Chapter Nineteen
The walk to the market from the palace walls was short but freezing. The wind nipped at my cheeks as my eyes watered from the biting chill.
“Please, do tell, why in the Nine Hells I'm needed for this?” My voice was a whine—almost petulant in tone. I couldn’t help it. I was cold, exhausted, and perhaps still a little hungover from the wine Rena and I partook in back in our rooms last night.
Kairen glanced back with a faintly amused smile on his lips, golden eyes sparkling in the dimly lit street. My scowl deepened. Arrogant prick.
“Because you’re actually good with people. I’m too brooding and they can smell Kairen’s aristocratic charm from a mile away—makes people distrusting of him. But you, little menace,” Roan drawled, his eyes dancing as he explained, “you’re a woman of the people.”
My eyes narrowed slightly, “So I’m being punished for being likable? Perhaps I should start being more of an ass, like the two of you.”
“Never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks,” Kairen called lightly.
“Couldn’t we just take one of your royal naval ships, why do we need to scout out a crew?” I asked. Kai’s jaw tightened at the question, just barely. Like my question had struck a nerve.
“You ask too many questions.” He muttered before he pushed his way through the tavern door.
The door swung open on a hinge that sounded like it was dying a slow, dramatic death.
Every head turned.
“Subtle,” I murmured.
“Thank you,” Kairen replied easily, already stepping inside like the place belonged to him. “At least I didn’t announce myself.”
“No, but your attitude itself is an announcement.” Roan grumbled beneath his breath, exasperation lacing his tone.
I watched as Roan scanned the room with the kind of efficiency that suggested he’d already mapped every exit, every threat, and every person who might try something stupid. Which, given the clientele, was most of them.
“It’s fine,” the prince added, flashing a charming smile at a table of sailors who were very obviously not charmed. “No one knows who I am.”
This tavern was smaller than my usual haunt—the one Rosie ran—but it was nice.
Soft music floated through the room, air thick with smoke, drinks flowing, and laughter bright.
Most weren’t Amori City natives, but rather merchants and sailors who had made the three day ride inland to sell their goods and wares.
“See anyone worth speaking to?” My voice was a low murmur as my eyes flicked around the room.
“Him.” Roan said simply, head dipping to a back corner. A man sat, his drink in front of him. Quiet, unassuming, but half lidded amber eyes watched our group curiously. His hair was a pale blond—Luanthian born then. My brow rose.
“He looks half asleep,” Kairen argued, and I could see the hesitation in his eyes.
“Exactly,” I grinned, seeing the potential Roan had. “And somehow still the most aware person in the room.”
We approached, but the man gave no reaction.
Not when we stopped at his table. Not when Prince Kairen shifted his weight like he expected acknowledgment. Not even when Roan planted a hand on the chair across from him.
Finally, the man spoke without looking up.
“Table’s taken.” His voice was quiet. Not rough, but certain.
Prince Kairen smiled, charming and sharp. “We’ll only need a moment.”
“No,” the man said, taking a slow drink. “You won’t.”
My lips curved and then I was sliding easily into a seat opposite of him. “I like you already, another round of whatever you’re drinking?”
Amber eyes flicked to me, a pale brow rising. “If you’re buying, I suppose.”
Roan moved to get the drinks, steps sure and confident as he slipped between the tavern patrons to the bar.
“We’re looking to hire a crew,” Kairen said as he moved into the seat beside me.
The man’s ringed fingers drummed against the wooden table, “Find one then.”
Kairen blinked, smile tightening just a fraction, “Well yes, we intend to—”
“Good, sounds like our conversation is over then. I’d like to drink in peace now.” The man interrupted, amber eyes flicking from me to Kairen.
Roan returned with the drinks, his presence steady and quiet as he moved to sit on my other side.
“You know most men would at least pretend to be interested in an offer.” Kairen stated, disbelief warring in his golden gaze.
