Chapter 6 Lily
LILY
“Lily.” Hawk’s irritated voice jerked me from sleep. Seemed like it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get my attention. “Come on, we’ve got to keep moving.”
I released a quiet groan so he would know I was finally awake.
His footsteps sounded as he walked back to the fire.
I opened and closed my eyes a couple times as I tried to wake up, my brain exhausted from the few hours of sleep I’d received.
I had been up late with Wrath last night, and when he returned me, I couldn’t sleep for a while, crying alone in my bedroll with the rainfall muffling the sound of my tears.
When I finally sat up, the pain came back to me, a thousand knives piercing me from every side.
I knew Wrath wouldn’t reveal himself to me for a while, that he needed space from me because I’d poked his wound too hard this time.
But I knew he would still be there, watching in the silence, because he would never leave me unprotected.
I used to feel that way about my father, his mountain always looming over my sea, but now, he was gone… and Wrath had replaced him.
I finally got dressed and began to pack up my things.
Zehemoth was beside me, lying with his snout on the ground as he watched me. You’re sad.
Just tired. I rolled up my bedroll and stuffed it into my pack.
I know the difference between sadness and fatigue, Sunieth.
I continued to pack despite the interrogation, ignoring the way his shovel dug into my earth.
What troubles you?
Nothing, Zehemoth. We’ve got a long day ahead of us, so let’s save our energy, alright?
But you feel…devastated.
Because I was fucking devastated. Wounded by a cursed blade just like my father…and I would never heal. What should have been a single night to repay an old debt turned into something so beautiful…and painful. I slept like shit last night and can barely keep my eyes open. Let it lie.
Zehemoth continued to stare at me. You used to share everything with me, Sunieth.
A twinge of guilt burned every inch of my flesh.
But I continued to keep it bottled inside, knowing it was too big a risk to share.
Wrath was right when he said I shouldn’t fuse with Zehemoth.
If he was already able to feel my despair as if I were just another dragon…
imagine what he would deduce if we were a single entity.
I secured my pack to Zehemoth’s saddle before I locked all the pieces of my heavy armor into place. The rain had finally passed, and I could tell by the intensity of the sunlight that it was late morning.
Hawk secured his blade across his back before he looked at me.
I met his gaze and nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Should we make a plan?” Hawk asked. “There’s no way to ask for the allegiance without admitting that Father is no longer fit to rule. Every time we share this piece of information, we leave ourselves vulnerable.”
“I disagree,” I said. “If they want to come for me, I’ll sink their entire fleet to the bottom of the ocean with dragon fire—and they fucking know it.
” I turned to Zehemoth and climbed up his side.
My long hair was secured in a braid then wrapped around into a bun, just so I wouldn’t accidentally cut it off when I unsheathed my blade.
It was tight on my scalp, but as the ruler of a kingdom, I couldn’t let my hair flow freely anymore. “Let’s go.”
Skull Island was easy for me to find because I’d been there many times.
My father and I had sailed there together ever since I was a child, and all those adventures had given me a strong understanding of the geography of the immediate lands around our kingdom.
With just a compass, I’d be able to find my way anywhere.
It was sunset when we arrived, the center of the large island a mountain that pointed to the sky. It was an active volcano, and I’d seen lava with my own eyes. But its eruptions were petite, mostly smoke, and people seemed to worship the island’s moods rather than fear them.
There were many ports and wharfs around the island where the galleons could secure their ships while they came to land. An entire city with restaurants and inns and shops, the perfect hub for news because pirates from all over the world sailed to these shores.
Our dragons landed on the beach away from the main town, but I was certain the pirates on lookout in the island’s crow’s nest had spotted us long ago.
It was warm and humid here, and the heavy armor on my body and the cape across my back felt suffocating, but I wouldn’t be stupid enough to go in there without it.
“I could use a pint right now,” Hawk said with a sigh.
“I need you able-bodied and able-minded.”
“It takes a lot more than one pint to prevent that.”
We began our walk across the sand, eventually reaching the wooden planks in the dirt that acted as a path. Our boots thudded against the wood, and as we got closer to the town, more pirates appeared over the rails of the different levels, looking down at us as we approached.
“Know where to go?” Hawk asked quietly.
