20. Kianthe
Chapter twenty
Kianthe
G etting Bobbie awake and alert enough for a conversation took the better part of the following morning. The crew relocated to rooms at Lathe’s inn, sleeping off their hangovers—except Darlene and Joe, of course, who spent their time adjusting sails for the short trip to Viviana’s hidden cove and complaining that they were too young to drink.
“It’s just ridiculous,” Darlene muttered at one point. “Like I’ve never snuck a sip of dad’s wine.”
“Not going to work, Darlene.” Serina, as the ship’s captain, had strolled onto deck bright and early—but it was obvious even she’d enjoyed the evening a bit too much. She spoke quietly, hid her eyes under the tripoint hat, and seemed grateful that it was a perpetually gloomy day.
The young girl heaved a sigh. From the rigging, Joe rolled their eyes. “I don’t know why you’d want to drink. Just makes you stupid.”
“It looks fun!”
Serina offered an exasperated glance to Reyna, who was helping tie off the lines. Reyna ducked her head to hide a laugh, yanking a knot tight.
Kianthe, meanwhile, ducked into the captain’s quarters. Bobbie was lying in bed, but she was awake. She glanced up when Kianthe closed the door behind her, then breathed a sigh—of relief, or disappointment? Tough to say.
“Serina’s still not talking to me, huh?” Her neutral tone felt forced.
Stone-bless that Kianthe and Reyna were past this “does she, doesn’t she” point in their relationship. Kianthe flopped onto the bed’s edge, rolling her eyes. “You two are exhausting to watch. You know that, right?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bobbie sounded more alert than previous days, but even sitting upright was clearly still painful. It was probably good they were in Lathe now, near an actual, trained doctor. He’d already paid a visit, Kianthe knew.
The mage waved a hand. “If you want to talk to Serina, she’s literally right outside.”
“It’s… um. It’s hard to stand.”
“Sure, that’s the reason.” Kianthe snorted. “Unfortunately, we’re relocating the Knot for Sail and staying in Lathe for a short while, so you’ll see her anyway. Someone has to help you hobble to the inn.”
Bobbie hesitated, playing with a loose string on the blankets.
Kianthe frowned. “I figured you’d be happy she isn’t dropping you off and sailing away. Are you that afraid to talk to her?”
The ex-constable pinched her brow. “No. But—” a pause, a frustrated sigh. “I’m not sure what to say. It seems obvious that she doesn’t want me to tag along. And I’m… not going to be great company on a pirate ship.”
“I think you’re looking at this the wrong way.” Kianthe pushed to her feet, gesturing at the door. “You’re still viewing Serina as a criminal—and she might be, by Arlon’s standards. But to the people here, to your mother , she’s the only one who cared enough to ensure they’re fed all winter.”
Bobbie winced. “I mean, the diarn does distribute food—”
“People who aren’t facing starvation wouldn’t accept stolen food, Bobbie.”
The woman fell silent.
It made sense, in a twisted kind of way. If Bobbie acknowledged what was staring her in the face, she’d be admitting her entire career was a waste of time. A fool’s errand. She’d be admitting that she could have run away with Serina and lived happily, if only she’d been brave enough to make a different choice when she approached Serina’s farm that day.
Instead, she followed procedure, and it shattered Serina’s life again. And now Bobbie was here trying to pick up the pieces… even as they sliced her hands to shit.
See? That was poetic. Kianthe needed to start writing again.
The mage massaged her neck. “If you want to salvage this relationship, you need to reframe what you’re seeing. Serina isn’t the villain here. Serina didn’t fire you, and she didn’t order the blockade battle. From everything I’m seeing, these pirates are victims of a powerful enemy, and it’s pretty damn brave that she’s standing up to him.”
“That’s true,” Bobbie admitted.
“Or, you can be stubborn and lose the person you nearly died for.” Kianthe’s tone was deadpan. “Your choice.”
Bobbie grimaced. “Okay, okay. I get it. Did you come here to scold me, or did you need something?”
Kianthe strolled to the windows, squinting at the town. “Oh, we definitely need something.”
“Great.”
It didn’t sound great.
Kianthe chuckled, stretching her arms above her head. “I have no faith in Arlon following through on our deal of pirate for paperwork. Luckily, we’re fairly certain your mom knows something about the shipment we’re looking for.”
“She knows everything about anything that passes through Lathe,” Bobbie admitted. Then her brow furrowed. “Why won’t she tell you?”
