“The same could be said for you.” She glanced his way.
“Like you, I am not nervous, either. Merely eager.”
“For?”
“To carry on.” Olivin’s tone was hard to read. “This is their homecoming. But I am ready for my own—ready to eliminate the Pillars once and for all and claim retribution for my family. There is no future until that is done.” A sentiment Eira knew all too well. “The sooner we do what we must here, and move along, the better.”
Olivin hadn’t been the closest among them to Noelle, but the ordeal in the mines seemed to have impacted him, too. Perhaps it was the realization of just how far the Pillars’ influence stretched. How they were maneuvering strong allies from all corners of the world. Or he saw how fragile they all were—even though it had been Noelle at the opposite end of a flashfire, it could’ve been any of them, his younger brother, Yonlin, included. If Eira were honest with herself, the skirmish on the sea didn’t help, either.
“I don’t plan on lingering,” Eira assured him.
“Atinybit of lingering might not be so bad.”
“Oh?”
“Perhaps…” His focus dropped to her mouth. Eira gave him a knowing smirk, one he returned. “We might find some time to ourselves once we are on the mainland.”
“Perhaps,” Eira agreed. She opened her mouth, ready to make a few suggestions on what they could do. But she was interrupted by a sudden burst of magic, a minor explosion rattled the side of the ship—a warning shot.
She jerked toward the origin. The small boat that had been meandering out toward them had come alongside. Eira hadsensed them, but she didn’t expect them to come swinging. Her mistake. A man held out his hand, runic bracelets locked into place. Another was spinning his runes, readying them for attack.
Eira gritted her teeth and shifted her feet, prepared to counter when the knight shouted,
“Take one more step, Pirate Queen, and we’ll sink your vessel here and now.”
3
“I’m not sure if I should be flattered that you think I’m mighty enough to be Adela. Or perhaps I should be offended on her behalf that you’d think if I were, you’d be able to best me.” Eira tilted her head, looking down at them both literally and in the metaphorical sense.
“Lies won’t save you this time, Pirate Queen.” With determined grimaces, the two soldiers locked their runes into place on their bracelets, ready to levy unknown magic.
This time?Eira noted with a touch of amusement. Just what had Adela been up to in Qwint?
“I am not your enemy. You have a case of mistaken identity.” The calm coolness of her words cut through the blazing tension. She could almost see the men working to consider this. But they only held out their arms straighter. “I will submit peacefully. There is no need for the sinking of any vessels, or any other bloodshed, today.”
The knights didn’t move a bit. Their skepticism was understandable. If they truly thought she was Adela, they had no reason to believe she’d go peacefully.
“That’s just what Adela would say.” The man went to move, and Eira’s magic surged.
Lavette’s voice shouted over all of them.“Enough!”The woman rushed up from belowdecks.
Took your sweet time, Eira barely resisted saying.
“She’s with me.” Lavette held up a strip of green fabric. It looked like something the Qwint competitors had worn at the tournament. That must’ve been what she’d been searching for.
One soldier relaxed. “Lavette D’astre, daughter of Qwint.”
Her reputation preceded her, and it was going to save their lives.
“This woman speaks the truth. She is not the Pirate Queen Adela,” Lavette said firmly.
“But, the ship…”
“She’s a Waterrunner, from the continent of Solaris, and a fellow champion in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms. We were attacked by a Carsovian scouting ship a few days ago. There were no other means to repair our vessel on the seas so we improvised with the skills available to us. We would’ve all been dead if not for her abilities.” Lavette’s explanation was even. Not hasty or desperate. But not lagging. She held herself with an air of authority greater than any Eira had seen from her to date. This was a woman in her element. “This woman has been working to bring us home.”
Lavette motioned to the hatch and Varren emerged. The men recognized him as well. Though, since they didn’t immediately attach a name, Eira suspected they only knew him because of the sendoff the champions had.
“I… We…” The leader seemed at a loss. His eyes darted between Eira and Lavette. “We were told, explicitly, to sink the ship.”