“Yes. Skull Island has no king and no government. They only have a Keeper.”
“A Keeper?”
“Keeper of the Code. A permanent inhabitant of the island. He doesn’t have power over the other bands of pirates but great influence…obviously. I doubt we’ll have to look for him, as I’m certain he’ll come to us.”
Hawk continued to look at all the pirates who stared at us openly, a form of intimidation that wouldn’t work on Rothschilds like us. “Alright, where should we wait for him?”
When I made it up the stairs, the pirates backed away but continued their stares.
I stared at each one with the same intensity of eye contact before I looked at the line of shops and pubs. One stuck out the most to me. The Mermaid’s Tale. I’d never been there before, but I recalled my father mentioning it when he shared snippets of his travels. “Here.”
I stepped inside to the loud conversation of the boisterous patrons inside, but as the men at the tables and the bar maidens behind the counter took notice of us, the chatter died down. People turned in their seats and craned their necks hard to get a good look.
There was an open table in the corner, so Hawk and I claimed it for ourselves.
“Looks like I’m going to get that pint after all.” Hawk watched the girls behind the counter then stared at the one who approached our table. She was busty and blond and pretty much every man’s type, and my brother hadn’t blinked once since he’d seen her.
Her eyes were sheathed with quiet hostility as she looked at the two of us. “Yes?”
“Two pints,” I said. “Two orders of whatever your special is. And a word with the Keeper.”
Her eyes remained locked on mine as she processed the request. She seemed surprised that I even knew what the Keeper was, but she didn’t ask.
“Queen Lily Rothschild of the Southern Isles requests his presence.”
She still didn’t utter a word before she walked off.
Hawk watched her go, turning his neck as hard as everyone had turned their necks to us when we’d walked in here. “Maybe I’ll have more than a pint.”
“She didn’t seem remotely interested in you.”
“Only because of your very unpleasant company.”
“I don’t care what you do on your own time, but let’s focus on this first.” I felt a little guilty saying that, considering I had been whisked away to an unknown island while he’d slept just ten feet away from me.
He watched her move behind the counter before he looked at me again. “She’s my type.”
“She’s so hot, she’s even my type,” I said. “But work now and fun later.”
When he realized what I’d said, he slowly turned back to me, eyebrow raised. “Wait, what?”
“It’s a joke, Hawk.”
The bar maiden returned and bent down to place our tankards on the table, and of course, her goodies were out everywhere. She also brought two plates that each held a bowl of stew and a side of bread.
I wondered if Wrath was there, getting the same view as Hawk or a glance from the rear. I felt a wave of jealousy and insecurity that was so idiotic, I hated myself a little bit.
Hawk couldn’t even try not to stare. He even stared at her ass when she walked away. It took him a long time to turn back to the table and drink from his pint. He grabbed his spoon and started to eat his stew, elbows on the table, careful with his sharp vambraces and his spiked gloves.
We ate in silence for a while, and I watched the main door to see who came inside.
My eyes naturally flicked to the chair beside Hawk, expecting to see Wrath there, but he never appeared.
The pain in my chest was like a worm that burrowed deeper and deeper and destroyed my heart in the process.
I knew I shouldn’t let the feeling linger because Zehemoth was attuned to my emotions since we’d grown up together.
He knew me better than anyone else, even my own brother.
Finally, the Keeper stepped inside, and I knew it was him in a single glance.
I could tell by the way everyone looked at him, the way the energy in the pub changed the second he introduced his own energy into it.
Dressed in all black, with a maroon bandanna over his head that kept back his midnight-black hair and a linen button-down with trousers rolled up around his ankles, he looked like a seafarer even though he probably never left the island.
His eyes moved to me like he already knew who I was based on my description alone.
And probably because I was the only female patron in that bar—and the only one who wore armor made for war. He began his slow approach across the bar, and every time he passed a table, the occupants fell silent, as if he might address them.
Hawk had his back to him, so he couldn’t see.
“He’s headed this way,” I said as I kept my eyes on Hawk so it wouldn’t be obvious what I referred to.
He stopped eating and washed down his last bite with a drink from his pint.
The Keeper stopped at the edge of the table and looked straight at Hawk. “Leave.”