“He’s a Waterrunner. And one of the best in Solaris, second to me.” Eira wasn’t sure if the remark crossed the line from confidence to arrogance, but she said it matter-of-factly and was ready to be proven wrong, should the time ever come…though she doubted it ever would. “The ship went down on the open sea and they weren’t limiting his magic so he could help them sail. It stands to reason he’d survive.”
“Exactly, they weren’t limiting his magic. Does that sound like the Pillars to you?” Olivin continued to keep his back to her. Eira doubted this was a good thing. “They don’t let people go free, Eira.”
“They let me go free.” She walked slowly to his side, keeping every movement measured and her voice level.
“Because they thought you were working for them.”
“A ruse he performed as well.” Eira could see through to the root of Olivin’s uncertainty. She knew where this questioning came from and it had a name: Wynry. So Eira tried to keep her tone gentle. This situation was scratching at several of his old wounds. “He wassurviving, Olivin. He told them what they needed to hear—just as I did. He wasn’t one of them.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I know him.”
“Youthinkyou do.” Olivin glanced at her from the corners of his eyes and, for the first time since meeting him, Eira didn’t recognize the man. There was an edge to him that Eira realized he’d only ever hinted at. “You think your family is everything—that you can trust them, until the Pillars take it all from you.”
“He is not your sister,” she tried to say as delicately as she was able.
“Not that you know of.” Olivin gave her another challenging look, but Eira didn’t dignify the remark with a response. Her silence prompted him to continue. “Wynry wasn’t someone I would’ve ever thought would turn on our family. She loved me and Yonlin up until the very day that she drove a dagger through my father’s back. All it takes is Ulvarth in your ear and?—”
“Do you think I submitted to Ulvarth because he was ‘in my ear?’” Eira interrupted. “That I’m secretly one of them?”
“What? Of course not.” Olivin looked startled every time she pointed out the contradiction in his logic.
“Then extend the same grace to my uncle.” Eira dared to approach him, settling a hand on his bicep. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the calming effect she might have hoped.
“If he betrays us, it’s on you,” Olivin said coolly.
“I know.” Eira’s hand dropped from his person. Disappointment weighed heavy. “No matter what happens, Olivin, it’s on me—because I am your captain.”
“Then act like one. Look after the people you claim to care about.” He was lashing out with the speed of a whip and Eira felt the sting. But she didn’t flinch.
“What is this really about?” She kept the question calm as she continued to keep her head level. Eira still hadn’t seen Yonlin, but if Alyss and Olivin weren’t at his side, then his condition surely wasn’tthatbad. Yes, Wynry was a wound that might never quite close. But this felt like so much more than fear of another betrayal.
Olivin looked away. “I can’t lose him, Eira. He’s all I have left of my family. I swore I’d keep him safe.”So it was Yonlin, after all.
“I know,” she said gently. If there was one thing she could relate to, it was feeling like you couldn’t protect those you loved. Ever since Noelle’s death, they all seemed to be far more awareat just how mortal they all were, and the dangers the Pillars presented.
“I… We… We lost everything when Wynry betrayed us. Our home. Our standing in society. Our means. There was only Yonlin and me. I want to end Ulvarth, but not if the risks mean it might cost me my brother.”
There was the line. It seemed everyone had a point at which they would back down from their pursuit of Ulvarth. Which meant she had to be even more unflinching. She had to be the one to do it for them all…and for herself. Everyone else had a weakness or a limit Ulvarth could exploit. She had to make sure she was the only one without.
“It won’t.”
He wasn’t taking her reassurances. “You say that, but you can’t keep yourself safe—keep any of us safe. And now you would let a traitor?—”
“Enough.” Eira stopped Olivin before he’d say something he didn’t mean. Something they might not be able to come back from. “You are heard, Olivin.” She grabbed both his hands as if she could be the one to take hold of his fears. “Your concerns are valid; I know why you have them. But I’m telling you, as your captain, that this is my decision. We are going to care for my uncle until he’s mended enough that he can be put onWinter’s Bane, and then he will sail back home to Solaris, where he can be a voice for us on the inside of Solaris’s government. That way, when we do move against Ulvarth, it goes off without a hitch—we will have Qwint and whatever is left of the Solaris armada.”
Eyes locked with hers, Olivin looked as though he were about to object again. But he didn’t beyond another shake of his head. Withdrawing, he said, “I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
He was gone before Eira could formulate a response, leaving a chill colder than the deck of theStormfrostin his wake. Shestared at where he had just stood. Not angry. Not wounded beyond repair. But still hurt. Taking a breath, Eira calmed herself and gave him space. She could only hope that same chill he exuded would lead to a cooler head prevailing by morning.
The next morning, Eira was one of the first up in the entire crew. Notthe first—there was always someone who wasn’t sleeping, because there were always duties to be attended to on a vessel as large as theStormfrost. But she was among the few to greet the dawn.
She wanted to find a moment with Olivin to talk—apologize for the firm note she’d left things on the previous evening. But he was still fast asleep and she didn’t want to wake him. Tensions had run high last night; they’d be okay again soon enough though.
She went to Adela’s cabin bearing the gift of a hot meal. It was odd to see a pirate other than Crow stationed outside her door. But Eira was grateful to have the woman, whom she’d begun to look to as her first mate, onWinter’s Bane. It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment that perhaps such had been Adela’s plan all along. If Crow could grow accustomed to Eira, and Eira to her, it was one less transition.
The pirate stationed didn’t stop her, and Eira wasn’t surprised to see Adela up as well.
