Chapter 1 Kaspar #2
“Thanks.” I gave him a wave, turned on my heel, and headed toward the other end of the harbor.
There was a new ache in my chest now, but I did my best to ignore that one too.
My heart hammered in my ribcage when I saw a group of guards gathering, and I did my best to stay under their radar.
They were standing in a group, talking, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the head guard was telling them to be on the lookout for me.
Luckily, there was a line of crates I ducked behind as I rushed away from them.
When I was far enough away, I walked down the sidewalk along the harbor, exuding confidence and pretending I belonged here. Sometimes the best way to get away with something was to act self-assured and calm. If you were a fidgeting mess, you looked suspicious.
I made it all the way to the last dock and walked past the airship in question, then found a spot in the shadows to sit and watch.
I couldn’t help but gape at its majesty as I thought about actually boarding it.
I had no doubt it was crewed by a lot of people.
If I had to guess, I’d say likely around a hundred people.
Which was good. A ship that big would make it easier for me to hide.
I was genuinely surprised by my own knowledge of the airship itself. Apparently, after years of hearing Cody go on and on about airships, after helping my nephew research, reading him books, and watching him draw hundreds of pictures of them, a lot of the terminology had stuck.
The White Swan was made of a beautiful dark wood that was shined to perfection, making it look sleek and expensive.
From here, I could see two big engines on either side of its hull, along with two fabric wings that, even retracted, looked massive.
A few of its white sails were open and flapping in the wind, although I could see many more tied up neatly.
There were a lot of ropes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what each one did.
There were a bunch of little windows along the side, and at first, I didn’t know what their purpose was, but then I figured it was simply for the view.
It had two quarterdecks—a forward one toward the bow, and another toward the stern, housing the wheel.
I assumed the captain’s quarters were under the aft quarterdeck, and perhaps the first mate’s was under the fore.
On the front of the airship, there was a large swan figurehead, so I knew I had the right ship.
I watched a few people in uniform come and go, waiting for the perfect opportunity to sneak aboard.
Shouting in the middle of the docking bay caught my attention. It was too far away for me to make out anything, but I heard Ethan’s voice yell, “Fine! I’ll come with you! Just stop dragging me!”
My heart leapt in my throat. The guards had Ethan? How had they found him so quickly?
I swallowed down my nerves. They must’ve gone back to my neighborhood to search for me, and someone must’ve told them we were friends. I suppose it wasn’t difficult to put two and two together and figure out I’d go to him to get out of the kingdom.
Guilt and nerves ate at me as I contemplated walking up to the guards to try and save Ethan, but I knew, deep down, he’d be okay.
He would be okay… right? They couldn’t prove anything, and he was a good worker with a good reputation.
They’d question him, then let him go. They… they had to let him go, didn’t they?
If I revealed myself, it was the end of my life as I knew it.
Ethan was my friend. He wouldn’t want me to endanger my life just so he’d get out of questioning. Plus, showing up here at the docks might actually get him in more trouble because they could claim he’d been hiding me.
So no. I… I couldn’t go back for him, as much as I wanted to.
My stomach soured and tears threatened to leak, but I held it all back. I wasn’t safe yet. I could have an emotional breakdown once I was safe.
Mermaid fins and fairy wings, this is so freaking awful.
As soon as the coast was clear, I rushed up the ramp that led to The White Swan, scanning my surroundings the entire time.
At the top, I peeked over the airship’s railing and didn’t see anyone on the quarterdeck or the main deck, so I climbed on board, dropping into a crouch and keeping my ears open.
Padding on silent feet, I made my way to the ship’s ladder that led to the lower deck.
The ladders were something between a true staircase and a worker’s ladder, so it should be easy to remain quiet on them.
I couldn’t hear anyone below, so I descended, but froze halfway down when a voice called out, “Everything’s been accounted for, Captain. ”
Another, deeper and raspier voice said, “Good. Call the men back. We leave at noon.”
“Yes, sir,” the first voice said before footsteps made their way across the floor above me.
Since the captain was close by, I hurried the rest of the way down. Where he was, I wanted to be far, far away.
The lower deck was as ginormous as I’d expected, and I couldn’t even see the entire thing since there were some closed rooms on the ends and sides—likely some cabins and perhaps extra storage, although I wasn’t quite sure what the walls on the sides of the sleeping room were for. Was that simply extra storage?
There were a few long tables at the fore, which I assumed was the crew’s mess, right next to the galley. Hammocks hung from the rafters throughout the center and off to the sides—too many to count from here.
I’d never been inside an airship before, and a big part of me really wanted to explore. It was cleaner than I expected, but maybe that was because they were in port and had cleaners go through it. Or maybe it was always like this. I guessed I’d find out soon enough.
My heart leapt into my throat, and I froze again when I saw a person lying in one of the hammocks. It took me a few seconds to realize he was sleeping, so I silently blew out a relieved breath and tiptoed over to the ladder that led into the hold, and I made my way down.