The man took a slow sip of his drink, eyes holding Kairen’s over the rim of the glass and then, “Most men are fools.”
I snorted, lips curving as I took a sip of my firemead. Kairen’s exasperated look fixed to me then, and my shoulder lifted precariously. “What? He’s not wrong.”
Kairen released a low breath as I leaned forward. “Is there nothing we could offer to interest you? Surely there’s something you and your crew need?”
Amber eyes flicked to me briefly. “You’re not merchants.”
“No.”
“Not smugglers either.”
“No.”
“Too well-armed for simple city folk. Too tense for nobles on holiday.” His gaze shifted, landing on the prince’s hand—on the rings that adorned his fingers. Far weightier and pricier than the ones on his own hands. “And too obvious to be anything but trouble.”
Kairen followed his gaze, then looked back up, unbothered. “And that concerns you?”
“It doesn’t interest me.”
Roan tapped his fingers lightly against the table, his head tilting thoughtfully. “You’d be well-paid.”
The man snorted, taking in Roan’s white hair and the golden tattoos that crawled out from beneath the neckline of his cloak. His mouth twitched, faintly. “Aye, but there are plenty of jobs out there that pay well, Kinslayer.”
I stilled, of course he’d recognize Roan. My mouth tightened a fraction before I took another slow pull of firemead, mind racing. How could we convince him? There wasn’t another sailor in this building who looked as if they’d be up for the task.
Kairen bit out a sharp breath, golden eyes flashing as he leaned forward.
“I am not asking as a passerby,” he said, voice lower now, but carrying far more weight. “I am offering you employment under the crown.”
The tavern noise dulled at the edges, like the room itself was listening.
My arms crossed, my eyes rolling. “Subtle,” I muttered again.
The man stilled, regarding Kairen for a moment, “I don’t sail for crowns, Prince.” He continued, fingers tracing the rim of his tankard, “Nor do I sail for causes. Or men who think flashing gold can get them whatever they wish.”
“You’re refusing a royal commission?” Kairen asked, voice sharpening.
“Aye. I’m refusing a bad decision,” he said simply. Then his gaze turned back to Roan and I, “does he always throw his title about to get his way?”
I grimaced lightly, shooting Kairen an admonishing look, “It would appear so, but that doesn’t change the fact that we still need a crew.”
“And you’re who we would like.” Roan added quietly, voice dropping just enough to turn the words into something more deliberate. “And, you and your crew would be rewarded enough that it would set you up for quite some time.”
Silence stretched.
Something in the man’s expression changed then, not much. Just enough to suggest the refusal wasn’t quite as effortless as before.
“What would you require?” he asked.
Kairen smiled, leaning forward with the excitement of a man who knew we’d just garnered the attention we sought. “You’d drop us at a southern coastal city, sail around the tip of Tavari to pick us up in Ferro and then take us North to Halsrad.”
The man’s fingers tapped lightly against the table, thoughtful. “The northern waters are dangerous this time of year.”
My breath caught as he took another slow drink of firemead, clearly contemplating.
“If I take this job,” he said, “you don’t pull rank on my deck.”
“Deal.” Roan said swiftly before Kairen could say anything else.
“My name is Antoni, my crew is small, but efficient. I will need to speak with them before I agree to anything.” He said finally. “I can send a letter to the palace tomorrow to let you know of our decision.”
“All we ask is for your consideration.” I replied easily as Antoni finished his drink and stood slowly from the table, long limbs stretching lightly overhead.
He dipped his head in acknowledgment and left without another word, slipping between the tavern patrons and out the door without even a glance back.
“Well, I do think that went rather well, didn’t it?” Kairen grinned, leaning back into his seat with a smile. My eyes cut to Roan, exasperated and amused.
“Shut up, Kai.” Was all the Kinslayer said in response, downing his own firemead.
Our group of five stood around the desk in Prince Kairen's office—a map of Tavari spread out before us.
