Chapter 3 #2
The man points to the ladder. “You can go up and down to the deck whenever you want.” He then points to the hammocks. “No frolicking. This is no pleasure house.”
I blink, the insult taking a moment to land.
Alayel nods. “Understood.”
My stomach sinks. I was hoping he would clarify that I’m his mission partner, nothing more, but I suppose he wants to stay on good terms with the sailor.
Listeno goes up the ladder, back to the deck, while a bitter taste comes to my mouth as I realize I’m on a boat with strangers.
“Don’t mind them,” Alayel mutters. “Sailors can be pigs. Stay close, and you’ll be fine. They won’t dare cross me.”
His words do nothing to quiet my racing heart; they only confirm the danger. At least Alayel doesn’t seem like a threat, even if I’m still confused as to whether he has any power or not. But there’s another question itching in my head.
“Who’s the friend who didn’t come?”
Alayel waves a hand and chuckles. “A coward. Few people have what it takes. They think they do, but they don’t. When the time comes, when they can finally prove their worth, they crack. They’re worthless.”
“Everyone has some worth.”
“Of course.” He smiles. “That’s not what I meant. People can be beautiful and unique and special. They can be all that. Great. But only some of us are cut to achieve anything. To get things done. You can make things happen.”
I swallow, a little stunned, unsure if he’s trying to flatter me for some reason or what. “You think that?”
He approaches me and stands so close that I almost step back. “Yes. I already told you. You were brilliant in the Trial.”
My agitated heart shifts for a different reason now. When Alayel looks at me like that, the idea of frolicking with him doesn’t sound the least offensive. Not that I trust him yet.
“Can we go up?” I’m breathless. “I’ve never been on a boat.”
“Sure. Come.”
He climbs behind me, and we go to the back of the boat, while Listeno and another man open the sails.
We sit on the edge of the deck, and I watch the city where I lived for the last ten years from an angle I’ve never seen before, hidden behind ships, surrounded by dark hills.
“So you never left Dracolius?” Alayel asks.
“The kingdom, no, but I’m not from Dracolius City, but from Sirenna. I came here as a child.”
“Sirenna?” He narrows his eyes, thinking.
“North of the Claw Bay,” I say. “And you?”
He smirks. “We’re exchanging secrets already?”
“You asked me first. And I didn’t know it was a secret.”
A thud startles me, and Alayel looks behind us. “They just pulled the anchor. We’re leaving. You want to know where I’m from? I was born here, in Dracolius City, but I was raised across the ocean. Cainara.”
That explains his subtle accent.
“Is it as huge as they say?”
He spreads his arms. “Ten Dracolius Cities. Dozens and dozens of ships in the ports. People from all corners of the Great Continent, not only the Sorensen Kingdom.”
“Did you like it?”
“No dragons, so that’s sad. But it was a great place for picking pockets.”
I laugh. “And what brought you here?”
“Picking pockets gets hard when you are past a certain height.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’re joking.”
“Maybe.”
“And you’re quite tall, and must have been tall since you were ten or something.”
He grins. “You think I’m tall?”
“I don’t think. It’s an objective fact.”
“I guess.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “And you? Since when have you known about your magic?”
Did I mishear him? “My what?”
“Your power.” He looks behind me, perhaps to check that the men aren’t nearby, and lowers his voice. “That you used to see through the cups.”
This is the weirdest assumption, unless he’s joking. “That’s… not what happened. Nobody can see through things.”
All traces of a smile vanish from his face, replaced by an icy stare. “So what did you do?” This is the man who taunted me when I was in a cell, and I can’t believe I was silly enough to forget it.
“I smelled the ball—or rather, the absence of the ball under the cups.”
“So you have no magic?” he says it like an accusation, as if it wasn’t something impossible.
A thread of fear permeates my spine, but I keep my voice calm. “Why would I have it when nobody does?”
“I trusted you. I brought you here because I believed you were something more.” The manic glint in his eyes tells me I won’t be able to put any sense in his head.
With his fists clenched and his face a mask of fury, Alayel is nothing like the friendly recruit who let me leave a note for my brother and gave me new clothes.
Warning bells of danger ring in my mind—pointlessly. There’s nowhere to run.
“I have a great sense of smell,” I say, hoping I can calm him down, as fear courses through my veins. “You saw it at the trial. It worked. Tell me what you need from me. I might be able to do it.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, all the anger gone from his countenance at once. “I’m so sorry, I… There’s so much at stake. We won’t have time to check each cave to see if the dragons are there. I thought you would be able to see through the rock and find the right one.”
Amazing. I’m embarking on an almost-impossible mission with someone completely cuckoo.
“Then there’s no problem.” My tone is firm and calming, just like when I used to tell my brother there was nothing to fear. “I’ll be able to smell where the dragons are.”
“You should have told me.” His voice is calmer, but the accusation is still annoying.
He should have asked, but I don’t want to say that and cross him. “Did your friend, the one who was going to come, did he have magic?”
“You are here, not him.”
“If you were alone, how would you find the cave?”
“Different method. Riskier.” His eyes soften, getting brilliant in the glow of the moon. “If you can find the right cave by smell, it will work. I… I was worried for a second. Didn’t mean to snap. You understand, right?”
Not really, but I’m glad he’s friendly again, and when he looks at me with apology in those stunning eyes, it’s easy to forgive him. His talk of magic is bizarre, unless— “Does anyone have magic in Cainara?”
“It’s a rare gift, kept secret most of the time, but possible, definitely. I saw what you did and assumed you had it. My mistake.”
“So you’ve never actually seen a person with magic?”
He tilts his head. “How could I know? I have seen tricks. In the Great Market, a juggler could levitate objects. Was it magic? Something else? How can I be sure?”
“But you believe magic is possible.”
“I do. Across the ocean, I’ve spoken to far too many people who don’t believe that dragons are real. Just because you can’t see something, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” He sounds serious and not as deranged as before, yet his argument is still flawed.
“Then the amount of things that might exist is limitless.”
“Limitless doesn’t sound bad.”
“Sounds overwhelming.”
His reply is a warm, comforting laugh.
The boat is now in the middle of Claw Bay, the lights of the port looking like rhinestones on a headband from this distance.
“We should rest,” he says. “You must be exhausted.”
I should be, but the excitement and anxiety are keeping me alert. “I’m fine.”
“Well, I need to rest, and it’s better if you come down with me.” He smirks. “No frolicking, though.”
“That’s devastating news.” I manage to chuckle.
“Heartbreaking.”
I follow him through the hatch, still stunned that I’m so far from home. But the restaurant wasn’t home.
And it hits me: I’m out. I’m free. I’m no longer held by the walls that contained me.
I’m about to risk my life, yes. But at least I have a life to risk.
A growl jolts me awake. My body’s stiff, and it takes me a moment to understand that I’m in a hammock in the underdeck of a boat, about to approach an island with dragons.