Chapter 15
It was late in the afternoon when Omen finally arrived at Grafport on Cotisall, and all the waiting between Remigan and here had made Carolina impatient for an answer from the Fortuna. So, as they docked and Omen’s ramp was lowered, Carolina was on it beside Berkeley and Otis, ready to follow the boys into town and see where the Fortuna had set up shop.
“You got the goods, right?” she asked Rue before they parted ways at the end of the docks.
Rue patted an inner pocket of her coat, where she’d stored the extra gold omacyte and minerals they’d stolen from the warehouse on Coldstar. “Feels like a million dominions.”
“No less than seven thousand,” Carolina told her.
Rue rolled her eyes. “I know .”
Carolina pointed at Ophelia, who was going with Rue so they could swing by the post office after the black market. “Make sure she doesn’t take less than seven thousand.”
Ophelia looked at Rue with puckered lips and said, “I think we could get more, hm?”
“First time the Fortuna’s been here, and we’ve likely got some of the first gold omacyte,” Rue said. “I think we could definitely get more.”
Carolina laughed and waved them both off. “Go on, then.” And as they headed in a different direction, she mumbled to Berkeley, “Trouble, the whole lot of you.”
Berkeley threw his hands up innocently but was grinning like he knew she was right .
“Captain,” Otis prompted as they strolled along, his hands folded behind his back as he kicked a rock ahead of him. She hummed that she was listening. “Why are you coming this time? Is it to make sure I get the right answer?”
She threw her arm over his shoulders and pulled him into her side. “You did perfect the first time, Bug,” she told him. “I’m just curious about the Fortuna is all. I want to see where she stays.”
He smiled, nodded, and left her side to pat Berkeley on the shoulder. Berkeley bent his knees just enough for Otis to jump onto his back, and as he straightened, groaned, “You’ll be too big for this soon.”
“But I’m not yet!” Otis grinned.
They ambled the rest of the way into town, and there was no need for them to ask anyone how to find the Fortuna. Even if there hadn’t been signs to point them in the right direction, all they needed to do was follow the crowd to the town square. Everyone was eager for a glimpse, and seeing as this was probably the first time almost all of the people had ever had access to her, they were all gathered around her temporary lodgings.
Those lodgings weren’t more than a large blue canvas tent set up in the very center of town square, with people crowding all around its entrance to peer through the dropped flaps. There were several Sovereign guards standing at the opening and around the rest of the tent, and one more keeping the area just in front of the entrance clear for customers.
Carolina herself tried to get a glimpse through the crack between flaps just as the current customer came out, but beyond a few flickering candles in the dark interior, it was impossible to make anything out.
Once they’d navigated through the crowd and come out the other side, they stopped in front of a tavern, and Carolina told Otis, “This is it. Got everything?”
He patted his pockets. “Omacyte. Dominions.” He nodded and smiled up at her. “Got it.”
“We’ll be right inside,” she said, gesturing her thumb at the tavern. “When do you pay your mark?”
“ After they’ve seen the Fortuna,” he answered.
“And what’s more important than all of this?”
“My safety,” he said.
“Very good,” she said. “All set, then?” When he nodded, she ruffled his hair, turned him around, and patted his shoulder. “Go get ‘em. ”
He disappeared into the crowd to search for someone to see the Fortuna in their place, and she and Berkeley headed into the tavern, where they grabbed a drink and a pastry for Otis and sat at a table close to the doors. In her anticipation for an answer, she sat there silently and staring straight ahead, lifting her mug to her lips every couple of seconds for a sip.
After a few minutes of it, Berkeley laughed, “You need to get out more.”
She cast him a deadpan look. “Funny.”
He beamed toothily at her until she cracked a smile, and then he asked, “You know what was funny?” She hummed as she lifted her mug to her lips again. “Messing up Penny’s ship.”
She snorted into her drink. “He’ll definitely come after us for that.”
Berkeley gestured his palm to the air and shrugged. “Hard to do without a ship.” And they both laughed about that before falling silent again. Berkeley stared across the table at her for a few seconds and then said, “It’s good to see you finally enjoying yourself.”
