“The visions have shown none of this.” She waved aggressively at the windows overlooking the bow of the ship. “Monstrous beasts have attacked our shipsmultiple times. Many of our soldiers have died. We’ve lost our king. And now a fae, who we never saw coming, walks into our bridge and tries to take command.”
“I am not trying to take command,” I told her. “All I want is—”
“To sail to Aesir, where a realm of monstrous gods and terrifying beasts wish to destroy every last human in this world?” Vera’s lips thinned. “Unfortunately, that is not whatIwant. We will continue the search for our king. And when we find him, we will turn our ships around and go home.”
Alastair shoved past me. He erased the distance between us and Vera. His towering form dwarfed hers, but she stared up at him with a set jaw and fiery eyes. Then she eased her weight off the sword, lifted it, and pressed the blade to his neck.
I moved toward them, but Alastair held out an arm, holding me back.
To Vera, he said, “Well, aren’t you a feisty little thing?”
“I am neither little nor a thing, thank you,” she spat back.
He chuckled, and it sounded almost like a deep-throated purr. I rolled my eyes. If we made it out of the bridge in one piece, he was probably going to ask Vera to join him in a cabin. And I’d have to make myself scarce for a while. I didn’t fancy listening to the noises that man made when he fucked someone.
“Everyone needs to calm down. We’re all on the same side,” he said. “And all we want is to help our people.”
Her furrowed brow softened, but she did not lower her sword. “Leave the bridge. Don’t return or try to influence our decisions moving forward.”
He held up his hands. “If you insist, though surely there must be something I can do to—”
A deafening boom sounded outside. Vera paled and lowered her sword. Alastair turned toward me, his gaze locking with mine. My pounding heartbeat returned.
I didn’t want to think the worst, that the beast had already started another assault on us. But what else could it be?
“Keep your sword at the ready,” I told Vera.
Her voice shook when she replied. “As if this tiny weapon will mean anything against a beast that size.”
“You could chop off one of its tentacles, at least.” I moved toward the door and braced myself for the blood-soaked carnage we’d find on the deck.
When I pushed outside, all was strangely still. No sailors rushed by screaming. No blood painted the wooden planks. The only signs we hadn’t conjured the sound were the sailors clustered on the bow of the ship, gazing toward the distant dark sky.
Somewhere far ahead, a wicked storm churned the blue into a shadowy black.
Vera stepped up beside me, her eyes locked on the horizon. “Oh.”
“You think that sound was from the storm?”
“Yes,” she said tightly. Suddenly, she spun on her heels and went back inside.
Alastair furrowed his brow as he watched her leave the deck. “Hmm.”
I followed her, but not before casting one last look at the storm. There was something strange about it. We’d been sailing toward Sunport, which was south of the Kingdom of Storms. But the churning sky looked even further south than where we were aiming. It looked like it could even be as far as Albyria.
But Albyria never got storms like this. Unless it was god-made.
Clenching my jaw, I followed Vera back into the bridge. She stood over an old, wrinkled map, charting a course to Albyria.
“What’s going on? I thought you were dead set on staying here until you found your king.”
“The storm changes things,” she said flatly.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me why.”
She shoved away from the map, pacing the length of the bridge. The captain and the other lords and ladies had left after the sound, and Alastair and Val were still standing on the deck watching the storm.
“If it’s sensitive information, I’ll vow to keep it to myself.” I motioned to the empty bridge. “It’s just us in here.”
