Chapter Sixteen
Emmaline stood at the ship’s rail all afternoon, her eyes locked on the Bellacostan shore.
From a distance, there wasn’t much to see except the vague suggestion of buildings and the various ships coming and going.
Surely, if there’s so much activity, it can’t all be burned to the ground.
But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, anxiety coiled tight around her heart.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” someone asked as they settled beside her.
Emmaline turned to find Adviser Cal also focused on the nearing shore.
“My favorite part of traveling is coming home to this view,” he continued. “It’s funny. I rarely turn back to look at it when I’m leaving, but returning … gods, I can never take my eyes off it. Of course, it might be my last time to enjoy such a sight.”
“What do you mean?”
Cal blinked, as if coming out of a daze, like he’d forgotten he was speaking out loud to someone rather than musing to himself.
A bittersweet smile quirked his lips. “It would be reasonable for His Majesty to distrust an adviser who disappeared in the middle of a coup. I’ll be happy if he simply demotes me instead of branding me a traitor. ”
“Silas wouldn’t do that,” Emmaline said firmly. “He’ll give you a fair chance to explain yourself.” Even when Archer had forced Silas out of the palace, or when soldiers attacked the cottage, Silas had tried to understand their motives.
Cal watched her for a moment before bowing his head in acceptance.
“You probably know him better than I do. I never quite saw beyond Alistair’s puppet to understand our king’s true strength.
I hope you’re right, and he gives me a chance to fix my mistakes.
” He nodded toward the shore and said, “We’ll find out soon. We should arrive within the hour.”
He excused himself, leaving Emmaline alone to watch their slow but steady approach. Could they really protect Bellacosta from her father? Or would he turn this shore into a smoldering ruin?
A loud, distressed voice broke through her thoughts. “Why do I have to stay on the ship? Everyone else is going ashore.”
Emmaline looked over her shoulder to find Koen, his hands fisted at his side and his face burning with anger, arguing with his father and the captain.
“Because Bellacosta doesn’t need any more rats,” Echo butted in.
Captain Moira glared at them from the corner of her eye, and they snapped their mouth shut. But as soon as their captain looked away, Echo stuck their tongue out at Koen.
“Not everyone is going ashore,” Captain Moira corrected. “Most of the crew will remain behind, and your father is staying on the ship. It’s safest for you both to stay until we assess the situation.”
Koen glared at Braden as if his own father had betrayed him. “What if you need our help?”
“Like that’ll happen,” Echo muttered.
“Then we’ll know exactly where to find you,” Captain Moira said louder, speaking over them.
Koen huffed and crossed his arms, looking away from the captain. His eyes landed on Emmaline and his expression softened slightly. “Are you staying behind?”
There was no point pretending she hadn’t been listening. Emmaline left her vigil at the rail and approached the group. “I’m going ashore,” she said quietly. “I need to speak to Archer and Silas about my mother.”
“This isn’t fair,” Koen insisted. “We didn’t come all the way here to wait on a ship.”
“You also didn’t come here to die at the hands of pirates, but that’s still a possibility,” Echo said.
When several shocked, disapproving glares landed on them, they raised their hands in surrender.
“I’m not threatening him! I was talking about Everett!
For all we know, that peaceful city is hiding a hundred pirates out for blood. ”
Koen raised his chin high and declared, “I can defend myself.”
“But it’s not a risk I’m willing to take,” Braden said. He placed his hand on his son’s arm and squeezed gently.
“You’ve paid me for safe passage,” Captain Moira said. “And I’ll ensure the path is safe right up to the palace doors. After that, you’re both on your own, so you might as well take advantage of my protection while you have it.”
Koen’s eyes skated around the group, desperately seeking an ally. When he found none, he huffed in outrage and stomped off below deck.
“Brat,” Echo muttered.
Captain Moira sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Careful how you speak to him, he might be giving you orders one day.”
Echo scoffed. “I’ll quit before that ever happens.” They turned toward Emmaline and said, “Come on, princess, it’s time to return you to your king.”
One moment, Echo was escorting Emmaline down the ramp to the dock.
The next, everyone was shouting and brandishing their weapons.
Emmaline looked at the empty place Echo had just been standing, then down into the water.
The water rippled where Echo and the man who attacked them had disappeared beneath the surface.
A familiar growl finally dragged Emmaline out of her daze. “Em, get the fuck over here so I can properly kill these bastards!”
Emmaline blinked and looked at the woman trying to challenge an entire ship’s worth of pirates alone.
The woman’s hair was grayer than brown, pulled back in a tight braid.
Her figure was lithe, but her shoulders were broad.
From the lines on her face, she could have been anywhere between forty or seventy.
But if Emmaline squinted, she could see past the glamoured changes to find her familiar friend beneath. “Griselda?”
“Does anyone have eyes on him?” a young soldier asked as he searched the water.
The water near Emmaline churned and bubbled as two heads broke the surface. When she saw the man who had attacked Echo, her eyes widened in recognition. “Silas!” Her knees hit the deck hard as she frantically reached for him.
“Oh sure, help him but ignore me,” Echo groused as they swam toward the dock. “It’s not like he started it or anything.”
Silas floundered in the water, accidentally propelling himself out of Emmaline’s reach.
She held onto the dock with one hand, panic making her heart race.
She was about to jump in after him when Cal’s voice drew her attention back to the chaos around them.
“Moira, for gods’ sake! Lower the crossbow so he can get out of the water without worrying about you accidentally shooting him. ”
“He attacked my first mate.”
Emmaline scowled up at Moira. I thought she wanted to help Bellacosta. Doesn’t she understand she’s making the situation worse? “She won’t shoot you,” she reassured Silas, shifting her body to place herself between him and the crossbow. She held her hand out to him again.
Ignoring her hand, Silas pulled himself up onto the dock.
Emmaline lowered her hand and clenched it into a fist. He didn’t trust me to save him. The realization hurt more knowing how many other people she’d failed.
The chaos continued around her, but Emmaline could only look at her empty hand.
“Em?”
Finally, she looked up at Silas. While she was distracted, someone had brought him a towel to wrap around his shoulders. He crouched down in front of Emmaline and took both of her hands in his. Lines crinkled around his tawny eyes as he gazed at her. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispered.
Her lips quivered slightly. “I wanted to help you.” It was a silly thing to focus on. He was safe, wasn’t he? That was all that should matter.
He cupped her face in his cold, clammy hand. “You did help me.”
Before she could ask how, he straightened, pulling her up with him. “Now, it sounds like your new friends and I have a lot to talk about.”