She smiled, but her eyes dropped to the pint in front of her. “I missed her,” she admitted as she thumbed the handle. “In spite of the curse, and despite my bitterness. I never realized how much.”
“I missed her too,” Berkeley said, and gave a small smile when she looked up at him. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll stay. I think we’re still fun.”
“Yeah,” she said on a huff of laughter, but her heart fluttered at the very thought of it. “Maybe.”
Berkeley nodded, and they settled into watching people quietly, occasionally pointing out silly things to each other while they sipped their drinks and waited for Otis to return. It took some time, but eventually he trudged into the tavern and stopped at the entrance, scanning the tables until he found them. It was clear by the look on his face that he’d had no success, and though Carolina couldn’t deny her disappointment, she also couldn’t say she was surprised. Of course a witch with the power to curse an entire dynasty could hide herself and her bloodline from the Fortuna.
But still, Otis wandered up to their table with his chin dropped. “I’m sorry, Captain,” he said, “the Fortuna couldn’t find anything.”
“It’s alright, Bug,” she said, nudging his chin up. “That’s not your fault. You did great.” She slid the pastry plate toward him. “Here,” she said, and fixed his mussed bangs. “Thanks for trying. ”
He nodded, instantly cheered by the pastry gift as he plopped down on the chair beside her. He swung his legs back and forth above the floor while he ate it, and once he was done and she and Berkeley had finished their drinks, they headed back to Omen.
The next few days passed by slowly while they waited for a letter from Lia. As usual, she filled her time with books and menial tasks around the ship, but by the third day as she sat reading at her desk, she was so completely bored that she kept having to reread paragraphs. She was so restless that there was no joy in the pages, and with all but the watch crew disembarked, the quiet on the nearly empty ship was disturbing. Well, almost all. Ophelia was on board, and though they shared a wall, Carolina hadn’t heard so much as a whisper all day.
She shut her book and set it down, eyes falling on her cabin door. It was one thing to spend time with Ophelia during an errand, but it would be another thing entirely to spend time just for the company, wouldn’t it? Ophelia had made it very clear where she stood on revisiting old feelings. But it wouldn’t be revisiting if they were friends, right?
No. Every time she got her hopes up, every time she got comfortable, she said the wrong thing and made Ophelia angry. She probably shouldn’t try initiating anything, even if she was at risk of losing her mind with boredom. Renewing her attachment would only make it harder to do what she had to, and what would’ve been the point, anyway? She’d already burned whatever olive branch Ophelia might’ve extended upon her rescue. She should go and train. That would be better, right? Hitting something with a dagger usually helped.
She stood and called Ribbon to her shoulder so the whippon could get some fresh air too, and paced to the door. But she threw it open and stopped in her tracks as she locked eyes with Ophelia, who had one fist raised like she’d been about to knock.
“Oh,” Ophelia breathed in surprise, lowering her hand. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Carolina whispered, blinking away her own bewilderment and already forgetting what she’d been going to do. She cleared her throat. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes. No. I mean yes.”
Carolina lifted an eyebrow.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Ophelia said with an embarrassed laugh, “but something will be if I don’t stretch my legs. Could you- Will you go into town with me? I know Berkeley is checking the post a few times a day, but I’d like to go if that’s alright. ”
“Yes,” Carolina said without hesitation, and she understood the surprise on Ophelia’s face given that two days ago she’d been reluctant to leave the ship for any extended period. “I’m so bored that I fear for my sanity,” she admitted, “at the very least I could use a walk.” She reached up to take Ribbon off her shoulder, and told the whippon, “Go and keep the watch crew company,” and Ribbon chirped and flew off.
“If you’d like to go somewhere after checking the post,” Ophelia said as she began leading the way to the ramp, “I’d be happy to come.”
Carolina glanced over briefly as she thought about that. As she wondered exactly which part of it Ophelia would be happy with. But she had to stop that, didn’t she? They were over, they’d been over for almost a decade. “If I’m leaving the ship,” she answered, “I’m getting an ale.”
“Perfect.”
