Chapter 9
Chapter
Ispent the next few days among the merchants, knocking from door to door. One ship had already sailed. It was time to win others. It was time to secure more contracts to prove to my father and to the rest that the Veymaris Family still mattered. Everywhere I turned I heard the same replies.
“We have ships already, contracts signed for ten years hence.”
“You are too expensive.”
“Why take your fleet, when cheap crews wait in line?”
Each word felt like a nail driven into my foot. I sat now in the dank office of one freight agency by the quay. The reek of stale salt, rotting planks, and sour beer hung in the air. Light slanted through a filthy window as if it, too, wished to leave the place.
Across the table sat the owner, a loathsome fat man whose cheeks sweated with every ordinary breath. His eyes glittered like a rat’s as they roved over me from head to heel.
“I am afraid the times have changed, little one,” he drawled, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief that had not seen water in many weeks.
“Veymaris ships do not mean what they once did. We have full contracts and plenty of cheap crews from the Eastern Port…” He leaned forward until his belly nearly rolled over the table.
“Yet I would be glad to take care of a Lady of Family. You look as if you would benefit from a proper man.”
He licked his lips. Blood boiled in my veins.
“We are finished,” I said coldly, and rose. The chair scraped as I pushed it back.
He rose too, plainly to bar my way. One more step and his sweating hand would have found my shoulder.
Brenn moved faster than lightning. A long dagger flashed in the gloom, and the blade found resistance at the merchant’s groin.
“One more move,” my guard snarled, “and you will be no man.”
The merchant froze, his eyes widening with panic. He tried to hide fear with an insult.
“What manners are these?” he shouted “I did not know Veymaris maidens carried such a stick up their ass. Good luck finding trade. No one cares for you anymore!”
I turned without a word and left, feeling the filth of that place cling to my skin. Kael and Brenn followed me.
Outside, the port air hit my face. Thick with pitch, fish, and brine, yet somehow cleaner than that room’s stench.
“I will walk the harbor alone,” I said sharply before they could protest. “I must think. Return to the palace without me.”
Brenn knit his brow, “Are you sure?”
I gave a crooked smile though there was nothing to laugh about.
“Yes. You both know well that the most dangerous person in the port is me.”
Brenn hesitated, then nodded. “Send a word when you return.”
I walked the docks with steps that grew heavier.
I was tired of politics. Tired of fruitless parley that ended in mockery and rejection.
Tired of being a pawn in a game I did not wish to play.
Had it not been for Alaric’s sickness, he would have handled these affairs.
He possessed patience, a cool mind, and the knack for enduring foolish talk that made my skin crawl.
Now the burden had fallen upon me. I wanted instead the sound of waves in my hair and salt upon my cheek.
Anger boiled inside me, a kettle left to seethe.
Usually I kept myself in check. Now I felt the power slip at the edges of my control.
I quickened my pace. Under the ships the water churned harder.
Hulls struck one another, ropes strained, foamy spray rose white at the piers.
A cry and the crack of timber joined the chorus of the quay, sailors shouted.
The agitation around me did not ease my temper, it pushed it outward like a rising tide.
Ropes groaned to breaking, waves assaulted decks, boards were flooded—chaos swelled.
I knew then I had gone too far. I had summoned the storm.
And then I saw her, the trade woman at the dock. A rogue wave swept her from the plank. Her dress dragged her down between two skiffs. Without thought I dived in. Salt stung my eyes, the cold wrapped me like armor. The woman thrashed in panic and her heavy dress tugged toward the depths.
“Hold still!” I shouted though she could not hear.
I tried to calm myself. Breath. Silence.
I felt the sea answer. The waves softened, the water around us grew tame. The force that had ravaged now lifted us both upward.
I seized her and pushed us toward the surface. A crowd gathered on the dock, their faces a mixture of fear and wonder. When I hauled the woman on the quay, I tried to climb out myself and caught an offered hand.
It belonged to none other than Aidenar Cavareth.
He stood before me in gray and gold, his silver eyes shone.
“You island folks cannot leave the sea, can you?” he said, tone mocking though a smile tugged at his lips.
“Leave me alone, Cavareth,” I snapped, pushed his hand away, and strode toward the shore. I had enough of men, waves and politics. Enough of him.
“It is true, then?” he pursued, his steps close behind.
“What truth?” I growled without turning.
“That you have born power over water.”
“Who says I do not wear an Elementar?” I tossed back with feigned indifference.
He snorted a short laugh. “When you came from the water your clothes clung to your body. If you bear an Elementar, it is hidden very, very well…” He appraised me with a satisfaction I didn’t like.
I rolled my eyes and walked on, pretending his words slid off me like rain on stone. In truth I wanted to drown him where he stood.
“I watched you during the raven raid,” he continued. “When men fled, you stayed. Before my mother could move, water rose in the fountain. All nobles, heavy with sapphires, hid beneath benches while you stood there.”
I had the urge to curse.