Kianthe snapped her fingers. “That’s for you to find out. Be a dear and ask, won’t you? And think about what I said.” With a broad smile, she strolled out of the room.
They relocated the ship, then strolled through the snow back to town. It took the better part of the day; Serina spent most of it in silence. That wasn’t surprising—before they left, she’d helped Bobbie into one of the inn’s rooms and didn’t resurface for a long while. Clearly, they’d had a discussion, although it was anyone’s guess how that turned out.
On the walk back, Darlene and Joe started a snowball fight, and it took so long to kick their asses that darkness had fallen by the time they entered Lathe again.
“Never challenge an elemental mage to a snowball fight,” Kianthe told them smugly.
“Pretty sure that’s cheating,” Darlene grumbled, rubbing a spot on her arm where Kianthe had landed a particularly good hit. Joe heaved a sigh and trudged into the inn. Their sister followed.
Serina shoved Kianthe’s arm. “Stop beating up my crew.”
Kianthe gasped. “They started it!”
“They’re kids .” The pirate captain rolled her eyes and followed them inside.
“Next time, no magic allowed,” Reyna replied, lips tilting upwards. It was ironic, since in the moment, she hadn’t said anything of the sort—her competitive spirit was intense enough to take any advantage she could find. Especially three against two.
Kianthe opened her mouth to say that, but Viviana interrupted them. She ducked out of a building across the street, one adorned with a hanging wooden sign that read: SHERIFF . “You two. Care to chat?”
It sounded like a death march—the kind Kianthe had experienced walking to Master Polana’s office for a “discussion” about her classroom performance. Considering she left the Magicary years ago, the mage wasn’t enthused. She crossed her arms. “Why? Are we in trouble?”
Reyna rolled her eyes. “Darling, please.” She strolled for the building.
So much for a hot meal after a long day.
The sheriff’s office was surprisingly pleasant. Viviana had adorned the building with cozy armchairs, three desks for her staff, and a refreshment bar with a kettle and jars of tea leaves. A lively hearth kept the place warm, and a single cell occupied the corner, empty.
She was missing books, but to each their own.
Reyna eyed the tea. “May we? We’re quite chilled.” It was too late for permission, however; she was already perusing the selection with affirming hums. One glance at Kianthe had the mage flicking a tiny flame into the stove under the kettle.
Viviana waved a hand belatedly, then took a seat at the desk nearest the door. It was stacked with meticulously organized folders, one of which she plucked off the top. “Barylea had glowing things to say about you, Arcandor. Also, she apparently crochets now. Her grandmother did, too; I’m pleased she picked up a hobby.”
“She’s great at it,” Kianthe said, almost defensively.
“She certainly has skill to crochet something like that.” Viviana gestured at one of the shelves above her desk, where a tiny crocheted redspar perched. It had more detail than the bee or the whale, but it was still a bit misshapen. And yet, it was on full display, and Viviana’s chest puffed with pride. “Redspars are my favorite. Your shipment, as requested.” She handed over the file.
Well, this was a lot better than Polana’s office. Kianthe dropped into the chair opposite Viviana’s desk, cautiously tugging the folder closer. Record reading was more of Reyna’s domain, but her fiancée was pleasantly distracted steeping their tea and Kianthe knew better than to interrupt.
“If this investigation weren’t a matter of life and death, trust me, Sheriff—we wouldn’t be asking for it.” Kianthe opened the folder, half-expecting it to be empty, some kind of cruel joke. They’d been hunting for this shipment for two seasons now, and it felt odd to be so close to new information.
But inside was a list of all records of the 741 st Year, and she’d even kindly marked the shipment in question. It was delivered in the fall season, right on schedule based on previous information. And the deliverer…
“The Golden Eagles?”
“Bandits. Up here, they’re organized enough to call themselves a ‘guild,’ which is ridiculous.” Viviana pinched the bridge of her nose. “But they’ve been around as long as I have, and back then, they weren’t so bitterly opposed to honest, paying work.”
Pouring water from the steaming kettle, Reyna said, “They stole what was inside that shipment. You know that, right?”
The sheriff set her jaw, pushing away from her desk to lock the front door. The heavy click of iron echoed in the small space, rather ominous. Then Viviana leaned against the wooden door, expression deadly serious.
“After speaking with my daughter, I doubt you have disreputable motivations. We have good folk here in Lathe, loyal to this town and its wellbeing, much like you have in Tawney. But I didn’t keep my title—or my life—by being stupid. So, when I say this doesn’t leave my office… I mean it.”
Dramatic.
Reyna paused while the tea steeped, her hand drifting to the pommel of her sword. “I’m surprised a shipment from so long ago would put you at such risk.” Now she frowned. “Unless the person responsible for ordering that theft is still in power.”
Viviana sighed. “Indeed. And considering what was inside that shipment, you can understand my caution.”
“You’ve seen the dragon eggs,” Kianthe said, wonder tinging her voice. Her eyes dropped to the shipment paperwork in her hands, and a thrill raced up her spine. “They were here.”
“They were here,” the sheriff confirmed. “I shouldn’t have peeked inside; it was above my paygrade. But a diarn doesn’t contract bandits to steal for him unless it’s something important… and possibly illegal.”
Reyna quirked an eyebrow, carefully removing the linen tea bags from their mugs. “Then Arlon was responsible for ordering the eggs stolen.”
Viviana raised her hands. “Arlon accepted the shipment. I couldn’t tell you who ordered the job.”
“The crate would have been sealed with alchemy; how did you get it open?” Kianthe accepted the mug from her fiancée and handed off the folder in response. Reyna put her own mug on the desk and began skimming the folder with sharp eyes.
Leaving the locked door, Viviana instead leaned against one of the armchairs. Behind her, the hearth flickered merrily. “The bandits had an alchemical mage working with them—or maybe he wasn’t a mage, but he had alchemy training. Either way, he opened the crate to show me that the contents were all accounted for.”
Kianthe’s brow furrowed. The idea that any Magicary mage would wind up in bandit territory was concerning, let alone one practicing alchemy. Then again, that brand of magic was somewhat bloody, based on sacrifice for success. Maybe it wasn’t so surprising.
“Inside were three eggs.” Viviana winced. “The mage said they didn’t have magic, that they’d never hatch, but—I can’t quite explain it. I felt something coming from those poor things.”
“Dragon magic is more powerful than anything we humans can harness,” Kianthe said, wincing. Only the Arcandor could stand adjacent to it, and even she was sick for a week when it was forced on her. Sometimes, even the memory of it turned her stomach.
Reyna patted her leg sympathetically, but never took her eyes off the shipping records.
Viviana set her jaw. “Well, those things weren’t dormant. I don’t know what Arlon planned for them, but—Arcandor, I just couldn’t hand them over like that.”
“What did you do?” Kianthe asked, eyes widening.
“I took one.” The sheriff of Lathe spoke confidently, but a challenge lingered in her words. “Arlon expected multiple eggs, so I couldn’t take more. I tricked the bandits into leaving without their mage resealing the crate… and I took the egg that had the most energy back to Dragon Country.”
Kianthe’s jaw dropped. “What, all the way back?”
“There’s a piece of the Northern Bay where Shepara nearly touches Dragon Country. It took a few days, but I rode there and left it on the shoreline. Close enough that a dragon could have flown over and retrieved it.”
“Did they?” Reyna finally lifted her gaze to the sheriff. Kianthe hadn’t realized she was paying such close attention to the conversation.
Viviana sighed. “I haven’t had the time to go back and check, and to be frank, it dropped further down my priority list when I had children.”
Kianthe pushed to her feet, pacing with her mug of tea. It was a rose blend flavored with chamomile and honey, but right now she couldn’t quite enjoy it. “Okay, let me get this straight. Bandits stole the eggs. In Tawney, their mage somehow stripped the dragon magic and left it beneath that church—but they clearly didn’t do a great job. Regardless, they carted the eggs west and handed them to you. You stole one and left it near Dragon Country, and it may still be there. And Arlon has the other two.”
“I couldn’t say if he still does or not.” Viviana frowned. “All I know is my role in this. I’m sorry, Arcandor; I should have brought the egg to the Magicary. But considering that an alchemical mage was working with the bandits, it didn’t feel particularly safe.”
“You did what you could, and it came with the best intentions.” Reyna closed the folder in her lap, tucking it under her arm. She leaned forward, her tea forgotten. “I’m more concerned about why Arlon wanted three dragon eggs, personally.”
Kianthe heaved a frustrated sigh. “I’m not. I’ll deal with him soon; right now, I want to know what happened to that third egg. If I can’t return all three, the bindment is at risk.” The agreement she’d made with the dragons: find the eggs, and they wouldn’t attack Tawney in the meantime. Dragons operated on a different timeframe than humans, but that didn’t mean she could ignore this task for long.
Reyna frowned. “You don’t happen to have a map of where you left that egg, do you, sheriff?”
As it turned out, Viviana did. Which meant they were headed back into the cold.
Again.