Luckily, I didn’t see or hear anyone down here.
It wasn’t as full down here as I’d expected.
One side of the hold was filled with boxes, crates, and barrels.
Some were stacked, some were netted down.
The other side had a few crates and things, but there wasn’t much over there.
It must’ve been where they’d unloaded goods from, although I was surprised it wasn’t filled with things to take back to the Asteris Kingdom, but what did I know about merchants and shipping?
Theoretically, the hold would be the least traveled area of the airship, but I still needed to find a safe hiding spot because they’d need to come down here for supplies.
Starting at one end of the hold, I began peeking inside all the crates, barrels, and boxes, keeping my fingers crossed that one would be empty.
I was nearly to the end when I found an empty barrel.
I grimaced at it. It would do in a pinch, but I’d rather not be confined to such a small space.
Especially if I ended up needing to hide inside it for a long period of time.
So I went to the next section of boxes and realized they were also empty. These must’ve been used for new goods or something. I found an empty crate, and as quietly as I could, I moved it over to the far corner of the hold, hidden behind a stack of boxes.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything but the clothes on my back, so I’d have to hunt down a few blankets so I didn’t freeze down here once we were in the air.
I might be okay since it wasn’t very cold out, but I remembered reading about airships when I was a kid, and I recalled something about the winds making it cold…
although maybe that was only if you were standing out on the deck?
Ugh, something else I didn’t know and would find out soon enough.
Hopefully, this ship’s fluxstones helped keep the temperature comfortable inside the entire ship, and not only in the captain’s quarters and lower deck.
I grimaced when I realized I’d also have to steal food on this trip, and I couldn’t let anyone see me. How in hellfire I was going to do that, I didn’t know. When I was looking through the hold, I didn’t see much in the way of food I could eat without cooking first.
There was likely a pantry and storage somewhere near the galley with more food and seasonings and things to cook with.
But I wouldn’t be able to cook anything down here without risking a fire, which meant I’d have to sneak up to the lower deck…
where all the aeronauts would be spending most of their time when they weren’t working.
Phoenix tails, this was gonna be bad.
I couldn’t worry about that right now. I’d figure it out. Somehow.
After I positioned the crate just right so no one could see me, but I had a small hole where I could see the ladder, I sat, pulled my knees to my chest, and wrapped my arms around them.
As I waited, the gravity of the situation hit me, and I had to bite back my tears.
Those guards had destroyed my life in only a few minutes.
They ripped me away, and now I’d never be able to go back.
My heart hurt thinking about Kayla and Cody.
My sister was going to be terrified when she heard what happened.
Not scared for herself and her son, but for me, and I wouldn’t be there to comfort her.
And Cody… goddesses, he was going to be so upset.
I’d been a part of his life every day since the day he was born, and now, those guards had taken that away from us.
All I wanted to do was go home and hug them both.
Ethan had better step up and help her and Cody through this.
I had no doubt that my sister could take care of herself and her kid, but the three of us were all each other had, and leaving them behind was like leaving a piece of myself.
What if I never saw them again?
The tears came, and all I could do was try to keep it quiet. I buried my face in my hands and took deep breaths, blowing them out slowly to calm myself. I couldn’t lose control. Not when a single sound could get me thrown off and handed straight over to the king’s guards.
Before I could fall too far into my panicked depression, footsteps banged loudly above me, and fear overrode my sadness. My heart beat erratically, my palms sweated, and I couldn’t stop myself from biting my lip and banging my knees together.
Something thudded loudly, shaking the whole ship, and everyone who was already on board laughed, teasing someone who’d either fallen or dropped something.
The noise of the ship grew louder and louder as the crew came back, and my anxiety over being caught helped distract me from the grief of leaving behind the only life I’d ever known.
I was sure over the next few days or weeks, I’d have plenty of time to cry over everything. Right now, I needed to keep my nerves at bay so I didn’t give myself away before we were in the air.
A loud voice said, “We better find a big, packed ship soon. We haven’t had any good loot in weeks.”
I blinked at that. Loot? What the hell did he mean by loot?
A second voice answered, “Shut your mouth, Cannonball Patty. Cap’n will find us a nice merchant ship to take down soon.”
Cannonball Patty? Take down?
“Butcher’s right,” a third voice said. “Viper will do us right.”
Viper?
I blinked as the name registered, bringing back memories of articles I’d read in the paper.
My heart froze in my chest. Viper. Viper?
Holy dragon fire. Cannonball Patty and Butcher were bad enough, but the name Viper sealed the deal. Everyone in the entire kingdom would recognize that name. Hell, everyone in every kingdom would.
This wasn’t a merchant ship called The White Swan. That was just a ploy.
This was Captain ‘Viper’ Van Jagger’s Black Wraith.
Oh goddesses, The Black Wraith was the most notorious and dangerous pirate airship in all the kingdoms.
I’d stowed away on a motherfucking pirate ship.
And there was no way I’d be able to escape now.
What in hellfire was I going to do?