The massive first-raterTriumphlay at anchor among half a dozen other vessels, sails furled to leave only her colors to the wind: the war-pennant of the Aeadine North Fleet.The colors of Admiral John Rosser Howe, my uncle and the man who had rescued Ben and I from the Black Tide, twenty years ago.
Triumphhad still been ashore last time I saw her, at the naval docks in Ismoathe.Her wooden ribs were now clad and painted a pristine white with bold blue gunports and rails.Her name was painted in equally regal blue across her stern, just facing us, and outlined with golden gilt.The glass of her stern windows was so fine and clear that I could see movement within.I could almost imagine my uncle at his desk, cool sunlight pouring across his ledgers and charts.But he would likely be at the fort.
“What ill fortune.”Ben drew up to my other side and blew out his cheeks with childish displeasure.
“Is that Captain Irving’s ship?”Mary asked, voice low with concern.
“No,” Ben answered before I could.“Our uncle’s, Admiral Rosser.”His eyes slid to me.“When was the last time you spoke?”
“When I forfeited my commission.”I could not pry my gaze from the massive vessel.Insecurities flickered through me, not least shame at the state ofHart.We had retitled him and begun to repaint his hull during the voyage, eager not to be blown apart by our own ships, but the task was not complete.
The admiral knows now.He knows it was not you with Ms.Irving, a voice whispered in the back of my mind—a calloused, selfish version of myself.It was Ben who would receive the full force of our uncle’s censure, not I.
And from the shadows in my brother’s eyes, he knew it too.
***
Admiral Rosser had aged little in the years since I had last seen him.The bloodline that had given Ben and I our strong jawlines had perhaps overextended with him, giving his clean-shaven profile the look of a spade.His head, I knew, was bald beneath a fine chestnut wig, scented with citrus, and his gold-buttoned, deep-indigo frock with its thick black collar and glistening pips carried the perpetual musk of cologne and cigars.His eyes were broad-set and dark-lashed, tempering the overall strength of his features and hinting at a subtle insight.
He surveyed us for a long moment as we entered the small, oakpaneled study, evidently making up his mind about something.Finally, once the door was closed, he shook his head.“My instinct is still to call you boys and offer you toffee.Sit, Captains Rosser.”
For an opening salvo, that was much kinder than I had anticipated.
Ben gestured for me to take the only chair on the other side of the admiral’s desk and pulled up a second, heavily upholstered with flourishes and waves for himself.It clattered a little too much, and Admiral Rosser’s eyebrow crooked.
“Uncle,” Ben said, sitting.
“Admiral,” I intoned, giving a small bow before seating myself.
“Let me make several observations.”Admiral Rosser laced his fingers together on the desk.“Last I heard, you, Benedict, had been drowned off the coast of Mere.And you, Samuel, had sailed south into Mereish waters in pursuit of a pirate on behalf of the Usti Crown.Am I to now understand that you… happened across one another, during that unsanctioned and entirely foolhardy venture?”
“Matters are a great deal more complex,” I admitted.I had planned this conversation a dozen times since I saw the admiral’s flag over the fort, but my chosen words suddenly felt inane.I had expected to begin with Ben and his downfall, not less personal matters.“The Usti remain a neutral party, Admiral, as I know you are well aware, and so my venture into Mereish waters is no concern of the Aeadine.”
“Ah, yetyouknow how these matters are perceived,” the admiral parried.“You are Aeadine, a former officer.Papers.Politics.Perception.Your ties to me.You have antagonized our greatest enemies in a time of active war, not to mention one of chaos—I speak of the high tides, which have been ravaging our coastlines.Many of the outer islands are submerged, did you note that?And four moons have been seen in the sky.Not only by Sooths, either.”
“Yes, sir.”I forged ahead, keeping my voice and expression relaxed.“And I have much to say on the matter.But as to how Ben and I came together, during my pursuit of the pirate I sensed my brother’s presence and was able to rescue him.In the course of that venture, we uncovered many things, all of the utmost importance.”
Ben picked up the narrative, briefly outlining the Mereish’s advances in magecraft and the suppressive efforts of the Ess Noti.Then I spoke up again, revealing the reality of the Mereish Fleet’s invasion and the upcoming Black Tides.
I did not, however, speak of Maren or Ms.Alamay.Ms.Alamay I had decided not to reveal of my own accord—another step, I hoped, towards earning her trust.But the Mereish man had come to me the night before we reached Renown and beseeched me not to reveal his presence aboard my ship, nor his skills for the time being.
“I would be prisoner again, this time of your people rather than mine,” Mr.Maren had pointed out, and I could not contradict him.
He had, however, sent me with a stack of notes regarding his trade.
“Here is all we learned,” I said, withdrawing the packet and sliding them across the desk.“However, I still have more to tell you.”
My uncle raised his brows.“You have just informed me that we are on the brink of invasion and half the coastal villages will be swept away within a month.How can there be more?”
“Mereish Separatists claim that the Usti have been manipulating both the Mere and the Aeadine into continued conflict, thwarting attempts at peace, fabricating incitingincidents, and so forth.I cannot say whether I believe their claims.But they must be aired, regardless.”
My uncle let out a long sigh and opened a desk drawer.He pulled out a cigar case and tossed it, open, on the desk with uncharacteristic carelessness.
“There have always been such claims,” he said as he clipped the end off one, then two, then three, and passed them to each of us before he retrieved a candle and set it between us.“Conspiracies and hidden hands, knives in the dark and false colors.Why should I pay these rumors any mind?”
He lit his cigar, puffing slowly.Ben and I followed suit, and I took a deep inhale before I spoke again.“I do not know enough to make claims.I simply wanted to bring the information to your attention and leave it with your better judgement.These are matters that you, I presume, are more educated on than I.”
A hint of amusement crinkled the admiral’s eyes.“Your tact has always been admirable, Samuel, but that was heavy-handed.I can tell you little of what I know or suspect, even if I should know or suspect it.In fact, I must dissuade you from this topic entirely and encourage you to look to your own good in these troubled times.”
