“That’s right,” muttered Talia. “If she chooses to head into battle half-starved, the stitches in her chest still seeping blood, who are we to question her wisdom?”
Bea’s smile was pale but loving. “Precisely.”
Talia stared heavenward. She was the first out of the carriage when they arrived, practically leaping through the door to escape. Danielle followed with only slightly less speed. The familiar salty mist of the sea sprinkled her skin, and the gulls cried out in greeting.
Prince Varisto stood waiting at the end of the dock. He met her with a slight bow, which Danielle returned.
“I didn’t expect to find you still here,” Danielle said.
Varisto shrugged. “I’m aware of your plans, Princess. As prince of Hilad, I thought you might want to ask my permission before invading my nation a second time.”
“You’ve been in touch with your father?” Danielle watched him closely, but his face was stone. “The emperor still refuses to grant permission for any ship to encroach on Hiladi waters.”
Varisto watched as Snow stepped lightly from the carriage. “My father’s priorities . . . do not match my own. Were you to sail with an escort, one captained by a Hiladi noble, he could hardly object. Lirea knows me and my ship. My presence will assure your safety.”
Talia helped the queen down, while the king assisted from within the carriage. Once Bea was down, the king passed her a polished black cane. Beatrice held both the cane and Talia’s arm for support. “Your ship would never keep up, I’m afraid.”
Varisto stared at the
Phillipa
. “So instead you will take a single ship against Morveren and her air spirits? A ship that has already endured at least two attacks, to my knowledge? I’m amazed she still floats.”
“My ship heals quickly, Prince Varisto.” Beatrice waved to Captain Hephyra.
“Then let me join you on your ship,” Varisto said again.
King Theodore stepped out and studied Varisto. “I’ve spent much of the night trying to negotiate with your father. You would defy his wishes?”
“It’s my duty, both as a prince and as a brother, and—” He blushed and turned away.
“What is it?” Danielle asked.
Varisto shook his head. “Gustan was always the better warrior. Not once was I allowed to forget that fact. All my life I dreamed that one day I would be the one to come to his rescue.”
Theodore’s mouth remained set, but Danielle thought she saw his eyes wrinkle with what could have been amusement. He glanced at the queen, who nodded. To Varisto, he said, “As you say, it would be improper for Lorindar to invade your nation again without permission.”
“Thank you.” Varisto’s lips tightened into a smile. “And when I see my brother again in the next life, I plan to make sure he knows exactly how his little brother had to save him.”
Danielle found Captain Hephyra waiting at the top of the ladder when she boarded the
Phillipa
. The dryad held a thick cudgel in one hand, and her eyes were a darker green than Danielle remembered.
“I remember that one,” Hephyra said, jabbing her weapon at Varisto. “That’s the bastard who attacked my ship, may lightning split his mainmast. What in the name of the king’s right ball is he—”
“He’s here as my guest,” Beatrice said. She climbed slowly, using both hands to pull herself up each rung. Talia and Snow climbed behind, ready to catch her should she fall, but Beatrice made it without help. She took her cane from Talia, then stepped toward Hephyra. “I trust you’ll treat him with the same care and respect you would me.”
“But he—”
Beatrice rapped her cane against the deck. “Is my ship ready?”
“He attacked my—”
“We’re in a hurry, Captain,” Bea said.
Hephyra threw up her hands. “The rudder’s repaired. She’s not stocked for a long voyage, but we’ve managed to load some basic supplies, including four barrels of guts for the princess’ shark friends. As long as you don’t plan to stay at sea for more than a few days, we can cast off any time you’re ready.”
Varisto ran a hand along the rail, then grimaced. He used his teeth to pull a splinter from his palm. Hephyra lowered her head, smiling slightly before turning away.
Danielle tossed a line down to Lannadae, who was swimming beside the ship. “It’s time!”
“Let me swim for a while,” the mermaid shouted. “I can keep up with any human ship.”
