42. Zai
Zai
Darkness had claimed the sky by the time Kestrel, Flint, and I reached the Skydagger. Lanterns hung along the hull, bathing the weathered wood in warm pools of light.
“They’re back.” A woman’s voice drifted down from the deck.
Sharp-Eyed Sashiva, if I wasn’t mistaken.
Someone lowered the gangplank.
Sashiva’s blade-thin frame and Ravenous Rafforin’s rounded belly appeared before us as we climbed aboard.
Some crew members lounged at a table near the bow, laughing and cheering over a game of dice, while others sprawled across crates or sharpened their blades.
“I’ll get the captain.” Sashiva slipped away, heading toward the captain’s quarters beneath the quarterdeck.
I glanced at Rafforin. “You didn’t happen to come across the Dual Wielder, did you?”
His eyes widened. “No. Were we s’posed to?”
Relief washed through me. “I guess not.”
Tera stepped out onto deck, her alert gaze sweeping over us. “So? How’d it go?”
The rest of the crew took note of our arrival and gathered around as Kestrel launched into the tale of how he’d tricked information from moon girl’s sister.
When he finished, I cut in, glancing at Tera. “We should ready the ship and take off right away.”
The captain crossed her arms. “We’ll do no such thing. We’ll go first thing in the morning.”
“Why?” My jaw tightened. “We’ve flown through the night before.”
“Yes, to get away from hostile territory.” Tera’s tone left no room for argument. “Flying blind is reckless. Besides, we won’t spot them in the dark anyway.”
Frustration coiled through me, but I knew better than to push, especially in front of the crew. Captain’s word was final.
As night fell, the crew spread out on bedrolls on the ground beside the hull. I tossed and turned on a borrowed bedroll, but sleep refused to come. When dawn broke, I was the first back up on deck, rallying people into action.
The crew scrambled into position, and heat surged into the balloon. The Skydagger lifted, banking northeast toward the border between Blightlands and the Sun Kingdom.
I hauled myself up the ladder to the quarterdeck where Tera gripped the wheel and Lark stood at her navigation table.
My fingers curled around the railing as I voiced the question that had churned through my mind all night. “How will we find them? The Dual Wielder and moon girl could be anywhere in the Sun Kingdom by now.”
Lark’s calm gaze lifted from the maps. “We know where he wants to go. We could just head for the capital and set up watch outside the Forbidden Archives.”
Tera gave a thoughtful hum. “Not a bad idea. We can capture him as soon as he makes his move.”
I glanced between them. “What about the ship? How far into the Sun Kingdom can we go by air?”
A faint smile touched the navigator’s lips. “We regularly venture into the Sun Kingdom for missions. Whenever official Sun ships appear, we drop below the tree line to avoid detection.” Her gaze snagged on the crew below. “Excuse me.” She descended the ladder to the main deck.
Curious, I tracked her as she crossed to where Carpenter Brenna knelt beside a section of splintered railing.
Lark crouched, running her fingers along the damaged wood. Her lips moved, too quiet to catch, hand tracing the break with careful attention.
Brenna was one of the non-wielders aboard, kept on for her exceptional skill with ship repairs.
Her shoulders hunched, regret threading through her voice as I caught a few words. “Should’ve caught this sooner.”
Lark’s head tilted in that patient way of hers, not judging, just listening and responding with unhurried words. Whatever she said transformed Brenna’s expression. Her posture straightened and a genuine smile broke across her sun-tanned face.
A flicker of warmth stirred in my chest. Lark guided without crushing, corrected without condemning.
Father’s lessons had always centered on strength and control, never on…
whatever this was. This was more like something Mother would’ve done.
She’d never demanded perfection. When my flames had sputtered or heat wavered, she’d led me toward alternatives, suggested adjustments, encouraged different approaches.
She’d shared Father’s conviction that I lacked control, that my magic was weak—but where Father demanded, Mother guided. Where he criticized, she encouraged.
After she died, Father had intensified his methods, forcing me to forget her gentle ways, claiming softness was the reason for my failures. But what if he was wrong?
My fingers grazed the familiar twists of my braided leather bracelet, the one Mother had given me so many years ago.