My fingers rubbed absentmindedly at the edge of the parchment as I took in the kingdom.
In the northern right hand corner was the tip of our neighboring kingdom, Kezechani, connected only by a strip of towering, iced mountains.
Mount Hellenis, the tallest of them. My eyes travelled across the names of northern cities and their massive forests, before I moved a bit south.
Near the middle of the massive kingdom was Amori City, all major roads and passages leading to the central hub.
My gaze scanned over the cities nearest, and down past the rolling plains where the weather grew hotter, it eventually transitioned into the desert landscape of the southern stretch of Tavari.
A large span of rolling sand dunes with cities spread far and wide, yet most of them were contained closer to the coast, where it was easier to make a living and the breeze of the ocean soothed the sweltering, deadly heat.
I eyed a southern town off the western coast of Tavari, the one that Prince Kairen was currently pointing at, named Port of Arisha. It was a small town, a simple fishing village, not nearly as popular a stop as some of its surrounding neighbors.
"Why would we stop there first?" Bran asked curiously. “Why not Calmier, it's larger and has more amenities, perhaps even more information?"
Kairen shook his head and smiled. “Because Port of Arisha is where the first known case of The Fever was documented."
Rena and I exchanged a wide-eyed look before I spoke. “But wouldn't you have all the royal documents of that case here to study? What information would going there give that you don't already have access to?"
"There's a difference between the medical and scientific analysis we receive in court documents versus going and hearing the stories of the town," Roan explained, nodding his approval at the plan Kairen was laying out before us.
"There might be nuances or tales the locals may know of from word of mouth that could give us new information. "
"Exactly," Kairen agreed, his finger trailing from the Port of Arisha into the desert to a different town. “Then we make our way here to replenish our supplies, and rest after a trip through the desert before moving on to—"
"Amareshi." His finger tapped at the city I had spoken aloud, situated closer to the eastern coast of Tavari, but still near enough to the middle that it was clearly a desert city, not one of the coast.
My mother had often spoken of Amareshi, the city of her birth, when I was a child. She would tell me stories late into the dark nights of wide open starry skies, over the most delicious skewered pork, spiced with tastes so delicious that I could only dream of them.
l swallowed thickly. It was also the city Merle had decided to say I hailed from for anyone who grew too nosy, too inquiring.
“Do you know of it?” Roan had clearly caught something in my tone, had watched the way my hands clenched slightly at my sides before loosening.
"Yes, it is where I was born, before I came to live with my aunt. I don't remember much of it, only vague details and memories." My nails chipped idly at the wooden desk, the lie slipping easily past my lips.
Kairen nodded slowly, a look of sympathy in his eyes before he continued.
"There's a rumor of a man who deals with an underground trade in Amareshi.
I want us to secure a meeting and see if there's anything useful that he might know.
" His finger then moved. "Our ship will meet us here, in Ferro.
Once aboard we will sail up the eastern coast," his finger slid along as he spoke, nearly to the Northernmost point of the kingdom, "where we will be dropped off in Halsrad. "
"Why Halsrad?" Rena leaned in closer, eyeing the little northern city before a pout formed on her lips. "Goddess, it's going to be freezing there, isn't it?"
Kairen rolled his eyes. “We're going there because it's the easiest entry into the north, and then we'll continue the rest of the journey on horseback, making our way back south through the northern cities.
The ones with blue marks are the locations I consider worth stopping at because they either have unusual records of The Fever, or some myth stems from them. "
Bran nodded thoughtfully. "I think that's a good plan, hopefully it can give us a lead towards something that could be useful. Plus if anything pops up worth investigating, we can always pivot."
"Then we're all in agreement?" Kairen asked, his golden eyes shining with hope and excitement. “The crew we hired wrote today, so everything is settled for the journey.”
A chorus of murmured acknowledgment passed among the four of us and I felt my nerves finally begin to flutter to life.
The quest would soon begin.