But as I sipped the finest brandy on Serai, my thoughts turned away from the jewel. It was beautiful and probably worth more than the Lu-Ken, maybe even more than ten ships. But the only treasure I could think of, the only jewels that could hold my attention, were King Vaxarion's eyes. And one thought kept circulating through my brain.
He had come for me.
Chapter Seventeen
Since I was the one who had found the gem, I got to accompany Teng on his quest to discover what the fuck it was. Luckily, we didn't have far to go. The historian lived only one town over, in Yusa. Thankfully, it was inland. I needed to get away from the Morilren Sea. Even the water seemed to call to me, summoning me back to the man who ruled it.
Riding horseback helped. The speed. The feeling of freedom. Power. Distance. I was a man of the sea, but I could still appreciate the joys of land. You could ride sea creatures, and it was enjoyable, but this was a completely different feeling. For one thing, if you fell off a sea mount, you wouldn't hurt yourself. The element of danger in riding a horse added to the exhilaration. But I had faith in our rented mounts. They were strong and sure, carrying Teng, Ry, and me rapidly down the cobbled road to Yusa. We reached the town by nightfall. Still, the historian's bookshop was already closed.
Teng knocked anyway.
Knocked again.
Peered in the windows.
“Klen!” he called. “It's Tengven. Come on. I know you're in there. We have something very interesting for you to examine. I promise you'll want to see this.”
Nothing.
“I've also got a bottle of Zaruian brandy as payment for your help.”
The sound of footsteps came, and Teng chuckled. Soon, the door was opened by a hunched human, his hair gray but tidy, pulled back in a braid. He had a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles on his nose and wore striped pajamas.
“Teng, you bastard,” Klen grumbled and grabbed the bottle Teng held out like a shield. “You have the worst timing. As usual.”
“You won't care about my timing in a few minutes, my friend,” Teng said. “Now, let us in.”
“Yeah, yeah. Come on in.” He turned and pulled a light cord.
A modest space filled with shelves, both on the walls and in rows across the floor, appeared in the golden glow. Those shelves were filled to the top with books, some of them crammed horizontally atop others and a few locked behind glass panels. We went inside, closing and locking the door behind us, then followed Klen past the books to a little room with a desk and three chairs. The old man sat down behind the desk, set the bottle down, and drew a brandy snifter out of a drawer.
“Allow me,” Teng said and pulled the same maneuver with this bottle as he had the last, using his dagger to pop the cork. Then he poured a little into Klen's glass.
Klen waved him on.
Chuckling, Teng poured a bit more. “This is my First Mate, Ry, and my son, Zixin.”
I jerked in shock. Teng had never introduced me as such before. He glanced at me, a soft grin flashing over his face. I grinned back.
“Son, eh?” Klen peered at me. “I didn't know you had children.”
“Just the one,” Teng said. “Adopted when he was a teenager.”
“Ah.” Klen sipped his brandy, sighed, then said. “All right, you rascally pirate. What have you stolen this time?”
Teng pulled out the stone and set it on the desk before the old man.
The old man flinched. Sat forward. His breath rasped over the jewel. Hands shaking, he picked it up and held it at eye level. “Dear Gods,” he whispered. “It can't be.” He jerked his hand down but didn't let go of the jewel. “Where did you get this?”
“Off a Hulfrin ship,” Teng said without hesitation. Which meant he trusted this man. “You recognize it.”
“Maybe.” Klen stood up and pushed past us, back into the shop. “Just maybe.”
We followed him out and stood to the side as he wandered along a shelf, muttering to himself. At last, he pulled out a book and flipped it open. Still gripping the stone, he took the book to the counter and set it down. Pages sped by. Then stopped. Klen held up the stone. Sat it down on the page. Stood back.
As if it might explode.
“Great fuck,” Klen whispered. “Teng, you've really fucked up this time.”