“Not
this
one.” Frail as she was, Beatrice’s smile had lost none of its mischief. She leaned heavily on her cane as she made her way to the back of the ship. Once there, she took the wheel with both hands. Some of her pain seemed to slip away. She straightened, and her breathing eased. “Captain?”
“Anchors are raised, Your Majesty,” said Hephyra. If she resented Beatrice’s mastery of her ship, she did a good job of hiding it. “She awaits your command.”
At the front of the ship, the swan carved into the bowsprit spread its wings and let out a deafening cry, a trumpeting sound that echoed from the cliffs. Silver sails unfurled with no human help, and the
Phillipa
leaped away from Lorindar. Danielle stumbled, catching the rail to keep from falling. She wasn’t the only one. Prince Varisto fell to the deck. He had been digging at another splinter but now sat staring in amazement as the docks shrank behind them.
Alongside the ship, Lannadae clung to the rope Danielle had thrown. Danielle and Talia worked with several of the crew to haul the mermaid on board.
Lannadae’s gills were spread wide, and she panted for breath. “I’ve grown so weak. There was a time . . . I would have swum circles . . . around this ship.”
Beatrice looked down and smiled. “Oh, good. Now let me show you what the
Phillipa
can really do.”
The swan trumpeted again, and the masts creaked as the sails snapped taut. The wind wasn’t terribly strong, but the ship sailed forward as though propelled by a gale.
“Can you help Lannadae settle in?” Danielle asked.
Talia nodded. “Where are you going?”
She clutched her stomach and hurried toward the rail. “To lose whatever’s left of my lunch.”
Snow smiled at the sailor. Jeffreys, she thought his name was. He was talking about his time on the
Phillipa,
though his words were growing more and more jumbled. That happened a lot when she gave a man her undivided attention.
The sea spray misting her shirt probably didn’t help matters either.
“I was one of the first to crew the queen’s ship,” Jeffreys said. “Back when the queen gave it to the queen. The fairy queen, I mean. Gave it to our queen. Queen Beatrice.”
“She’s a fast ship.” Snow tilted her head, allowing the wind to catch her hair.
“Yes, ma’am. Very fast.”
Snow gave him one of her best sidelong glances. “Some of us prefer to take things slowly.”
Jeffreys turned a delightful shade of red.
A cough made them both jump. “Don’t you have duties to attend to?” asked the queen.
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned back to Snow, stammered, then fled.
Beatrice sighed and leaned on her cane. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t distract my crew when we’re sailing into a battle.”
Snow shrugged. “Maybe you should get an uglier crew.”
“Isn’t he a little old for you, anyway?”
Snow watched Jeffreys busy himself by the mainsail, checking the lines to make sure they were holding up to the strain of the ship’s speed. The man couldn’t have been more than thirty. Thanks to the price Snow had paid for certain spells, she appeared several years his elder. She tucked her hair back behind her ears, pretending not to notice the strands of white. “I’ll be twenty in a few months, you know.”
Bea stared out at the sea. The sun was nearly set, gilding the waves with fire. “How is your injury?”
“I’m fine,” Snow said automatically. Her headaches had grown worse after the fight in the chapel, and the rolling of the ship did nothing to help her vision, but she would recover.
“You’re a poor liar,” Bea’s smile took the sting from her words. “Your flirting always gets more desperate when you’re upset.”
Snow pulled her hat lower. “What do you mean, desperate?”
“Talia tells me you and Morveren spent a great deal of time together.”
“Talia talks too much.”
That earned a laugh from Beatrice. “Oh, yes.
Talia
is the loquacious one.”
Snow hated being embarrassed. Her pale skin made the slightest blush evident to anyone within view. “Morveren was teaching me magic. I’ve never had a teacher before, not like her. I should have realized what she was. She nearly killed us all to stop us from hurting Lirea, but even then a part of me wished—” She broke off. “Morveren used her magic on the cup in the chapel, and I missed it.”
