CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
The power is a drug, and the queen is addicted. It is tied to our bond, and I’m learning to control it.
—Hidden correspondence from Bayne to Khato.
The whir of a tea kettle brought me back to consciousness, and I blinked my eyes open as Marian’s forest green dress swished past. Cedar swarmed my senses, and I stiffened. I was back on theHydra.
“How is your head?” Marian signed as she approached.
I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose as I did so, the head in question absolutely pounding.
“Why am I on theHydra?” I asked, doing my best to keep the bile in my stomach down.
“Prison’s been attacked,” Marian signed back.
The world spun as I sat up.
“What do you mean? When?” I asked, frantic. This couldnothappen again. The bloody fields of Odessa hovered like a wraith in my mind.
“It’s under control,” she signed back, placing her hands on my shoulders and easing me back down. “Aquila spotted them through the clouds. Minimal casualties.”
Shit.Shit.
“We need to get to Skyscape Passnow,” I said, realizing Marian was right and that I needed to keep horizontal, for now.
She nodded as she poured a mug of tea. “They are on their way,” she signed before handing it to me.
I opened my mouth, and she let out an exasperated sigh.
“We’re sailing around the south of the continent to reconvene with the rest of Lord Astraeus’s forces and meet up with the Rising in Khasimir. Vulcan, Vienah, and Evony are here. Well, Evony’s somewhere. Probably out for a ride on your caeluma. That girl,” she signed, shaking her head. “Adolescent and pigheaded.”
Marian rolled her eyes as she moved to the corner of the room where a washbasin sat. I leaned back, heaving a disgusted sigh.
“You are concussed,” she signed, turning toward me once more. “Don’t think about taking Tiberius for a ride. You’ll tumble right off.”
By the next evening,I was steady enough to wander above deck to find a group of men huddled together, many kneeling on the ground as they tossed three six-sided dice to the ground. The various celestial symbols on their sides somersaulted before landing, causing a chorus of hollers to rip through the crowd.
The loser stood and shook his shoulders out, cracking his neck as he raised his fists and turned to face a hulking formstanding to the side. Vulcan, I realized, as his brows narrowed in anticipation and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips.
They sparred for less than a minute before Vulcan pinned Astraeus’s man to the deck. The pirates howled in laughter, cheering in delight as they exchanged wagered goods.
I crossed my arms as I approached, doing my best to blend into the men in the back and stay unnoticed. Vienah moved to my side, grinning as she watched.
“It’s called Goddess Gift,” she whispered, nodding to the game. Her grin widened as she took in Astraeus, crouched at the center, grinning from ear to ear.
To my greatest displeasure, Astraeus’s dark gaze found me. Vienah blossomed as his eyes skipped to her, and she straightened, striding forward as his men parted and finding a seat on his knee.
“Join us,” he called, raising his dark brows at me.
I pulled my gaze away and looked pointedly at Vulcan before arching a brow.
“When you all are done measuring the lengths of yourswords,” I called, glancing back at Astraeus, “I’d have a word with you.”
Astraeus’s grin widened, and the enderleaf smoke between his lips dipped. His white teeth flashed in the lantern light as Tiberius’s hooves pounded down the deck.
I whirled toward Ti and gaped as Evony slid off his back, beaming ear to ear. The game picked up again behind us.
“You were out flying?” I asked, incredulous.