What would happen when I brought the Dual Wielder to Father? Would he suddenly start treating me with compassion instead of contempt?
I couldn’t picture it.
Capturing the Dual Wielder wouldn’t transform everything to the way it was before Mother died. It would only drag me back into the same blazing pit—Val’s bullying, Father’s expectations, the nobles’ tedious games for power and influence. My fingers dug into the railing.
Was I doing the right thing?
As Lark climbed back up the ladder, she caught my eye, offering a faint smile before returning to her maps.
My throat tightened. It wasn’t just her encouragement that echoed Mother’s methods—it was the way she existed in the world. Soft. Quiet. Unshakeable.
Tera jerked her chin at Lark. “Take the wheel.”
Lark stepped in without a word, and the captain descended the ladder.
Swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth, I moved to stand beside the navigator, leaning against the front railing with my back to the main deck.
“What if…” I cleared my throat. “What do you do when the path forward is clouded and dark?” The question roughened my voice. “How do you know you’re heading the right way—as a navigator, I mean?”
Her gaze shifted to me, steady and knowing, like she could read the deeper meaning beneath my words. “Navigation in the dark isn’t about knowing where you’re heading. It’s about trusting the pull toward where you need to be, even when the stars are hidden.”
I frowned. “What if the pull drags you in opposite directions?”
She nodded slowly. “When doubt clouds your mind, trust your instinct to know the truth.”
I crossed my arms over the rancor twisting beneath my ribs. Sure, doubt tangled through my mind like smoke, but my instincts were just as scrambled as the rest of me.
This wasn’t helpful at all, just a load of nonsense.
I turned, facing the people bustling below.
Tera’s voice cut across the deck. “Jorgen, that line is too slack.”
Jaded Jorgen’s lean frame stiffened as he glanced at the rope in his hands, steely eyes scanning for the mistake.
“There.” Tera pointed at the fastening point. “When you secure it like that, the whole tension fails in the balloon.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but she was already yanking the rope free, looping it through the rigging with efficient movements and pulling it taut. The line sang with proper tension.
“See?” She thrust the free end of the rope at his chest. “Get it right next time.”
Jorgen caught the rope, jaw clenched.
I straightened as I watched her march away. She might be harsh, demanding improvement without coddling, but it was efficient. Exactly the kind of teaching Father would approve of.
He’d used those methods to forge me into a survivor. What Lark displayed was weakness disguised as gentleness. I couldn’t let myself be lured by softness like that.
I had to stay the path.
Strong. Fierce. Ruthless.
Within a few candlemarks, the murky forests of Blightlands gave way to the towering pines and sprawling plains of the Sun Kingdom.
Golden light broke through the clouds, painting the landscape in shades of amber and rust. Mountain peaks rose in the distance, their snow-capped summits gleaming like polished metal.
A bitter ache spread through my core. This was my country, my home—yet some of its inhabitants would sooner see me hanged than welcomed back.
On the main deck below, a group of crew members roared with laughter. Kestrel stood in their midst, but for once, he wasn’t laughing with them. A frown creased his forehead, his mouth pulled tight with annoyance.
Tera shouted a few commands, and the crew scattered into positions, lowering the Skydagger until the tallest treetops scraped against the hull.
Kestrel bounded up the ladder to the quarterdeck, his grin back in place. “My dear Captain, has anyone told you lately what a formidable leader you are?”
“What do you want?” she grunted.
“Straight to the point, as always. Maybe I should write a song about Tera the Terse?” His grin split wider.
She glared at him.
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “The thing is… I was just talking to the crew about the Forbidden Archives and all the forbidden treasures rumored to be locked inside.”
Tera’s fingers tightened around the wheel. “What about it?”
“Think about it, Captain!” He threw his arms wide. “They’re locked away for a reason! Some of those items must be invaluable. And since we’re heading there anyway, wouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity to pull off a little heist?”
I frowned at his suggestion. Kestrel had never struck me as the greedy type. Why would he want to risk a heist for a few trinkets?
Tera’s gaze cut to him. “A heist? Are you crazy? That place is an impenetrable vault.”
He waggled his brows. “What if I know of a secret back door?”
Her eyes narrowed. “And how would you know that?”
“A very reliable source told me.”
The captain huffed a laugh. “I’m guessing you have a personal item in there you wish to retrieve?”
My frown eased. Of course, that made a lot more sense.
Kestrel’s arms spread wide. “As a matter of fact, I do! And my source told me—”
Tera’s voice cut through his words, cold and sharp. “I like you, Kestrel, but I trust you and your source as far as a brumel can fly.”
He raised a finger. “But—”
“Forget it,” she snapped. “We’re not risking our lives on a stupid heist.”
His mouth opened, then closed, his shoulders sagging. Then his gaze slid to me and a resolved smile spread across his face.
My jaw clenched. His relentless chatter was the last thing I needed right now.
Chaotic thoughts still swarmed my mind. Half-formed plans for capturing the Dual Wielder tangled with speculation about what my family would say when I returned. Would Father finally see me as worthy and allow me to advance to adept?
Would Iz go back to treating me with the same indifference as before? My mind burned with curiosity over how she’d acquired that coin purse for me, and how she knew so much about the outside world.
And Val… Would he ever look at me without hatred seething behind his eyes?
“Zai!” Kestrel slipped in beside me, sweeping his arm toward the rooftops sprouting from the forest below. “Oh, look at that! Gravendale Town! Back where we started! Remember when we first met not far from here?”
“All too well,” I grumbled.
He leaned over the railing, his gaze sweeping across the landscape. “And look, there’s the Keep. And the border camp, right on the edge of Blightlands.” He gestured toward the aft of the ship.
My jaw clenched. “I’m trying to think.”
“The view forward is much better, though.” He pointed toward the city sprawling at the mountain’s base. “Sunrise City in all its glory, housing the infamous Forbidden Archives. Speaking of, have you visited?”
A pounding pressure built behind my temples. “A couple of times.”
“Really?” His gaze snapped to me, brimming with eagerness. “I mean, of course you have! You’re the prince! Then you must have seen all that treasure inside?”
“I wouldn’t call it treasure,” I grunted.
He leaned in, a conspiratorial smirk tugging at his lips. “I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff in there that could come in handy for hunting the Dual Wielder. Wouldn’t it be absolutely glorious if we made a quick visit and retrieved a few things?”
“That’s insane,” I growled, heat building in my core.
“Insanely epic, you mean? Just think about the songs I could write about the pirate crew that pulled off a heist into the Forbidden Archives while capturing the Dual—”
“Flames alive, Kestrel, just shut up and go jump in the abyss! When will you get it into your sunless void of a brain that no one wants to listen to your ramblings?”
Silence crashed down between us. His smile faltered and died, his jaw working.
Without a word, he turned and descended the ladder.
Tera traced his movements, but Lark’s gaze fixed on me, one brow raised. I spun away and glared at the landscape.
Finally, some peace.
But something sour coiled in my gut, spreading like acid through my veins.
The next couple of candlemarks slipped past in tense deliberation.
Tera ordered a slow pace, ready to dip below the treetops at the first sight of any official sun ship.
Several times, we had to sink down and wait for them to pass before pressing on.
By the time we reached the outskirts of Sunrise City, the sun had dipped toward the horizon.
The rooftops sprawled before us, tier after tier climbing the mountainside. The palace nestled above them like a crown, its gilded towers catching the setting sun and throwing it back in molten streaks.
As the stone walls crept closer, Tera’s commands cut across the deck. The ship groaned as it descended into a clearing and touched solid ground. Crew members scrambled over the side, bracing the hull with wooden props while others hauled down the balloon in practiced movements.
Tera climbed down to the main deck. “Crew, finish up and gather around. Time to plan our next move.”
The crew wrestled the balloon flat and folded it away before converging in a loose circle around her.
I scanned the heads, but a certain shade of golden-brown hair was missing. “Where’s Kestrel?”
Most crew members shrugged, but Jaded Jorgen stabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Took off as soon as we landed. Said something ‘bout not being wanted here.”
A prickling cold surged through my veins. The words I’d hurled at him echoed in my skull.
No one wants to listen to your ramblings.
Blazing void, I shouldn’t have yelled at him.