They reached the bottom of the ramp and walked along for a minute in silence. If Carolina was honest, she was still afraid to say the wrong thing and ruin what could be a perfectly nice time by upsetting Ophelia, and maybe it was just her, but there seemed to be some fresh tension between them. Maybe it was the looming uncertainty as they waited to hear whether there was a way to break the curse without Ophelia Ascending, and there was an anxious part of Carolina that wished for good news even if she refused to get her hopes up, especially given that she was also considering what her next step should be since the Fortuna had provided no answer.
Ophelia seemed hesitant too, because it was only after another minute passed that she asked, “Carolina? Will you do something for me?”
Her head cocked. “That depends…”
Ophelia stared down at her feet for a minute while they walked, before finally looking up and over at her. “If Lia provides a solution to breaking the curse,” she said, “one that doesn’t involve me Ascending, will you prioritize it?” Carolina’s eyebrows rose, and Ophelia quickly added, “I can only imagine how impatient you are. I know. I just… please. Will you try and have just a little bit of faith? Will you give me this one chance to make it right?”
Even if she had known where to find Vivienne’s descendants, whatever journals or documents they may have had had been with them for hundreds of years, and that didn’t seem likely to change if she deviated from her search for a few days. And if Ophelia could break the curse another way, then they wouldn’t need to keep searching at all. Not to mention how it would help with easing the tension between them, or how it might allow her to begin making amends.
“Yes,” she said eventually, “I’ll prioritize it.”
Ophelia smiled, said, “Thanks,” and then focused ahead again.
That time, Carolina only let a short moment of silence go by before asking, “Have you been occupied the last couple days? I’ve hardly seen you.”
“I’ve not seen you either,” Ophelia accused, and the playfulness in her tone made Carolina glad she’d prioritized an alternate cure. “What have you been doing?”
“Daydreaming about an expensive meal and wondering why I ever let Cook leave the ship,” she answered.
Ophelia laughed. “If you hadn’t been so busy sulking, you might’ve found yourself in the galley while I was cooking.”
“Is that an invitation?” Carolina asked.
“Sure,” Ophelia answered, glancing over at her with a smile. “But for now, I’ll let you buy me an ale.”
“Oh?” Carolina asked in mock offense. “You’ll let me buy you an ale?” All Ophelia did was give her a mischievous grin and hum. “Well, thank you for the honor.”
“You’re welcome,” Ophelia teased, and held that beaming grin at her until they both laughed. “Oh look,” she said, gesturing upward at a shop sign, “we’re at the post.” Carolina followed her into the office and up to the counter, where she told the clerk, “Picking up for Ophelia Baker. Post code one-eight-one-nine.”
“Just a moment,” the clerk told her, and turned around to search through small boxes of letters. “I’m sorry,” he said, turning around empty handed, “there’s nothing here.”
“Are you certain?” Ophelia asked. “I was hoping for a reply days ago…”
“Let me double check,” he replied, turning again to search the box.
There was nothing for Ophelia in it, but this time, he moved it aside and brought forward another. He shuffled quickly through the letters and then pushed it aside as he scanned the other ones on the counter, mumbling ‘Baker’ to himself. Ophelia cast Carolina a worried look and steepled her hands in front of her mouth.
The clerk furrowed his brow at the farthest box and went to stand in front of it, flicking through letters with his fingers until he said, “There we are!” He turned and held the letter out to Ophelia. “So sorry, Miss, our new apprentice is still learning the system.”
“That’s quite alright,” Ophelia said with a smile as she took the letter from him. “Thank you.”
He barely finished saying ‘have a nice day’ before they were both out the door. Carolina trailed Ophelia into the nearest alley so they were out of earshot of anyone on the street, and she could hardly keep her patience.
“Is it from Lia?” she asked.
Ophelia tore open the seal and unfolded the parchment, her eyes dropping to the signature on the bottom. “Yes.”
“Go on,” she urged, “read it.”
Her heart was pounding, and she could only imagine Ophelia felt the same as she took in a shaky breath and read, “Miss Parker, I hope this letter has found you promptly enough.” She hastily mumbled over the next few lines before reading, “After consulting with some other witches, I’m happy to tell you that there is a way to undo the curse you’ve cast.” Ophelia looked up at Carolina, eyes wide and hopeful.
