Would the Kemeiran government take the chance to stand behind a different empress? One who would abolish the current regime and make good of her empire? Or would they watch their longtime enemy, the other great empire in this world, burn?
Linn’s trail of thought broke as something stirred in the winds that she always kept with her in the back of her mind.
She looked out sharply. The waters were empty, darkness looming in the silver mist. Why did she have a sense of foreboding, that something was waiting for them out there beyond the fog?
That was when a shout rang out from the crow’s nest.
“Flare!”
The footsteps aboard the deck stopped as all her crew members craned their necks to the skies, searching. Linn squinted, andthere,between the swirls of fog and shadows of night, was the faintest glow. It was a warm color, like orange, or…
Every nerve in Linn’s body stretched taut. It couldn’t be. By her side, she sensed Kaïs’s outline tense. “Color?” she demanded of her barrelman.
“Red!”
Alarm bells pealed in her head. Red, the distress signal. Linn had learned enough to understand that the red flare signal opened your waters to foreign ships for assistance. It was the most desperate of signals.
What could have caused a ship to send this type of a signal?
“What colors does the vessel fly?” she called.
“I can’t see!”
Of course. The fog.
Linn gathered her Affinity, roping it over the still air weaving between the fog. She pushed, and a gust of wind cleaved apart the mist. For a moment, the silhouette of a ship, lit up in an eerie crimson glow, loomed out of the fog. And then the flare faded, the fog rolled back in, and the darkness swallowed whatever had been out there.
But Linn had seen all she needed. The webbed sails fanning behind, in perfect imitation of the wings of a dragon. There was only one kingdom that flew those sails.
“Kemeiran!” came the cry. “A Kemeiran ship, Ambassador!”
Unease tightened her chest. Why had a ship from her homeland come out in the dead of the night, to send out a red flare?
Strong, warm hands gripped her shoulders. She blinked, and Kaïs was in front of her, his eyes steady as they held hers. “Linn—”
Footsteps sounded, approaching. Kaïs pulled back, steppingneatly around her so that he stood by her side to face the newcomer.
“Ambassador.” The slender, straight silhouette of her captain cut through the swirls of fog. The pommel of his sword glimmered at his side, light lancing off from the lamp in his hand. “Distress signal identified. Your orders, please.”
The lamplight cocooned the three of them in a small circle. “Head in the direction of the flare,” Linn replied.
The captain hesitated. “With all due respect, Ambassador, I would advise against. We have extremely low visibility and are inadequately stocked to handle a rescue mission. Not to mention, our primary mission is to get you to Kemeira.”
Linn hesitated. She had no wish to endanger the lives of her crew. And yet…“Captain, we are the only ship within the vicinity. If the ship is in trouble, should we not help?”
“It would also be prudent to understand why a distress signal was sent from a Kemeiran ship, especially as we are about to dock,” Kaïs said. A rush of gratitude filled Linn at the sound of his voice, so steady and sure.
The captain nodded. “Very well. I will send a seadove back to Bregon to alert them of this.”
“Thank you.” Linn watched him turn back and disappear through the fog. She heard his orders as though from a distance,heard the crew scrambling as they made preparations for rescue.
A dark shape cut through the mist to the sound of wingbeats. One of the messenger seadoves had been dispatched to report this to Bregon.
The ship plowed forward. The water sloshed. The fog breathed.
Suddenly, Kaïs tensed. “I sense something.”
Linn opened her mouth, intending to ask him what it was. But at that moment, the fog parted and gave way to clear air, and stole the words from her.
