Chapter Fourteen
Perdita
T he prince’s friends were…weird. The gigantic one paced and fidgeted so much that my entire crew was on edge around him. Meanwhile, the small thing with bright blue hair simply scowled as the two of them plotted. In the three hours we had them on board, neither had so much as spoken to us. Prince Bellamy Ayad asked—no, demanded —that we give them a couple hours to strategize, but I was quickly losing my patience.
Yes, we had our gold, but I was not one for waiting around. I did not like stillness, and I surely did not like being without a plan. Time drifted by like a rowboat at sea, but here we remained, anchored and unmoving.
It was pissing me off.
I was a pirate, for fucks sake! Reputations had to be maintained. Fear needed to be instilled, gold needed to fall at my feet, and blood needed to soak my deck. These two idiots were wasting my time. Yet, I could not simply kill them. More than gold hung in the balance of this odd alliance I had crafted with Bellamy Ayad.
Tides were shifting, change was coming, and I needed to be on the winning side. Not to mention they had killed my father. The bastard who had beaten me when I did not speak. The beast that used to haunt my sleep.
Torn vocal cords. How strange to know the truth of it. Not that I would want to be any different than I was. My inability to speak or hear had not stopped me from besting any and all who wished to come at me—challenge me. I was more than just a sailor or a pirate. I was a captain. The best captain.
Well, until today. Gods I could wring that stupid prince’s neck right about now.
“They are odd,” CJ signed. I nodded, but did not respond. As always, that did not deter CJ from continuing to converse. She had been secluded almost her entire life, left uneducated and hidden because of the strength of her powers. As far as Waters went, she likely would have been a part of the fae council if she had completed Academy and been scored. Thankfully for her, CJ’s parents had been a part of the rebel group that had only grown as the years passed. They taught her at home, honed her powers, and showed her how to fight. More than that, they allowed her to see the truth: one must do anything they can to survive, even if the world deemed it evil. “I could freeze their blood and see how long they last, if you are bored.”
Chuckling, I shook my head and shoved her arm playfully. She was a bright spot, despite her grim sense of humor.
“No need. I think I have waited long enough. If I spend more than five minutes in their presence, then send Ro over to save me.” CJ saluted me and winked a piercing blue eye before skipping away, likely to torment an already irate Bek. I watched with glee as her flowing dark hair swayed in the wind and wacked Fatima in the face.
CJ was the youngest of us—only thirty-five years—but when she found us docked at Isle Element and begged for our help, I could not refuse her. Anyone running from a family who caged them deserved a chance at freedom. While her family had not hurt her or even neglected her, they refused her the right to live beyond the walls of a home that existed in limbo.
My other five crew members—Bek, Ro, Dima, Jazmine, and Fatima—all came to me in different ways. Two strays, one poached from my pathetic father’s crew, and two found along the way. Each of them served a vital purpose that maintained the ship and our livelihoods.
With a final deep breath of peace, I began walking towards the two newcomers. The male abruptly stopped his pacing at the sound of me nearing, but it was the female who took a fighting stance. She stood, pointing her dagger at me and glaring.
Objectively speaking, she was quite pretty. Her blue hair matched well with the yellow-tint of her skin and the deep brown of her eyes. Despite her oddly large teeth and mouth, her face seemed to be perfectly paired. She sported the body of a fighter, which was rather appealing to see. But there was something off about her. As if the darkness that lurked beneath her skin would consume us all if we did not behave.
Odd then, that she was not a demon at all. Not with those ears.
Choosing her had been completely random, but I found myself glad now as I squared off my shoulders. Neither of them could sign, that I was sure of. Few cared and even fewer learned. But they would have to make do.
“You are taking far too long,” I signed, smirking when they both looked at me in confusion. Idiots. Laughing, I pointed to them and then to the sun. The tall one stared at me dumbfounded, but the female glared before standing and speaking to the male. I was not awful at reading lips, but I often preferred not to. Her lips though, they were enticing. Like my eyes wished to do nothing but stare at them all day.
“She says it has been too long, I think.”
Smart female.
The male scoffed, made obvious by the parting of his lips and the quick lift of his chest. As if he had any right to be annoyed. It was not only my time he was wasting, but his own as well. His princess’s, too. Both of them should be more eager than I was, but instead they were doing what looked like nothing.
After a beat of silent stares between the two of them, the female faced me again. If one could cut with a stare, then I would have been dead upon my own deck from hers. Was she just a warrior, or did she hold a position of power? Would the prince keep a fae around that did not offer some sort of enormous gain? What then, was her power?
I wish I had been paying attention after they attacked Dima and the fight began, but I could not take my eyes off the dying siren. Could not understand how things had gone so horribly wrong. That, and I was carefully considering what I was willing to lose in order to win.
“We need to get to Betovere. Have you heard anything about the fae princess in the last week?”
Watching without laughing as she attempted to act out each word was an impossible task. I burst into a fit of chortles when she used her hands to make a crown on her head as she said “princess.”
Bringing my fingers to my lips, I quickly blew out a whistle and waited for my crew to come. They were upon us in seconds, Bek and Ro taking up my flanks. Ro, with her upturned forest green eyes and her soft brown hair that only just kissed her collarbones, looked the sweetest of us all. She was, in fact, actually the meanest.
“We should kill them and run. Take our chances hiding from the prince instead of doing his dirty work. He might be sending us straight to our deaths, Perdita.” Her signs were soft despite the words she was conveying, just as she appeared to be. Rolling my eyes, I signed back to her, allowing my gaze to find the brown irises of the furious fae female before us.
“She wants to know if we have heard anything on the whereabouts of the fae princess. Tell her we have not, but that we need to form a plan if we are to be sent on a possible suicide mission.” I knew with certainty that Ro likely growled in anger at my reply. But I did not answer to her—nor did I answer to anyone. My agreement to work with the prince would give us more than it would cost. If we could make a good plan, then we could accomplish this.
And gaining the fae princess as an ally would not hurt. Everyone in Eoforhild knew of the heir to Betovere and her horrific powers. She was practically the incarnation of the Underworld. Perhaps she could melt a few brains for us.
In front of me, the female seemed to deflate slightly, as if she had great steaks in this mission, too. More than her life. She spoke swiftly, her large lips barely opening. Though I could not make out what she was saying, I could sense the irritation.
“Also, ask her what their names are,” I added. Ro’s lips pursed before asking them with obvious reluctance and disinterest. Both the fae and the demon before us looked at me with scrunched noses and frowns, as if me asking such a thing was offensive.
“Henry and Lian,” Ro said, signing the letters. L-I-A-N. How did that sound? Lie-an?
“It is pronounced lee-en. Li like tea, en like the beginning of the word end.” Bek was always perceptive, always knew what I thought before I told her. Lian. Lee-en. Interesting. Henry was easy enough.
“Tell Henry that—” Before I could finish signing the order, the demon summoned light to his hand, a pencil emerging from the Sun magic. We all waited as he read, his eyes wide by the time he finished. He turned and quickly cast out his magic, the white light turning into the shape of a female.
A curly-haired blonde emerged, dressed in green trousers and a black tunic. Despite her casual wear and sweaty face, so at odds with what must have been training leathers on the two she now stood beside, the female held herself like a queen upon a throne. Even the quality of her attire was clearly high. Definitely nothing like our flimsy and flowing clothing that best suited the seas and the scalding air. I drew the sword that had been strapped to my back, ready to end the newcomer before she had the chance to attack, but Henry put up a hand.
How dare he attempt to stop me—to order me!
“She has something for him,” Ro signed, pointing at the note that the heavy breathing and red-faced female was sliding into the demon’s hands.