“As I understand things, Morveren has had more than two hundred years of practice,” Beatrice said. “It’s not your fault.”
Snow was blushing again, remembering precisely what Morveren had said to distract her. How long had Morveren known about Talia’s feelings? Snow looked around for Talia, eventually finding her at the front of the ship with Danielle, watching the waves.
Bea followed her gaze. Thankfully, she misunderstood the intent. “Talia distrusted Morveren from the start, I assume?” When Snow nodded, Beatrice only laughed. “Talia distrusts everyone in the beginning. Even yourself, if memory serves.”
“I’ve never been good at reading people,” Snow said. “Everyone else knew my mother was evil, too. Everyone but me. When I was young, I’d hear the servants whispering. They made me so angry. I thought they were ungrateful and spiteful, filthy little commoners who didn’t understand how great and powerful she really was.” She rubbed her eyes.
“Talia expects to see the darkness in people, and thus she’s more likely to find it,” said Beatrice
“I wonder sometimes if the reason I couldn’t see who Morveren really was is because—”
“You are not like her.” Bea brushed Snow’s hair back from her face. “Nor are you your mother. I trust you.”
Snow closed her eyes, thinking of how she had reached into Talia’s mind, manipulating her thoughts. “I don’t.”
“I know.” Bea kissed her cheek. “Now go. Your friends need you. Particularly Danielle, judging by her shade of green.”
Most of the night passed without incident, once Danielle had imbibed an entire pot of Snow’s ginger tea. Snow used magic to chill the glass, and the tea tasted surprisingly good at that temperature. Of course, that much tea had a price, and Danielle awoke several times that night to visit the head.
Once she stopped to check on Beatrice, who remained on deck. When the queen wasn’t at the helm, she slept in a hastily rigged hammock, staying close to the wheel and Captain Hephyra. Talia remained with her through the night, bringing her food and drink, though she took little of either. Beatrice smiled at Danielle’s concerns and shooed her back to bed.
It was still dark when Danielle woke again. Men were shouting, and she could hear footsteps thudding across the ship. The door creaked open and Talia peeked inside.
“Good, you’re awake. Get out here.”
Danielle glanced at Snow, who had kicked her blankets to the floor and lay sprawled with one arm hanging off the cot. “What’s going on?”
“The watch spotted debris up ahead. Looks like a wrecked ship.”
Danielle grabbed a cloak and hurried out after Talia. “Where are we?”
“We crossed into Hiladi waters a short time ago. Looking at the charts, we should be in position to intercept Morveren by midmorning.”
The crew had lit oil lamps along the sides of the ship. Danielle hurried to the rail, peering at the water. Wooden planks, barrels, and other wreckage bobbed on the surface. “What can I do?”
Talia jabbed a finger at the water. “Those sharks you summoned are still with us, and there could be survivors out there. You might want to tell the sharks not to eat them.”
Danielle leaned out.
There are people in the water. They’re my friends. Show us where they are, but please don’t hurt them.
A scream made her jump. Two sharks circled a man who clung desperately to a broken door. More cries followed as the sharks sought out other survivors.
“Have someone feed them,” Danielle said.“The sharks, I mean. I don’t know how hungry they might be.”
“That ship was Hiladi.” Talia pointed to a broken yardarm. “You can tell by the knots in the lines. They rig their sails more tightly than we do.”
“We should wake Varisto.” As the cold air swept the last of the fatigue from Danielle’s mind, she realized those men who weren’t helping to rescue the wrecked sailors were gathering weapons. “Lirea’s tribe did this, didn’t they? They’ve turned against Hilad.”
“They’ll do worse when they find us,” said Talia.
A breeze caught Danielle’s cloak. She spun, heart pounding. After her encounters with the air spirits, the gentlest wind was enough to make her jumpy. Talia didn’t seem to notice. Her jacket appeared untouched by the wind. Danielle frowned, studying her more closely. “How many weapons do you have weighing that thing down?”