“Why so skeptical, milady?” asked Omar, appearing on my other side so stealthily, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I kept my back to him, refusing to show my surprise. “We pirates might not think much of other laws, but the laws of the King of Pirates are absolute.”
Somehow, I wasn’t reassured.
“Wait until you see your lord husband’s transformation tonight,” Safira said with a musical giggle. “Then you’ll understand what sort of place this is.”
I was growing uneasier by the second. “The last thing I want is to spend more time with your captain,” I grumbled.
“Ah, the problem of many a married couple. Except us, of course,” Omar amended.
Now that made me turn. I glanced between Omar and Safira. “You two are married?”
“To each other, no less,” Safira said with a heartier laugh.
The proud grin Omar wore said it all. He practically beamed as he moved closer to his wife. “I think she’s heard the tales, dear, that no man can win the heart of a siren. Fortunately, I’m a very extraordinary man, and Safira is a very special sort of siren.”
With a “hmph,” I turned and continued to followCarabosse’screw through the cobbled streets. They’d find that the heart of an Aeglean shield-maiden’s daughter was much harder to win than a siren’s.
The deeper we traveled into the city, the more my legs, now so used to the sea, began to ache. The wealthy, polished streets were like a labyrinth filled with riots of flowers, some tropical and others I recognized from the northern isles. The heat wasn’t helping, either, tiring me quickly. Like Aegle, the air was warmer than would be typical for this latitude, the waters somehow bluer. I suspected there were trade winds and warm water currents at play.
Unlike Aegle, the soil was sandy and soft. The slight lean to so many of the buildings we passed—some jutting out over the street—attested to that.
“Impressed?” Omar asked as our party rounded the corner, heading north.
“Perplexed,” I answered.
He chuckled. “What about?”
“What’s the point of all this?”
“Wealth, of course,” Safira replied for him.
“Don’t forget power. Wait till you see the captain’s Bard.”
“He has a personal bard?”
“Not a performer, lass. The Bard—his estate. There’s one for each of the lords of Starfall.”
“Well isn’thegrand,“ I muttered, only to be forced to swallow my words.
A sprawling white villa with a red clay roof appeared at the end of the street, surrounded by sloping green fields. I knew before Omar pointed that it belonged to Jax.
All the inhabitable parts of Aegle would’ve fit on those lands, with room to spare. Why in Aestas’s name did Jax need this stupid treasure? Didn’t he already have enough?
I realized Omar was still talking. “So it’s said that the Lords of the Bards were thought to be called ‘beards’ when they reached that land, and the titles of Goldenbeard, Silverbeard, Bluebeard, Redbeard, Whitebeard and Blackbeard were born. Pirates have been living here for centuries. But under the pirates’ council, our people have thrived. Not bad for a bunch of outcasts, eh?”
I smiled weakly, pretending I had heard his history lesson. I doubted much of it was true. These pirate lords—Jax especially—were as crooked as the isle’s houses.
“I suppose that purple gown of Sofie’s is ruined,” I heard Safira murmur, already deep in another conversation.
“What’s she going to wear to the ball, then?” asked the Lady de Gorm, copying Omar’s trick and appearing out of nowhere. I gritted my teeth in an effort not to startle. “Can’t have her dressed likethatand shaming our lord captain.”
My brows flew high. “Aball?”
“There’s no time to make her anything from scratch,” Safira agreed, “but maybe something can be hemmed.”
The Lady hissed. “I won’t be the one to touch Ama’s things. Areyougoing to do it?”
“What other choice is there?” Safira retorted. “If you’ve other ideas, now’s the time to say so!”
