were flush. Faces forced within a breath by the narrow opening of her cabin.
“It’s your uncle.”
21
For a second, Eira was too stunned to move. To even speak. She stood there, replaying the words over and over in her head.
“He’s…here,” Cullen managed, realizing how impossible it sounded.
Eira gave a slight nod, not trusting herself to speak as she emerged back onto the deck of theStormfrost. The rain was beginning to lessen. The fat drops that had plopped heavily on the deck had now thinned to little more than a mist. The clouds broke into patches, giving more opportunities for moonlight to stream down.
The deck of theStormfrostwas still mostly dark. Adela only kept a few magical lanterns that glowed with a pale blue, bioluminescent moss—taken from the Twilight Kingdom, Eira had heard. Running a dark ship helped them slip by undetected and gave them the element of surprise.
So Eira couldn’t make out the features of the crowd of sailors. But she did see Adela standing among them. Her clothing, a pale white and gray, reflected the light as though her body were entirely made of snow and ice, not just one arm and leg. The pirate queen shifted, no doubt sensing Eira’s approachrather than hearing or seeing her, given the commotion that surrounded Adela.
“Cullen seems to think you know this man, and he claims the same.” Despite having two people vouch for it, one whom Adela knew personally, she still sounded skeptical.
The crew that had encircled the man parted, allowing her through. Eira halted the second her eyes landed on the hunched figure. He was waterlogged—soaked to the bone and bound. A gag had been stuffed into his mouth, though he wasn’t even attempting to speak, at least not at this point.
But the hair that was slicked against his head was undeniably golden, highlighted by the light of a lonely lantern that one of the crew held. His eyes, as they rose to her, widened to the point that there was no mistaking their shade of blue. They immediately welled with tears, brow furrowing in relief.
Eira stepped forward and knelt. She reached around and grabbed one of the ties of the knot on his gag and pulled, freeing it from his face. She’d never seen her uncle with stubble before, or shadows quite so dark underneath his eyes.
“Eira.” Her name was little more than a shocked exhale.
“Hello, Uncle,” she said loudly enough for all of the crew—Adela included—to hear. She didn’t want any of them getting any ideas that he was going to be thrown overboard. “You keep surprising me by showing up in the place I least expect.”
“This time, I can say the same for you.” He choked on his emotions a moment, struggling to quickly collect himself. “And here I thought having the ship sunk and being captured by pirates would be the death of me. Never before have I been so relieved to find out Adela and theStormfrostis not a myth.”
“Neither is my cruelty,” Adela added with all the bitterness of winter.
“Captain.” Eira gave the pirate queen deference, especially when she was about to ask her for yet another favor so soonafter receiving such a significant gift. “I’d like to ask for some fresh clothes from the supply, and a hot meal for my uncle. He’s a talented Waterrunner and can lend his aid to the vessel in any way befitting of his skills before we send him on his way.” Eira covered the other oppositions Adela might have—that there were no handouts on theStormfrostand that Eira wasn’t about to ask for yet another member to be added to the crew. She needed time to figure out what to do with him, though.
Adela narrowed her eyes slightly. She raised her cane, bringing it to Fritz’s chin and lifting it to look him in the eyes. Disapproval radiated off of her.
“If you so much as blink in a way I do not like, I will kill you and her for it.”
Fritz opened and closed his mouth, unable to formulate a response.
In the wake of his stunned silence, Adela lowered her cane and turned, starting back for her cabin. “You all have work to do, I believe.”
The crew collectively gave Eira wary and uncertain looks. Even as Adela’s declared heir, they became so skeptical of her so quickly. Not that she blamed them when she continued pushing her luck at every turn.