“Keep going,” Carolina breathed, swallowing hard.
“Below is a list of things you’ll need,” Ophelia continued. “The bulk of the reversal, however, relies heavily on you. In order for the reversal to work, there will need to be complete absolution of the circumstances involved in the casting of the spell.” Ophelia skimmed the rest of the parchment while she said, “There’s a list of ingredients… ‘best of luck, Lia.’”
That was it, and Ophelia didn’t say anything else while she stood there staring at the letter, and Carolina was too afraid to ask what all of it meant. Her heart was still racing, and she was so nervous about this possible solution that her stomach was in a whirlwind, but there was some spark of hope in her chest that kept her waiting for Ophelia to say something.
And after a minute of staring at the letter, Ophelia let out a huff of laughter.
“What?” Carolina asked anxiously. “Will this work? Is this good? What does she mean absolution?”
Ophelia finally looked up with a bright smile. “Of course,” she chuckled, grabbing Carolina’s manacled wrist in her hand. “ Of course it’s that simple.” She let out a louder, giddier laugh as she lifted Carolina’s hand above her head, twirled herself under it, and let it go. “Absolution,” she said as if it was obvious. “The casting of the spell was emotionally charged. I was heartbroken then, but I’m not anymore. The circumstances involved in the casting of the spell have been relieved. It’s absolved! Carolina,” she paused, held Carolina’s gaze with a grin, and said, “we can break the curse.”
Carolina finally let herself grin too, and she was so excited about the prospect of finally being free, and being free without forcing Ophelia to Ascend, that she couldn’t contain it. She stomped her feet happily around in a circle.
“I can’t believe it,” she said with a laugh when she stopped, and gestured at the letter. “What do we need? Anything we can get here?”
“Um,” Ophelia hummed, reading the list of ingredients before her shoulders fell. “Oh…”
“‘Oh’ what?” she asked.
“The same mineral used as the curse’s catalyst…”
“Laibralt,” Carolina sighed, and Ophelia nodded. “Well, how did you steal it the first time?”
Ophelia reached up to scratch her forehead, eyes squinted with a grimace. “It, uh, might’ve been the only piece the Phoenixes had at the time, and I framed the rebellion for it…” One of Carolina’s eyebrows rose. “It was complete chance that I had the opportunity to, I’d just been planning to use mescot… It caused quite the stir, actually…”
“Lucky me, huh?” Carolina said sarcastically, and Ophelia gave her a toothy, apologetic smile. “Can we buy it?”
Ophelia shrugged. “Maybe, if you could even find a piece.”
“Well, then,” Carolina asked, “where can we find it? Or steal it?”
“Without breaking into a sanctuary,” she said, adding, “which I really wouldn’t recommend,” then she shrugged again, thought about it, and winced. “We may need to go to the source.”
Carolina cleared her throat. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but laibralt comes from the horn of a blackfire dragon.”
“You’re correct.”
“Are you suggesting we go to the surface and hunt one?”
“ No ,” Ophelia said instantly, “no, no, no. I mean, that would be one way, and I suppose with all things considered it wouldn’t be that much more dangerous than what I’m actually suggesting.”
“What are you suggesting?” Carolina asked.
“The dragons can’t see when they’re in lava,” Ophelia explained, “but their horns are so sensitive they’re almost like whiskers, so they produce laibralt, which forms a crust on the outside. It’s hard and protects the horns, but it’s extremely conductive and still lets signals through.”
“I’m following,” Carolina said.
“Laibralt isn’t collected by hunting the dragons,” Ophelia told her. “It cracks as their horns grow and drops off in chunks. A lot of it is lost in the lava, but some of it falls off onto the surface.”
“And you think going to the surface and trekking through blackfire dragon territory hoping to find laibralt before we get seen and eaten is safer than sneaking into a sanctuary?”
“Actually, yes,” Ophelia answered, and Carolina laughed in disbelief.
Carolina then folded one arm across her chest to rest her elbow on it, and supported her chin in her hand while she thought to herself.