He continued, “You may pretend you are not who you are, but if you don’t tell me, I will ask around about you. And you know how the White City adores gossip.” He smiled with courteous pretense.
“What an asshole,” I muttered under my breath, then stopped and sighed. “Fine. Yes, I have power. As do you, and Dricus. But it is none of your concerns”
For an instant his smile dimmed at the name Dricus. They truly loathed each other. I turned and kept walking, pretending not to notice.
“Perhaps it is my concern,” he replied lightly. “Since we live under the same roof, I would prefer to know if, in a fit of feminine wrath, you might toss the palace into the sea while I sleep.”
I stared at him with fire in my eyes. “I lose my temper very rarely. You have no reason to fear. And if I drown you, I will do so deliberately and with a smile.”
“What I saw a moment ago did not look like control,” he said, and halted when I whirled upon him so sharply we nearly collided.
He stood too close. His perfect jaw and that irritating half-smile returned. For an instant I had the desire to shove him straight into the waves.
We had walked some way beyond the port, the shore was quiet and sandy. Our faces came close, and I could see the silver in his eyes. If they did not belong to Aidenar Cavareth, I might have called them the most arresting I had ever seen. As it was, they belonged to a prick.
“You want control?” I asked without giving him time to answer.
I called the sea instead of speaking. The water answered at once, eager for dance.
My fingers moved through the air, I made the first motion.
Spirals, tight and sharp, spun around us.
The vortex thickened until nothing was visible beyond the shadow of our silhouettes, the world shrank beneath a blue, half-transparent ceiling. Tiny droplets gleamed on our faces.
I had missed this, communion with my element. And honestly, I wished to impress that arrogant man. I had not revealed my strength for some time.
I steadied the water beneath our feet, and it lifted us slowly as though we stood upon an invisible plinth, ten feet above the sand.
Aidenar bent his knees to keep balance, with his hands spread, seeking support.
His silver eyes were wide, a small smile—the very one that always vexed me—of genuine surprise curved his lips.
Holding his gaze with deliberate satisfaction, I dropped us earthward and slowed the fall at the last moment.
The water slackened and set our feet gently upon the sand.
“You have convinced me,” he said, shaking water from his clothing as if it had all been child’s play. “I agree.”
“Agree to what?” I snorted. “I asked nothing.”
“I agree that you will teach me to control my power.”
I looked at him as one looks upon a half-wit, and let out a loud laugh that almost became a sob. “I will not help you. I don’t want to be in your company any longer. Leave me alone.”
“See now,” he said calmly, as if he had all the time in the world, “you will help me, though you don’t know it yet.”
“What do you mean, Cavareth?”
“I know you have spent the week bargaining for freight contracts for your Family, and that you fared poorly.” His voice carried that certain arrogance one learns under palace roofs. “I am here like a prince in shining armor to save you from your trouble.”
I wanted to strangle him for his swelling pride in his voice.
“What is it you propose?” I asked, feigning boredom.
“We make a bargain. You will teach me control and tell me what you know of the powers. In return I grant your Family some palladium runs along the coast. What do you say?”
I nearly laughed. “Why does your mother not teach you? Her last display was… remarkable. I have seen nothing like it.”
His face twisted at the memory. “She tried. But she uses Elementars only. That is quite another thing. Besides, dealing with her makes my head to spin.”
“It must run in your Family,” I muttered, he shot me a pretend-offended look. “Sorry,” I apologized with a little smile.
“So? Veymaris, what will you do? I am your last resort.”
There he had me. He irritated me beyond measure. And his mother even more so. Yet the thought of more parleys with old men and my pitiful attempts at negotiation sickened me. On the other hand, I didn’t want to be looked at as another girl hunting after Cavareth.
Perhaps I would teach him a few basics. I had only to ensure he did not betray me. His father and grandfather had reputations for honor, at least. I pondered a moment. I would not yield the bargain cheaply. I wished the agreement to be ours alone.
“Very well,” I said slowly. “First, we shall sign for five transports this month, with annexes for more.”
His eyes gleamed like silver beacons. “Excellent,” he thrust out his hand.
Before I shook it I added, “And no one hears of this, neither the contracts nor the lessons.”
Aidenar narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. “I can conceal the shipments in the ledgers. No need to mark them as carried by your vessels. And as for the lessons, I neither want to boast about my lack of element control.”
Typical Cavareth, vaunted strength and pretense. I had little choice. I took his hand. His grip was firm and warm. A strange shiver ran through me when he looked straight into my eyes.
“We meet tomorrow afternoon in the training room,” he said, releasing me. “I’m going out this evening, so I will not get up early.”
I watched him with scorn. “You want to learn the oldest and most powerful magic of our world and yet you must first go whoring?”
He puckered his face as though affronted in a theatrical way. “We have not begun proper lessons, and already you grow jealous. I admire your passion,” he said brightly, and turned toward his guards, who rode up on horseback.
At that instant I splashed his face with salt water.
“There,” he laughed, dabbing his face. “Until tomorrow, Veymaris. Do not think of me too much, or I will visit you in your dreams.”