21. Elspeth
IN WHICH ORCAS ATTACK BOATS, ELVES CHUM THE WATERS, AND TREES ARE STOLEN
T he next day and a half was a flurry of planning and savoring stolen moments with Aegir. Elspeth got the opportunity to see him in his element and get to know Jokith better. Part of the plan involved her and Jokith sabotaging some of the ships underwater while Aegir took out some of the larger ones.
"When you turn these cranks here, it’ll bore into the hull. I've found it's better to get it going at a good clip—really get it cranking—before you touch the ship. If you try to start it while it's touching, the friction'll fight you." Jokith's accent was much stronger than Aegir's, but he was such a sweetheart.
Elspeth was fitted with a harness that he'd ensured wouldn't cover the lower half of her body. Twin cranks spun gears and cogs on the contraption, leading to a circular saw in front of her. She'd swim up to strategically chosen spots on the ship's hull, bore in to create leaks, and then Jokith would come behind, in his shark form, and destroy the regularity of the hole.
It all seemed a bit odd to Elspeth, but apparently they'd done it several times.
"I was skeptical at first, too," Aegir said from where he lounged at the side of the cargo hold. "But he's done it several times now, and it works."
The cursed man had chosen a very specific column to lean against and the smirk on his face told her he'd done it intentionally. Aegir raised his eyebrows at her and it wracked through her body, heating her core and sensitizing her pussy. Her blood raced and nerves fluttered through her. How could he possibly make her feel as if her entire being was vibrating?
"Ugh! Gross!" Jokith stepped back from where he'd stood next to her to show her how to use the borer, waving his hand in front of his face. "Aegir, get out of here, you're making her feel all squidgy!"
"Am I?" Aegir prowled over to her, his steps slow and steady, his eyes never leaving hers .
Elspeth shot a look at Jokith. How dare he embarrass her like that? If only the floor would open up and swallow her whole, perhaps she might escape this feeling. But no, of course she was Aegir's captive just as much as he was hers. He pressed his lips to hers, consuming her attention and sending her thoughts skittering. Borer? What borer? For a brief, glittering moment, all that existed were Aegir's tender lips and the beat of her heart.
Aegir pulled back and smiled at her. The space allowed her thoughts to coalesce. She pushed his chest with her shoulder. "Get out of here. Give me some space, this is important."
Twining his fingers through her hair, Aegir tipped her head up to look at him. "You learned everything you needed to, we're going to get him back." With a last kiss, and a wave to Jokith, Aegir left them.
"These ships," Jokith continued. "They won't be able to shoot you with cannons under the water. But they've got sidearms and if they figure out what is happening, they won't hesitate to shoot you. As much as you can, you should stay low, underneath the hull for as much time as you can. Get in, bore, dive low to get out of there. I'll come behind you with my packages.
"Once they start noticing, things are going to heat up," he smiles, rubbing his hands in glee. " Then, while they are panicking, I'll lead you to the ship we assume will hold your brother. You and Aegir will board and get him out. During that, I'll be taking out as many ships as I am able before we evacuate. Any questions?"
"Only about a million, but let's continue." Elspeth shook her body and arms out before replacing her hands on the cranks.
"Good, now, I've set up several thicknesses of woods that we've known the Empire to use for their boats, let's see how fast you can get through them..."
W ith sore arms, she slumped back to Aegir's cabin that evening. When she arrived, he was leaned over his desk, poring over a set of blueprints with a pencil in his mouth. As she entered, he stood up, hands going to the small of his back, but smiling nonetheless.
"Are you an expert borer now?" He immediately walked closer, pulling her into him. Closing her eyes, Elspeth drank in his warmth.
"I am, those ships will be so bored they won't know what to do with themselves."
"Isn't that how one gets bored in the first place?" he asked, punctuating his quip with a kiss.
"Ha, ha," she said, voice dry. "I'm exhausted."
"So am I. I would have gone to sleep hours ago if I hadn't been waiting for you." He yawned, ending it with a kiss on the top of her head. "Let's get some rest."
Desire from earlier percolated through her, but it was tempered by her exhaustion. Instead of the hot, insistent need she'd felt earlier, this was a liquid, permeating warmth that simmered through her veins.
"As much as I want you," Aegir said, running his hands through her hair, "I think we both need sleep more."
Elspeth sighed and untied her skirt. "I suppose you're right. Going and tying you up again does sound like a lot of work."
Aegir grabbed her, pulling her back to his front and growling in her ear. "Don't mistake my care for your health as a lack of desire. The second your brother is settled after all of this, I'll be sitting in front of that column waiting impatiently with rope."
He nuzzled his nose into her neck, pulling her to him so she could feel the swelling of his erection pressed against her.
"I'll hold you to that." She turned and kissed him on the cheek.
"Goddess, I missed how you smell today," he whispered.
"You've got a real thing for smell, don't you?"
"Perhaps, maybe it's just you. Now, please, I need you in my bed, sweetly snoring."
Elspeth turned toward him in affront. "I beg your pardon! I do not snore!"
"On the contrary, my siren. You sing the sweetest little snoring song in your sleep, and it is absolutely precious."
Elspeth hadn't ever heard that she snored, and she and Feann had shared a room for their entire life. She opened her mouth to protest further but Aegir snuck in to kiss her, slipping his tongue inside and stroking until she was dizzy. He swept her up, carried her to the bed, and tossed her down so she bounced on his mattress.
"There you are, exactly where you belong." He gazed down at her, his face so plainly adoring that Elspeth thought she might cry.
"I don't know that I've ever seen anything more perfect than you in my bed." He whispered it, barely on the edge of Elspeth's hearing, perhaps it wasn't even meant for her.
Without a word, Aegir climbed into bed next to her. Swift fingers untied her layers, divesting her until she lay in her chemise. He removed his own clothing and padded to the side of the room to turn the knob that doused the lights. In seconds, they were plunged into darkness, the dim light of the moon painting Aegir in shadows. The bright white of his coloring danced with them in a game of chase, the dips and swells of his torso capturing shadows and swallowing them whole.
Everything felt momentous as he crawled into bed next to her, curling around her and sheltering her.
A nd in the dark, quiet, wrapped in Aegir’s arms, the truth that Elspeth had kept safely locked away began creeping from its containment. All of the planning had helped distract her, but the truth plagued her. It scratched at the walls of where she shoved it, refusing to be ignored any longer.
He’s bonded , it said.
You’ll have to kill , it said.
You aren’t prepared , it said.
Learning how little was actually affected by the bond had freed her in many ways, but she had no hope that it would do the same for Feann.
He hadn’t accidentally fallen into a bond with the man who seemed determined to shelter and care for him. She could remember vividly the sneer on the elf’s face as he smeared his blood across Feann’s pelt. She doubted if he even looked at Feann as a person. And for them, they would have to sever the bond. There was no way the elf would let him go willingly.
Which meant, Elspeth would need to do as she had always done—whatever was needed to care for those she loved, and in this case, that meant she needed to kill. As much as she hated the Navigator, the thought of taking a life still made her stomach roil. Because though Aegir would—if she needed—handle it, she still felt like she should—for Feann. Shouldn’t she? If she couldn’t even kill for him, what sort of sister was she?
They’d outlined their plan, and she’d trained.
Tomorrow, she'd have her brother back.
Tomorrow, she'd know what her future held.
Tomorrow, she'd take back control of her life.
T hough it wasn’t yet after sundown, the sky was dark with clouds, the wind whipped Elspeth’s hair around her, and the distant roll of thunder promised escalation.
"Remember," Jokith said. "I can't talk to you underwater like this freak can, so I'll just nod or shake my head."
"Right, I remember." Elspeth breathed deep, shivering with anticipation.
"Let's go sink some boats!" Jokith yelled, leaping over the gunwale.
"We will rescue your brother, I promise." Aegir whispered to her. He pressed a kiss to her lips, holding her shoulders firm.
"We will. He'll be safe." She said the words like speaking them would will it into being. She couldn't even bear to consider the possibility that he wouldn't.
"Race you." Aegir gave her a cheeky smile and took a head start, plunging into the water. With a growl of frustration, Elspeth followed him, the cool salt of the ocean washing over her like a balm. If nothing else, at least she had this, the depths welcoming her. The sea may roil above her, but these were currents she knew how to navigate. With as far north as they’d traveled, she was even beginning to recognize the tastes of her childhood, of salmon and charr, in the water.
Jokith swam ahead, rocketing to and fro, barely containing his excitement.
"Is he always like this?" Elspeth asked.
Aegir laughed, retaining his partial shift for the moment. "This is better, actually. At least now he isn't trying to pretend like he is being serious. Usually, he thinks I don't know he has explosive plans, so he's trying to act normal, which is exactly what tells me that he is anything but."
“Should we have avoided a plan that involves explosives then?”
If Jokith was a loose cannon, he could mess up their rescue. This might be her one chance to get Feann back.
“No, including the explosives is what will keep him on task and give him the chaos he needs to find Seelie’s brother. We’ll know exactly where he is, what he is doing. Sure, when sailors abandon ship, he will likely take the opportunity to chomp a few here and there, but he’ll stick to the plan, because the plan serves his goals.”
Elspeth pursed her lips. She was certainly not familiar with any military service or spy tactics, but she’d been under the impression that such things involved a level of control and discretion. Frowning, she pursed her lips and turned back to Aegir, careful that her voice didn’t carry.
“Should he be out here at all? In the Empire, I mean.”
Aegir winced and blew out a string of bubbles. “Honestly? Probably not. When I go home next, I think I’ll have to tell Hanne I tried, but that she needs to find another post for him. Not every plan requires explosives and that’s the only sure-fire way I have found of containing him.”
“I just don’t understand… from what you’ve told me of Sanctuary… it seems like such a peaceful place.”
“It is, which is perhaps part of the problem. The man’s got a lot of anger, and cooped up in Sanctuary, he didn’t have a lot of places to channel it. We thought, my commander, Hanne, and I, that perhaps doing something more active to fight the Empire might help. Maybe it does, when it’s in the ways he likes, but in others, I think it just makes it worse.”
“What happened? You mentioned thinking it might have to do with Seelie.”
“I think so. It’s one of those things where our age differences get in the way. I remember how he was as a little kid. A little excitable, perhaps, a little impulsive, so I can understand the munitions fascination. But the anger, that wasn’t there before. I’ve spent the better part of the last ten years on the water, so there’s a lot that goes on at home that I don’t know about.”
He shrugged, as if it didn’t matter, but it felt like when he was putting on an act.
“The point is, today, he’s doing just what he wants to do. Maximum damage, hitting the Empire where it hurts most, and as a bonus, something for his sister. He’s as happy as a clam today. He’ll stick to the plan.”
It eased some of Elspeth’s worries, but Jokith going rogue was really the least of them.
After several minutes of swimming, the flotilla came into view, and drops of rain fell on the surface of the water. It appeared there were around fifteen boats in the formation. As they'd planned, Elspeth and Jokith broke off to the side. Aegir blew her a cheeky kiss and headed off to start his own disruptions.
As she closed in on the nearest hull, Elspeth gripped the pedals of the borer, if a bit firmer than it required. This was it, her chance to rescue her brother, and she couldn't let him down. Her hands shook as she pressed the device up against the hull, at the spot Aegir and Jokith had said would lead into the cargo hold.
Backing it off, she started the spin, bringing it up to speed before gently touching it to the side of the hull. She had to do this twelve more times, so there was no need to go overboard and tire herself out. Her arms ached from the day before but it was a good sort of pain; the kind that reminded her that she was an active participant in her brother's rescue, rather than a bystander.
She spun the pedals, turning and cranking with a sustained speed until she pitched forward, the machine breaking through the thick wood. Pulling herself back, she stood to the side as Jokith swam forward, shifting briefly to his human form to set the explosives. He held his breath, and seemed relieved when he was done and could resume his great white shark form.
It was so strange to her that he could not simply shift to have gills, or increase his lung capacity like Aegir. Perhaps it was harder than Aegir let on, and she simply hadn't realized.
They continued that way, boring and setting the charges until when they neared the end of the group, hearing splashes and shouts above the water. Near the center, Aegir swam in his full orca form, bumping against the hull of another large boat.
He darted around, faster than any normal whale, taunting the sailors above. He zipped away from their harpoons, drawing their fire and forcing them to burn through their ammunition in advance of the true attack. The boat he’d targeted rocked back and forth wildly so that the crew held onto the railings with white knuckles.
Elspeth turned to Jokith and gave him the signal. He held the detonator in his mouth, rigged to be triggered by a bite instead of by hand. With what could only be described as a smile, he waited for Elspeth to shelter under the main boat and chomped down. Shock waves from all sides inundated her, making Elspeth feel dizzy. When she opened her eyes and shook her head, it was pandemonium. All around them, boats were on fire, with sailors plunging into the ocean to escape.
For the last time, Elspeth approached the boat Aegir had targeted, anticipation humming through her. She struggled with the borer, keeping it against the side of the boat was a trial, but eventually she was through, giving Aegir an opening.
Once she was through, he approached at speed from behind her and rammed his head against the hole, making it larger until he could rip chunks away with his teeth. When the hole was large enough, he shifted and he and Elspeth slipped inside. Water poured into the cargo hold where they’d entered and the boat continued to rock from Aegir’s previous attack. The shock waves from the explosions only amplified it, and above, Elspeth could hear screams of terror .
"Shark!" Someone called above. Jokith had revealed himself and had likely begun chumming the water with elves.
"That's our cue!" Aegir grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door to the rest of the ship. Before they opened it, Elspeth slipped off her pelt, freeing her legs and secreting the pelt safely within her pack. She grabbed a simple shift and threw it on. Who cared what she looked like during a rescue? Plus, perhaps the disorientation would work to her favor. Aegir donned his own clothing, a Pathian uniform, and melted his vibrant orca covering to a plain, elven one. Once they were both dressed, he opened the door and they climbed the stairs out of the hold.
As they'd hoped, most of the crew was above deck, dealing with the freak shark attack. The hallway where they emerged was dark, but Elspeth could already smell the faint scent of her brother's pelt. It was a scent she knew as well as her own. It was a smell she'd grown up with, it smelled like home.
Her nose led her immediately to one of the rooms they'd not marked off as an option, their blueprints had marked it as a closet. When she twisted the knob, the door was locked, but her brother’s pelt was undoubtedly inside.
“Feann’s pelt is in there,” she whispered.
Aegir nodded, reached around her, and pulled the door clean off its hinges. She raised her eyebrows at him and he winked.
“I didn’t know you could do that.”
“There’s still a lot I can do you don’t know about, love.” Aegir winked seductively, but she turned her attention back to the closet.
Inside, a series of shelves built into the wall held what could only be described as trophies. Artfully displayed were a series of artifacts, skulls, both humanoid and animal, a potted plant, and her brother's pelt. Without a second thought, Elspeth snatched the folded pelt off the shelf, hugging it to her and breathing in.
From down the hall, she heard an answering sob. She shifted to follow, but something about the plant tugged at her. It looked familiar somehow, with small white and pink flowers that littered the shelf and dirt around it, though none clung to its branches. It looked pathetic, like a miniature tree that should have long since died. It might already be dead, but it itched her brain. On a whim, she swiped the tree as well and darted toward the sounds of the sobs.
At that door, she didn't bother turning the knob, instead nodding to Aegir to indicate he should muscle through instead. Arm muscles bulging, he pulled with little effort and exposed a dark room. Huddled on the bed, naked and shaking, was Feann. The room was tidy and smelled strongly of soap. It was tiny, certainly not a captain’s quarters, but no normal sailor would have a solo cabin like this. It seemed Feann’s capture might have elevated the Pathian’s status.
From the darkness, Feann moaned in agony when he heard the door open. Elspeth rushed to his side and knelt next to the bed, relief and fear mingling inside her, she’d found him, but they weren’t free just yet.
"Feann, it's only me," she whispered, brushing his hair from his head.
"No, no, they can't have you too!" he yelled, pushing her away. "Get out of here, they'll take you too!"
He didn't seem to see her, his eyes darted around the room, frantically searching.
"Feann, please, I'm alright and we must go. We're getting you out of here."
"I can't, I can't go, he'll—" his eyes unfocused. "I can't go. Please Ellie, get out of here."
Whipping around, Elspeth looked to Aegir. "Can you carry him out? I don't know if he knows what is going on."
Aegir set his jaw and nodded his head. The second he touched Feann, her brother started screaming and flailing his arms. Though he was much smaller than Aegir, he put up quite the fight.
Elspeth opened her mouth, doing the only thing she could think of, the only thing that had always calmed him—she sang. Her song didn’t affect him like it would a non-seelie, but perhaps it would remind him of home, and make him feel safe.
He stopped screaming, and after a minute, he stopped struggling against Aegir.
Nearly the second Feann quieted, someone started banging on the wall from the next room. Elspeth jumped away, startled. Feann flailed and reached toward the wall. "Dahliaaaaa!" he screamed, riled up all over again.
Elspeth ran over to her brother and clutched his face. "Feann, you need to be quiet right now. It's very important."
"Dahlia is important!" He kicked his legs, grasping frantically toward the adjacent room.
"Perhaps we'd better go check in the next room?" Aegir asked.
Elspeth nodded. "Feann, we're going to check on Dahlia, alright?" She had not the slightest notion who Dahlia might be, but prayed whoever they were was in a better mental state than her brother at the moment and that they were to be trusted. Her words made Feann stop his kicking, though he strained toward the door instead.
They rounded the corner to the next door, and Aegir tore it off its hinges as well. The room was dim, and at first, Elspeth thought it was unoccupied. It was larger, with a broader bed and more luxurious trappings. To their knowledge, it would belong to the Captain, the Navigator’s superior. The sound of Feann's whimpers, though, caused a stir deep in the room. Movement caught Elspeth's eye and she strained to see. First, she caught sight of a humanoid figure. Their face peeked out of the gloom and Elspeth realized that she recognized it.
It was her, the dryad who'd rescued her from her captivity! The delicate flowers that had once graced her hair had fallen out, and her long pink strands hung limp around her head.
"It's you!" the nymph said.
"You're Dahlia?" Elspeth gasped.
They stood there staring at one another, and Elspeth was certain that her face was a mirror of Dahlia's.
"I take it you two know each other?" Aegir asked.
"You... could say that." Elspeth blinked back tears that pricked at the edges of her vision. Her breath caught in her chest as she remembered that day. She shook herself and held a hand out to Dahlia.
"Come, we're getting out of here."
"I—I can't my—"
Elspeth rooted around in her bag. "Are you looking for this?" She held out the potted plant they'd found, which now that she'd made the connection, matched Dahlia's skin.
Dahlia gasped, tears bursting from her eyes. She held her hands out for her pot and hugged it close when Elspeth surrendered it.
"Shouldn't—" Aegir began, but they were all thrown against the side of the boat. The entire structure listed to the side and a series of deafening booms ricocheted through them. from all around.
"That's our cue!" Aegir shouted, though Elspeth really only read his lips. She nodded, grasping Dahlia's arm and tugging her toward the exit. The boat rocked wildly beneath their feet, the walls careening into them with each step they took toward the stairwell. As Aegir neared, Feann started screaming again.