There was no arguing that the risk of being attacked by a dragon was the greatest one, and would likely be one of the most dangerous things she’d ever done, but that wasn’t the only danger on the surface. The surface was a hot, violent place. The ground could shift and crack at any moment as new islands formed. Lava rivers and magma lakes were everywhere. There were pockets of deadly fumes, and blackfire dragons weren’t the only hostile creature to thrive in that environment. Not to mention the nomads.
Where did Sovereign get its laibralt from in the first place? Collectors. And if she knew anything about people who made their fortunes risking their lives, it’s that they wouldn’t take kindly to strangers coming in to swipe product from under their noses, and she had no doubt that the kind of people who survived on the surface weren’t the kind to be trifled with.
Even with all that risk, though, she couldn’t deny that it sounded like fun — stupid, dangerous fun — and she knew Berkeley and Rue wouldn’t hesitate either. She couldn’t keep a small smile from tugging at her lips, and when Ophelia saw it, she grinned too.
“I need a drink,” Carolina chuckled.
“Have you ever been to the surface?” Ophelia asked as she turned, leading the way to look for the nearest tavern.
“A couple times,” Carolina answered, and Ophelia gave a curious hum. “Once to trade with nomads. Another to rob a mining operation in the middle of nowhere. I have a friend who lives in Trayward though.”
Ophelia took in an excited gasp. “Trayward?” She nodded. “What’s it like? Have you seen it? ”
“No,” she chuckled. “But Kala’s described it in letters.”
Because of the shifting ground on the surface, the people who lived there were nomadic, ready to pick up and move at the slightest crack. But that wasn’t the case for the only established town on the surface. The people at Trayward had managed to live there for at least hundreds of years, though nobody really knew how long it had been.
“It’s not quite as built up as the towns we’re used to on islands, I think,” Carolina said. “But, by surface standards, it’s a thriving place. They only rely on the Red Isle for a few types of fresh goods — certain fruits and vegetables and the like — but most of their meat comes from cattle and hunting evison.”
“Ugh,” Ophelia grimaced.
“Eh,” she said with a smirk, “it’s not so bad.” She hadn’t been overly eager to try the slime-coated lava eel either, but she’d lost a bet with Berkeley once and didn’t have a choice.
Ophelia’s curiosity seemed to get the better of her. “What’s it taste like?”
Carolina laughed. “Um, it’s like… well, I guess it’s like white fish, but with a bit of an earthy taste. Kind of like mushrooms.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Ophelia agreed. They arrived at a tavern then, and as they strode in, Ophelia asked, “How do you think they’ve survived there so long?”
“The people that live there are all well-armed in case of creature attacks,” Carolina said. They reached the bar, and she gestured to the barkeep for two large ales while pulling a few coins out of her pocket with her other hand.
“But centuries ,” Ophelia mused. “To think they’ve been so lucky that the ground hasn’t shifted all that time.”
Carolina slapped the coins down on the bar and said ‘thanks’ to the man who brought her a couple of two-pint tankards, and then nodded for Ophelia to follow her to a booth near the back. As they sat down, she said, “Apparently, the rumor between locals is that each new leader is a rogue Caster, and they just use magic to make sure there’s no islands forming below them.”
Ophelia made a skeptical sort of hum and said, “We can’t read mineral deposits at that scale or distance. And I don’t know how they’d keep finding rogue Casters.” Carolina laughed and shrugged. “How many people live there?”
“I don’t know,” Carolina said, “maybe a few thousand. ”
“That’s incredible,” Ophelia said.
“It’s not far from here,” Carolina told her. “Maybe we should go. Kala might know where to start looking for laibralt, and I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
Ophelia grinned at that. Carolina smiled back into her tankard as she lifted it to her lips, and then chugged down several large gulps of cold liquid gold. She set it back down with a heavy thud, smacked her lips, and sighed.
“Good?” Ophelia asked.
“Blissful,” she answered. Ophelia lifted her own tankard and took a small drink, and to make conversation, she asked, “Of all the islands you’ve been to, which was your favorite?”
