In deeper waters, p.5
In Deeper Waters, page 5
Kest narrowed his eyes. “Remind me to bite you next time I have a beak.”
“Why don’t you bite Emerick next time he asks you to shift?”
Kest’s thin lips curled at the corners. “Good idea. I’ll tell Isa it was all yours.”
“Better not.” Garrett scratched his beard. “We need the alliance. Their kingdom is rich, and our coffers are dwindling with the reparations we pay to the continent kingdoms. We can’t afford for Emerick to scurry away because of a bite from one of Isa’s magical brothers.”
Tal bowed his head, Dara’s accusations ringing in his ears. Their great-grandfather had made a mess of things between Harth and the rest of the world. This marriage was one of the many steps his mother and sister had taken to try and repair diplomatic relations. Of course, it didn’t help that the queen had a magical son who bore the same talents as the man who’d started a devastating war. The mere rumor of Tal’s magic was enough to threaten their alliance. He picked at a loose thread from Garrett’s plush blanket.
“True. But if they break our alliance, they’ll sorely miss our soldiers when their border disputes with Mysten flare up again. Though not as much as we’ll miss their gold.”
“Speaking of, tell Prince Emerick that we found a chest of gold stamped with an old crest on a ghost ship in the bay. See if he knows anything about it.”
Kest raised an eyebrow. “A chest of gold?”
“Yes. Uncirculated, at that, going by its condition. The prisoner they left behind didn’t say much before he threw himself off the stern.”
Tal shifted uncomfortably.
Garrett winced apologetically. He tipped back his drink and downed a large gulp.
“There’s more to the story than that,” Kest said, sharp gaze darting between them.
“Tally cried.”
“Hey!” Tal protested, mortified. “You don’t have to tell everyone.”
“I think Mother gathered that you were upset from the letter. Don’t worry,” he hastened to add as Tal paled, “she didn’t show it to me. She may have also mentioned the gold to Emerick. He did say something about a lost wedding gift.”
“Oh.” Garrett stroked his beard. “That makes sense. Uncirculated gold from their treasury would be an appropriate present to the kingdom. Not so much to Isa.”
“And not so much if it never arrived. Was it pirates?”
“According to the prisoner, it was on the seafloor. But I’m not sure I believe him. More than likely, the ship delivering it was set upon.”
Kest drank more of his soup. “I see.”
“Fucking marauders.” Garrett slammed his empty cup down, leftover droplets splattering on the rough tabletop. “I wish I could scour the sea of them.”
Kest’s lips twitched. “Maybe one day when you’re not taking our little brother on his coming-of-age tour.”
Garrett and Kest laughed, and Tal bowed his head. His throat tightened. “Does Emerick know about me?”
“No,” Kest said quickly. “He’s no doubt heard the rumors, but we’ve confirmed nothing.”
“It seems wrong to hide my talents from our brother-in-law.”
“He’s not married to Isa yet.” Garrett wagged his finger at Tal. “Knowing about you may scare him away.” He said it as a jest, though Tal didn’t take it as one.
“Or entice him,” Kest said. “A magical brother-in-law would be a formidable political weapon.”
Garrett kicked Kest under the table. “No matter which it would be, we need this alliance.”
“And when he does become part of our family,” Kest hurriedly added, throwing Garrett an annoyed look, “we’ll all agree about how and when to tell him. You won’t have to be a secret forever, Tally.”
Tal furrowed his brow. He opened his palm and a small flame flickered over his hand. “I’m not Great-Grandfather.”
Kest and Garrett exchanged a glance. “No one thinks you are, Tally,” Kest said, voice soft and sincere. “But he did horrible things, and you’ve unfortunately been burdened with the same gift.”
“It wasn’t the magic that made him cruel, and anyone who knows you wouldn’t believe you capable of the things he did,” Garrett added.
“But I can do them.” Tal curled his fingers and snuffed out the flame. Smoke wreathed around his fist. “I’m capable.”
“We’re aware,” Kest said softly.
Tal didn’t think they were. Only his mother and his tutor knew the full extent of his power, knew the times where it burst out of him, violent and terrifying, unpredictable and abundant. It scared Tal how easily he could destroy without thinking. Guilt rose in his gut at their blind faith. He might have promised he’d never use it to harm anyone, but he also knew that Isa was his queen and she could command it of him. His magic was there to serve the family, and once she married Emerick, that would include him as well.
“I’m tired,” Tal said, shaking out his hand. “I’m going to read in my hammock.”
“It was all that running around today,” Garrett said with a grin. At Kest’s perplexed look, Garrett added, “Tally shook Shay today and met with a boy in the market.”
Kest’s grin turned lascivious. “A boy in the market, huh? You’ve been gone from the castle for only a few days and are already embracing your coming-of-age.”
Tal groaned. “Not you, too.”
Kest and Garrett knocked their mugs of wine together and laughed.
“I’m leaving,” Tal said.
“Good night, Tally!”
“Sweet dreams of market boy.”
Tal shook his head in disbelief and closed the door behind him with more force than was necessary. He stomped his way across the deck to the port side, which overlooked the long expanse of sea. The sun had sunk below the horizon, and the last few rays of orange threw sparkles along the water. The stars slowly winked into existence in the darkening sky.
“Fools,” Tal murmured. He leaned on the railing and scowled down at the depths of the ocean.
They didn’t understand. They never would. Innate magic like his had disappeared from the world. The few mages that existed had been targeted and killed by King Lon to secure himself as the only power. Their knowledge had been lost, except for a few singed scrolls that had somehow survived his great-grandfather’s purge. Now there was only Tal, the last mage, withering while in hiding. The rare shifters who existed were adopted into the noble houses, their gifts incorporated into the royal families.
His great-grandfather had been the last mage born of fire, like Tal, and had been unmatched in his power, able to set the continent under siege with the strength of his flames. Unopposed, King Lon had marched across the land, scorching those who stood in his way, dismantling kingdoms, and creating a legacy of fire and fear.
Tal was his direct descendant and carried the burden of his heritage. Athlen had asked if he was the only mage, the last of magic, and as far as he knew, he was.
If the other kingdoms learned of his magic, they’d demand his mother relinquish him to their mercy. They’d kill him, no matter the claims of his soft heart, to spare the continent from another ravage of fire. Out of fear for his life, his mother had hidden him away, claiming a weak constitution. It didn’t stop the rumors, but it tempered them.
He’d heard a story once, when he was a child, of a mage who disappeared into the water during the height of his great-grandfather’s wrath. She begged asylum in the source of her power, hoping to outlast the fire that ruled the land. Tal believed her a myth, a child’s story no more real than unicorns and mermaids. Even if she had existed and survived, she would hate the descendant of the man who’d driven her into hiding, who’d forced her to leave her home and dwell in the depths of the sea.
The sound of a splash drew Tal’s attention toward the bow. He moved down the railing and spied a swirl in the otherwise calm water. Squinting, Tal thought he saw a flash of red and gold, but he dismissed it as the wilting colors of the sinking sun dappling the ocean’s surface.
Tal pushed away from the railing and went down into the belly of the ship to his hammock strung in the hold. After kicking off his boots, Tal hopped into his makeshift bed and settled on his blanket. The gentle rhythm of the water was a lullaby, and he drifted off to sleep with a vision of dimpled cheeks, sly smiles, and sun-kissed freckles following him into his dreams.
4
The following day started like all the others—with breakfast in Garrett’s cabin with Shay and Garrett. Kest had flown away with the sunrise, back to the castle and his duties there. He completed one wide, lazy loop around the main mast of the ship and released a sharp cry before heading in the direction of home.
With the ship docked, only a skeleton crew was needed to oversee operations, and the rest of the sailors were off spending their coin in the port.
“Today we tour the city,” Shay said with an encouraging smile. “We’ll spend tonight here, and then tomorrow we’ll take a carriage inland.”
Tal waved his spoon. “Whatever.”
“That’s the spirit!” Garrett said, slapping Tal on the shoulder. “We’ll tour the town and find a good tavern to spend our evening.”
Tal hid a twinge as Dara’s accusations echoed in his hears. They stung, but they did give him an idea. “There’s a sickness in the lower town.”
“Then we’ll stay away from the lower town.”
“What? No,” Tal said, shaking his head. “We should do something about it. It’s a lung condition. There are some ingredients that treat the symptoms. We should buy them and hand them out.”
Shay’s eyebrows rose. “That’s how you want to spend your day?”
“Yes,” Tal said with an authoritative nod. “Yes. That is how I want to spend my day.”
Shay and Garrett shared a glance. “Okay, then. If you’re sure.”
“I am. I know the place to begin. Join me on the deck in ten minutes or I’ll start on my own.”
Tal stood and left the remnants of his breakfast. With warmth blooming in his middle, he hopped lightly down the steps to his hammock in the empty hold. He rummaged in his chest and pulled out his princely attire and changed. He wore a fine ruffled shirt overlaid with a brocade vest, and trousers cut to hug his legs. After stepping into his glossy boots, he fussed with his hair, sweeping it to one side, then abandoning it altogether when strands continued to fall into his face. He told himself the prepping had nothing to do with the possibility of seeing Athlen, and more with presenting the face of a prince who cared about his people.
Speaking of, Tal found the shirt he’d worn the previous day in the market and fished out the shark’s tooth. He held it in the palm of his hand. There wasn’t anything special about it at all, but just the same, Tal slid it into his breast pocket.
For the first time since they’d left home, Tal had a purpose. He liked the idea of helping others. Not only was it the right thing to do—he did have a duty to his subjects, after all—but he liked the idea of proving Dara and the villagers wrong. His family were concerned with their people, and they were doing their best to effect change at a high level, but Tal could understand how that might not come across to the common folk. He’d help change that today.
Finished, Tal bent to retrieve his book from where it had fallen from his hammock, and that’s when he heard footsteps. The back of his neck prickled, and he spun to find one of the sailors observing him.
Unnerved, Tal cleared his throat. “Is there a problem?”
The sailor—Tal didn’t know his name—stalked forward. His skin was tanned from the sun, evidence of many voyages, and he squinted at Tal, studying him.
“You may act like a prince,” he said, his voice grating like the drag of wooden crates over the stone pathways near the castle. “But I know what you really are.”
“And what am I?” Tal was proud his voice came out calm and even, despite the shiver of fear that wound its way down his spine.
The sailor’s lips pulled back in a sneer, revealing rows of yellowed and broken teeth. “A perversion. You’ll destroy us all.”
Tal blanched. “How dare you address me in such a way. My brother will hear—”
The sailor closed the distance between them and pressed an arm across Tal’s chest, a short dagger, no longer than Tal’s thumb, clenched in his fist. Tal’s heart slammed against his ribs. His magic swelled and burned, and he lit up from the inside. Struggling, Tal tamped it down and instead drew on the training the castle knights had given him as a child. He remained still and looked for an opening to escape. The edge of the knife grazed Tal’s cheek, rasping across the stubble he hadn’t shaved, and the man’s fetid breath washed over him, setting his head spinning.
“You don’t frighten me,” Tal said.
“You should be frightened. The blood of your family line should not be allowed to continue, let alone pollute the other kingdoms. All of you should be dead, but especially you. I’ll not allow you to—”
“Tally!” Garrett’s voice drifted from above. “Your self-imposed ten minutes are up.”
The sailor’s gaze flickered toward the stairs. His distraction was the opening Tal needed. He lashed out and kicked the man in the knee. The knife nicked his cheek, but it was enough for Tal to get away. He ran for the stairs, yelling for Garrett as he went.
Shay met him at the top and took in his distress. She grabbed his upper arms.
“What happened?”
Tal pointed down. “There’s a man. He attacked me with a knife and—”
Shay shoved him toward Garrett and drew her sword, just as the sailor sprinted up the steps and toward the ramp to the port. Shay lit after him, chasing him to the dock, and overtaking him with her superior speed.
Tal turned his head away when she engaged the sailor, knowing the bloody outcome.
“Are you all right?” Garrett asked, tilting Tal’s face up. “He cut you.”
“I’m fine,” Tal said, chest heaving. “I don’t think he was going to hurt me. He wanted to scare me.” He wasn’t sure that was the truth.
“What did he say?”
Tal gulped. “He said I was a perversion and that our whole family should be dead, especially me.”
Frowning, Garrett wiped the blood away with a handkerchief. “Tally, that doesn’t sound like he only wanted to scare you.”
“He knew. He had to have seen or—”
“He probably heard about our plans for the day and didn’t approve of you sowing your oats with the townspeople.”
Shaking his head, Tal hid the trembling of his hands. “No. That can’t be all. He said I’d destroy everyone. He said my blood would pollute the other kingdoms. He knew.”
Garrett pulled Tal into a reassuring embrace. “Rumors,” Garrett said. “They’re rumors. No one knows for sure.” Garrett didn’t sound convinced. “No more sneaking off, though. Shay will stay with you at all times.”
Tal nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, pressing his face into Garrett’s shoulder was comforting. His pulse slowed, and he only slightly startled when Shay reappeared, wiping blood from her sword with the handkerchief Garrett passed her.
“Report.”
“I wounded him while in pursuit, but he threw himself off the dock into the sea. He didn’t resurface. The blood trail was significant.”
“Dead or will be soon,” Garrett said with a nod. “Food for the fish.”
“Are you okay, Tally?” Shay asked. She cupped his chin and turned his head, gazing hard at the cut. “That must have been frightening.”
With a breath Tal regained his composure. He pulled away from Shay and Garrett and straightened his shoulders. His cheek stung, and he swiped his palm over the cut. “I’m fine. I wish to continue with our plans.”
“Are you sure? You don’t want to find a tavern and hole up for the day? Rest?”
“No,” Tal said. “The day has only started, and I am not going to waste it because of a miscreant with bad breath.”
Shay smiled, and Garrett laughed. “Okay, brother. Where do we start?”
Tal led them to Dara’s house, losing his way only once. He waved them back when he knocked on the door, unsure of his reception. The door swung inward on creaky hinges, and Dara appeared, hair pulled back under a cloth and cheeks smudged with ash from a cooking fire.
“He’s not here,” she said. “He left last night.”
“I’m not looking for him,” Tal said, blushing hotly as her gaze swept over him. She crossed her arms in the doorway. “I’m looking for you.”
That caught her by surprise, and Tal reveled in it. She looked over his shoulder, and her eyes widened at the sight of Shay and Garrett.
“Why?”
“You know what items will best help the people affected by the sickness in this part of town. I’d like for you to tell me, so I can buy them and hand them out to those who need them.”
She looked around. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Oh,” she said, then narrowed her eyes. “This won’t endear you to me or to him.”
“That’s not my goal,” Tal answered smoothly. “You weren’t wrong yesterday. Sometimes we don’t know what’s happening in the kingdom until it’s too late, but I know now. I want to help.”
“I can dictate a list.”
“Thank you.”
“I’d invite you in, but…” She leaned in, and Tal heard the unmistakable sound of Shay moving closer, her sword clinking at her side—“your bodyguard looks murderous.”
“She’s overprotective,” