Chapter Five
Dioscuri Docks was exactly as Elara had envisioned it.
The scent of brine and fish hit her first as she consulted the map, turning out of a square and on to the seafront.
Dark waves lapped at the rotten wood of a pier, barnacles growing up the sides.
In the lamplight—though it couldn’t have been past noon—the waves looked like ink.
The raucousness descended upon them gradually as they made their way down the pier, past the fishmongers and the spew of sailors and tradesmen hauling goods off the different boats and ships moored at the docks.
‘Eels! Get your fresh eels!’
‘Ship repairs while you’re here! Ship repairs starting at fifty argents!’
‘Out the way, precious cargo coming through!’
‘Where’s the Salty Dog? Can’t see the sign in this bleeding darkness.’
Their thick Castorian accents settled over her as she walked, Leo and Merissa beside her. Their cloaks were up against the drizzle, Leo towering above Elara and Merissa as he assessed everyone coming their way like a hawk.
‘Right,’ Elara said. ‘The map shows that the water market lies just beyond that statue of Eli.’
Sure enough, where Elara’s finger pointed there stood a statue of the god hewn from grey rock, holding a book in his hand, his other raised to the sky as a snake twisted around it.
They hurried along, past more hawkers, until they finally rounded the statue.
And there stood one of the most magickal markets Elara had seen.
The stalls and shops sat squat on the water, with different rowing boats drifting of their own volition to and from the jetty they found themselves upon. Lamps glided through the air like floating stars, their reflections mirrored in the inky water.
Fiddles played raucous ballads somewhere further into the darkness among laughter and excited chatter.
‘Next,’ said a bored woman with sunken eyes in a pale face, slumped against a post.
‘We’re looking for the poisoner,’ Elara said confidently.
The woman looked her up and down, but Elara tipped her head to the side, as Merissa had perfected her glamour before they’d left the inn. ‘Last shop on your left,’ the woman droned. ‘Two argents per boat. Maximum capacity two people.’
‘But there’s three of us,’ Merissa said.
‘You can count,’ the woman said flatly. Merissa began to redden.
‘Look,’ Leo said, leaning over the post, a disarming smile on his face.
‘My friends and I need to stay together. Now, I know a beautiful woman such as yourself must have just as kind a heart. So perhaps just this once you could bend the rule, and we can take one boat.’ He held out two argents towards her.
The woman looked at him, then down at the coins, then back to him. Elara could have sworn he batted his lashes.
‘No. And now it’s three argents.’
‘Fine,’ Elara snapped. ‘You two take that one, and I’ll be right behind.’
‘You can’t be alone,’ Leo murmured.
‘So you want Merissa to be? Look after her, and we’ll get off at the same stall, okay?’
He grumbled, glancing daggers at the woman as he passed her and stepped into the boat.
Merissa worried at her lip.
‘I’m right behind you!’ Elara called, chucking six argents at the woman as she got into the next boat. At least she’d have it to herself and—
‘I’ll take that seat,’ came a voice behind her as the boat lurched.
Elara spun to see a man in a tricorn hat settling into the seat.
‘No, no,’ she began to say, but the boat was already unmoored.
The man turned around, and something struck her as completely familiar. His deep-blue shoulder-length hair, his arresting ocean eyes. And then she realized in disbelief exactly who was now sharing her boat.
‘Adrian?’ she blurted out.
Pirate Lord Adrian gave her a quizzical look as he took her in.
He was just as she remembered him at Lukas’s coronation ball, though it was seeing him without the mask that had thrown her for a moment.
Rings bejewelled every one of his fingers, and a fat egg of an ocean sapphire was nestled on his tanned chest. But his playful eyes now looked haunted, emptier.
She caught a faint shimmer in the air around him, but as quickly as she’d seen it, it was gone. Aquamarine gems glinted in each of his ears, and that emptiness in his eyes was smoothed over with a charming grin. ‘Do we know each other?’
Elara cursed to herself. Of course he didn’t know her.
She was glamoured. And thank the skies for it.
If she hadn’t been, she was sure he’d have recognized her from the numerous ‘wanted’ posters now plastered around the city.
He’d no doubt already figured out from the likeness that the stranger he’d danced with at the ball had been Princess Elara, disgraced royal of Asteria.
When she didn’t reply, gaping like a fish, he leaned forwards, an intrigued smile playing on his lips. Elara pulled away. Glamour or not, she felt uncomfortable under his clear blue stare.
‘Let me guess,’ he said. ‘Did we have a run-in in the Sinner’s Sands? That night in the desert—the stars, the heat, the—’
Elara snorted. ‘Definitely not.’
Adrian squinted. ‘Your voice is familiar. Wait—’ He held his finger up in the air. ‘Were you screaming my name on that wonderful night in Aphrodea, right by the Lover’s Pool—’
‘Stars, no!’ she spluttered.
He frowned. ‘Hm.’ His eyes searched her, drinking in every one of her borrowed features. ‘Were you the maid at the Salty Dog who served me fish pie last night, then?’
‘Yes,’ she replied placatingly. ‘Yes, that was it. I was your maid serving you your…fish pie.’
Adrian sat back, giving a satisfied nod. ‘Well, maid, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance again.’
‘It’s Cassandra,’ she lied. ‘But you can call me Cass.’
Adrian studied her before nodding and looking on as the boat continued to drift through the market. Elara craned her neck, searching for Merissa and Leo, who, thankfully, were still ahead. Leo caught her eye, an unspoken message passing between them. Everything okay?
Elara nodded, and he nodded back.
She scanned each stall that the boat slowed beside. One sold jewellery—charmed in every way imaginable. Ruby bracelets to increase one’s passion, a string of pearls to bring beauty to the wearer, emeralds for luck and lockets to encourage one’s lover to be faithful.
One particular shop caught her eye more than the others.
‘Maven the Medium’ was written on a post outside, and a woman sat on a rocking chair upon her little platform, bleached of all colour and rocking to and fro as she murmured soundlessly.
As they passed, the woman slowly turned, looking directly at Elara.
Elara shuddered. ‘You ever been to a medium?’ Adrian asked behind her.
Elara shook her head, turning away from the stranger. ‘I’ve had enough futures foretold to last a lifetime. I don’t need one from the dead to add to them.’
‘Interesting,’ Adrian murmured. ‘And pray tell, what exactly does your future have in store?’
Elara glanced up at the moon above them, waning each night. She thought of Enzo, of his sleeping body, of all the life stolen from him. She swallowed.
‘Light,’ she said, smiling tightly. ‘It’s the only outcome I’ll accept.’
There were a few more stalls—tailors, a food stall where the scent of delicious, cooked meats and spices wafted along.
‘So you believe we can write our own fates?’ he replied.
‘Let’s just say I think whatever fate the Stars write can be rewritten.’
‘Ah, she’s a heretic too.’ But Adrian grinned, something like interest sparking in his eyes. Elara glanced away from him again, looking back at the passing stalls.
‘And I suppose you, a pirate, would know all about that.’
Adrian laughed drily as the boat moved along. ‘Oh, I lost faith in the Stars long ago.’
Elara whipped her head round. The blasphemy surprised her, stated so openly. She wanted to press him—on what could have happened to make him denounce the gods that so many in Celestia revered. But he beat her to a question.
‘What brings you to the market?’ he asked.
‘Oh, nothing interesting. I just need to stock up on some herbs for the kitchens,’ she said quickly. ‘You?’
He nodded to the shop they were approaching. ‘Icabod’s Oddities’, its sign read. ‘Something very important,’ he said as he stood. ‘Which I’m praying I’ll find in here.’
‘Ah, well, pray to something other than the Stars, then,’ she said.
He gave a rather empty laugh. ‘Oh, trust me, I will.’ He tipped his hat. ‘Until next time, Cass.’
She inclined her head, smiling until she saw him disappear, then she slumped back, sighing.
What a strange coincidence. She was positive the pirate lord hadn’t recognized her and prayed it would be the last she saw of him.
There was something about the man that made her uneasy—he acted in far too familiar a manner with her.
Finally, her boat drifted to the shop she’d been keeping an eye out for. The last on the left.
Belladonna’s Apothecary.
It was the tidiest of the bunch, made from strong, waxed wood that gleamed even in the darkness and sea air.
Neat rows of herbs grew outside the shop, and dried lavender sprigs hung upon the veranda.
She could see different crystals piled neatly in the windows, and a black cat lounged by the front door.
Leo and Merissa were already out of their boat, waiting for her. She reached up, legs wobbling slightly as Leo took her hand and pulled her up. For some reason, she thought it better not to divulge who it was she’d just shared a boat with.
‘So this is the place?’ Merissa murmured. ‘Doesn’t look very dark and debauched.’
‘I suppose poisoners hide in plain sight,’ Elara said, and entered.
Inside, the shop smelled of rosemary and lemon balm, the dried herbs hanging from the rafters, their scent intensified by a crackling fire in the corner.
Brown, blue and clear bottles lined the shelves in rows, each meticulously labelled.
The cat followed them in, mewling as it danced through Elara’s legs.
She tried not to jump, still on edge although she was glamoured.
Worn Tarot and Stella decks were piled upon a small table; another was laden with all manner of candles.
Elara perused the shelves, the shop seemingly empty, until suddenly a voice called out, ‘Can I help you?’
Elara spun, dropping the bottle in her hand, though Merissa caught it at the last moment.
Behind the till was a stunning woman. Feline, emerald-green eyes danced with interest, her hair raven, though in the light flickering from the candles Elara could see it had a red tint, like the darkest garnet. It trailed to her ankles as she walked from behind the counter.
‘We’ve come to collect an order,’ Leo said, eyeing the woman with distrust. ‘You must be Belladonna.’
Belladonna nearly purred as she slinked towards the general. ‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance—’
‘Leo,’ he replied.
‘Leo,’ she affirmed, brushing a hair off his shoulder. ‘And what might you need from me, Leo?’
Elara noticed Merissa shift uncomfortably beside her.
‘We’ve been told you’re the poisoner.’ He gave a disarming smile.
‘Well, you seem to know an awful lot about me,’ she said. She took a sprig of blackthorn from the rafters, throwing it into the fire. The light in the room changed, the cosy amber of the draughts and potions now replaced with dark, lurid green. ‘Now, what is it you’re looking for?’
Her dark-red nails skimmed the poisons. ‘Something to slip to a cheating husband?’ she asked Merissa, chuckling. Merissa, usually bright and warm, remained stone-faced. ‘No? Perhaps something to kill a rival instantaneously?’ she asked Leo.
Leo shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips.
The poisoner turned to Elara. ‘Or maybe something I sell to dreamwalkers in their droves.’
Leo stiffened instantly at Elara’s side.
‘That is what you’re looking for, isn’t it? A sleeping tonic.’
‘You’re good,’ Elara observed, running her eyes up and down Belladonna.
Belladonna winked before reaching for a jar filled with beautiful deep-purple petals, each one patterned with silver.
‘It’s called hypnom. It comes from a flower that only grows at night within the kingdom of Asteria.’ She looked for a beat too long at Elara as she pretended to peruse other bottles upon the shelves. ‘In this form, one full dose is enough to put even a god to sleep.’
She gave a tinkling laugh and Elara tensed as Merissa finally put on a winning smile and ushered the shop owner back to the counter to pay.
‘All you have to do,’ Belladonna said, ‘is slip it to your victim. By food, drink or other methods.’
‘Won’t they taste it?’ Leo asked, peering at it.
Belladonna tutted. ‘This is a poison that equals the delicacy of the greatest assassins in Asteria. It’s tasteless. Though I must warn you—the entire petal must be consumed for the poison to take effect.’ She grinned.
‘Thank you for the advice,’ Elara said, making her way to the door.
‘Interesting company you keep,’ Belladonna said, looking at Elara shrewdly. ‘Don’t think I don’t know who sent you.’
Elara chuckled, not breaking her stride. ‘If you know, then you’re surely wise to keep the knowledge to yourself.’
Belladonna only smiled as they left the shop.