6. Dragonfire.
Dragonfire.
HARLOW
B right sunlight pours into my cabin from the small round window, burning its shape on my retinas.
Too bright. Shit, I overslept .
My mouth feels as dry as the Scorched Land, and something definitely died in there—my dignity, possibly. An aggressive headache pounds inside my skull, and I feel nauseous.
Memories of last night bubble to the surface: asking the captain personal questions… rubbing myself on him like a cat in heat… him carrying me up the stairs like a princess.
“Nooooooo…” I groan.
I can’t hold my liquor, and I know it. Why did I accept so many drinks?
The first time I got wasted at university, I spent the night making out with a friend, then cried all over his shoulder, before falling asleep in the library, buried in books about dragons.
After it happened a few more times over the years, I eventually learned my limit.
Three drinks make me merrier, five make me a troublemaker, and seven turn me into a needy monster.
And yet, it looks like I came really close to my limit last night.
Thankfully, I don’t remember crying on Jayce’s shoulder. But I might have… nuzzled his neck. And told him he smelled good for a pirate…
“Kill me…” I moan.
“That can be arranged,” says Kuroki from the open door to my cabin. “How do you prefer to go? Stabbing, drowning, fire, a bullet? I would take the bullet if I were you.”
“Anything but fire,” I mumble. “How can you be so chirpy? I remember you being as wasted as I was.”
He danced on the tables at the last inn we visited, then spent some time wrestling with Wilbur’s cousins before following them gods know where.
His smile is as bright as the day, blinding me. “It was just a little booze. I’m Mandinkan, remember? On the Green Isles, we start drinking in the cradle. I can handle myself.”
I snort. “My northern blood certainly can’t.” He offers me a glass bottle. “What is it?”
“What do you think? Water, your drunk majesty.”
“Oh, fuck, thank you.”
I down the entire bottle in a few gulps; nothing has ever tasted so good. I look for my glasses. They aren’t in the usual spot, but resting on the round windowsill. And my shoes are by the door.
My face warms up. Did the captain tuck me into bed? I don’t remember that part.
But I remember everything he said about the Crimson War and the ship. I put a hand on the bulkhead lovingly. It’s soft to the touch, the wood lacquer recent. The crew cares about the Blunder .
“You’re his cousin, right?” I ask Kuroki.
“Jayce? Yeah, he’s my mama’s sister’s son.”
“The Crimson War… did you…?”
“Oh, he told you about that? I’m surprised.
No. I was in Mandinka back then, trying to survive my raging puberty.
Jayce’s father was a sailor, and he passed his love of the sea down to his son.
Eventually, he wanted more than a life toiling on a ship, so he became a pirate captain so he could own the ship.
He was good at it, too. Jayce was making a name for himself when the war happened.
” He exhales. “They forbade him from sailing the Crimson Sea, but he’s a stubborn motherfucker, and he found a way. Now, he sails the heavens.”
From pirate to fire scrounger—another kind of fortune hunting, one as risky as the other. I nod thoughtfully.
“Is it a problem?” Kuroki asks. “Working with convicted pirates?” His smile has taken on a dangerous edge.
My eyes widen. “What? No! I’m dragoner. All I care about is dragons. And I like you guys, so…”
Kuroki grins, for real this time. “Hey, we like you too, Harlow. Come on, let’s find some greasy food for you to heal your hangover.”
I might not stay a fire scrounger for long, but I’m sure I’ll cherish the memories of my time on the Blunder for the rest of my life—at least, if I survive. I hope I won’t get myself killed like my predecessor.
We make our way to the galley, and I’m relieved to find it empty.
“The others haven’t come back yet,” Kuroki explains while making me coffee. “It’s just you and me. Jayce left earlier.”
“Any signs of Wilbur?”
He pours the hot water—heated with liquid-fire—over the ground coffee. “He’s with his family. They manage the shipyard north of the Cove.”
“From shipwright to airship builder. How did that happen?” I ask.
Kuroki smiles fondly. “He’s the nutjob in his family.
During the Crimson War, he was already building weapons for the pirates.
He’s an inventor. If he wanted to, he could work for the king.
But he built the Blunder instead, and now he’s with us because he can’t stand to let his precious airship into the hands of someone else.
And it gives him access to unlimited liquid-fire for his inventions. ”
I chuckle. Wilbur’s obsession with his craft isn’t a secret. I spent a little time trying to get to know him when I first arrived on the ship, but he didn’t warm up to me until I asked him about his inventions. The redhead lit up when he talked about the different uses of liquid-fire.