Ophelia pursed her lips to one side and took another drink to fill the gap while she thought about it. Then she set her tankard down and said, “Burling.”
“Burling?” Carolina repeated, squinting across the table. “Burling… Isn’t that… It’s a tiny little island? Barely on the map.”
Ophelia nodded and said, “Only about three hundred people.”
“Fine, I’ll bite,” she chuckled. “Why’s it your favorite?”
“Lots of reasons,” Ophelia told her. “It’s so small that Sovereign has no use for it, and no reason to enforce its rule, so it’s mostly untouched by Sovereign’s economy. There are no employers, no indentured, they barely even use dominions amongst themselves. They trade when they can, and — the reason it was really my favorite place — they help each other when they can’t. Their culture is… It’s unlike any other I’ve experienced.”
“What took you there?” she asked.
“Luck,” Ophelia answered. “The ship I was traveling on hit an air pocket that cracked one of the heart’s cooling pipes. It was the first island we could reach to get it fixed. The blacksmith fixed it for a crate of peaches.” Ophelia shook her head and laughed, “Two weeks of labor for peaches , Carolina.”
“Can’t say I blame him,” Carolina laughed too. “That sounds nice.”
“It was the most at peace I’ve ever felt.”
“Why didn’t you go back?” she asked. “Or stay?”
“They don’t just let anyone stay or move there,” Ophelia answered. “It’s the only way they can protect how they live.”
Carolina nodded her understanding, but the conversation had spurred a more pressing question, and she was almost too afraid to ask. But a fear of asking had been the cause of eight years of suffering, and she didn’t want to spend the next decade wondering what if.
“Do you know,” she began to say, and paused to swallow as her heartbeat picked up. Ophelia lifted an eyebrow at her. “What will you do after the curse is broken? Where will you go?”
Ophelia seemed surprised as she stared at Carolina for several moments with wide eyes. Then her gaze dropped, and she thumbed the rim of her tankard as she stared down into it. “I hadn’t thought about it,” she said.
Carolina began to lift her drink to her lips to calm her nerves, but changed her mind as she decided that if she didn’t say it, she’d lose the courage. “You could stay,” she said, her heart skipping one of its swift beats when Ophelia looked up at her. “If you want,” she added. “We do need a good doctor.” She held back a wince, silently cursing herself for not saying what she really meant. I want you to stay. I want you to stay.
Ophelia pursed her lips and lowered her gaze back into her drink. “I suppose I… wasn’t being honest when I said I hadn’t thought about it,” she said. “It’s just that I’ve been conflicted, because how could you want to stay in a place when your purpose there began involuntarily?” She paused for a few moments and then shrugged. “But there’s another part of me, a deep, vulnerable part of me that’s been alone for a decade that’s relieved to be amongst old friends.” When she looked up again, her eyes were moist. “I’m tired of running. Of being alone.”
“You don’t have to be,” Carolina told her. And maybe it was the fact that Ophelia had already thought about it, or the hope inspired by the fact that Ophelia wouldn’t have to Ascend to break the curse, or maybe it was the ale, but she finally said, “I want you to stay.”
Their eyes met, and Ophelia only looked away after several long seconds to glance briefly at her drink before returning her gaze to Carolina’s, and it filled Carolina with more hope than she’d felt in a long, long time.
“Maybe,” Ophelia said. She smiled and returned her focus to her drink, nodding as she said again, “Maybe.”
And it was enough for Carolina to smile too, though she hid that shy smile behind her tankard as she took another long drink, because she felt something far more vulnerable than that spark of hope. It was something stirred by the idea of Ophelia even considering staying with Omen, and something she’d resigned herself to never feeling again. But it wasn’t just the thought of Ophelia staying with Omen permanently that stirred the feeling. If she dared to admit it to herself, there was a deep-down part of her that had felt it ever since Ophelia had simply decided to linger. Since she’d taken the chains off Ophelia’s wrists and looked into her eyes for the first time in over eight years, and Ophelia didn’t run. And that feeling, in spite of the curse, and the pain, and the lingering tension between them, was happiness. Just being around Ophelia again made her happy.