“He should come to the hot springs later,” Kuroki continues with a wide grin.
I blink. “The hot springs?”
“Oh yeah, haven’t we told you? Every time we land in a major city, Jayce makes it mandatory for the entire crew to go to the public baths or springs.
Personal hygiene can be… neglected when you spend too long at sea—or in the sky, in our case.
It’s an old pirate habit. We’re going this evening. The others will join us there.”
On the Blunder , there’s a small cabin at the stern with a larger window and a barrel of water hanging outside.
It catches rain, but I’ve also seen Freddy refill it on the airdocks of Nethermere.
You fill a bucket and use it to wash yourself.
The water then sloshes down a drain carved through the hull.
It’s spartan, but it does the job, and it’s more than I expected to find on an airship.
“Hot springs…” I trail off.
“Yeah. The Devils’ Cove is surrounded by active volcanoes. You can use the public pools or book private ones. Jayce usually gets us into one of the larger pools. He doesn’t like to stew with the other visitors.”
“Wait, we take a bath together?”
“Well, yeah? It’s a natural pool. So I guess it’s more like we’re taking a swim together.”
“Naked?”
He laughs. “Yes. But you can use a cloth if you’re shy. Wilbur does it,” he says regretfully. “Gia, too. But no one is going to stare at your genitals, Harlow.”
My face falls. The problem isn’t so much my genitals. I have my reasons for never getting naked in front of anyone. It’s always an awkward moment for all parties involved. But after a week on the Blunder , washing with a bucket, the prospect of being submerged in hot water is too tempting.
I sigh. They’ll see it, eventually. I can’t avoid swimming and bathing for as long as I’m working with them.
Kuroki drops a plate of food in front of me with fresh slices of bread, beans, boiled eggs, and fruit. “Eat up, dragoner. We have a world to conquer.”
The Devils’ Cove is a beautiful place during the day.
The crystal blue waters reflect the sunlight along the black cliffs, and the waves crash over the rocks protecting the Floating Quarters.
I haven’t left the Blunder all day. Kuroki brought back the bag with the books we bought yesterday, and I sat in the shade below the hot-air balloon, reading.
There’s a soft breeze coming from the ocean, chasing the summer heat.
At this time of year, Dragonest is too warm for someone like me with northerner blood, but the Devils’ Cove is ideal.
Maybe I could make a life here one day, among convicted pirates and thieves.
They certainly need dragoners like everywhere else.
Orla, Faranyr, and Loklir have their territories in these parts of the Spine.
The captain was nowhere to be found all day, thankfully. I meant to pretend I didn’t remember a thing from last night to spare myself embarrassment, but not facing him altogether was a blessing.
By evening, Kuroki reappears to lead me down from the airship and through the streets of the Devils’ Cove. The hot springs are at the far end of town, near the foot of the steep mountains enclosing the cove.
Wooden cabins separated by groves surround the pools. Jayce and Gia are already waiting for us near the main stone building. I avoid looking at the captain and pretend to be deeply interested in what Kuroki is saying until Freddy, Alara, and Wilbur arrive.
Kuroki was right; Jayce booked us an entire pool.
An employee opens a portal with a key and closes it behind us, ensuring privacy for the next two hours.
The cabin by the pool contains separate stalls for changing and washing, using warm water drawn directly from the hot spring with a mechanical pump.
I hear the rustling of the others changing, then laughter and idle talk as they leave for the hot spring. I take my time undressing and washing, trying to gather my courage.
I grab two towels from the rack: one I hold around my hips to hide my groin, the other thrown over my back like a cape. Its rough fabric pulls at my tender skin. It might do the trick… but I’m not counting on it.
I exhale. “Here goes nothing.”
As I walk out into the dusk, the others are already in the water. Steam rises from the large natural pool, and the surrounding rocks are white with limescale.
“We were starting to think you might have made a run for it, little dragoner,” says Alara as I walk into the water.
She’s small, and only her head appears above the surface from where she’s sitting, while Freddy’s massive frame is visible from the waist up. She has tied her blonde hair up into a knot.
I shiver, surprised by how wonderful it feels to enter the pool as the warmth relaxes my tense muscles.
My glasses turn foggy, and I quickly realize my mistake. I forgot to take them off. I hesitate. If I go out again, it’ll give them a view of my back—exactly what I’m trying to avoid.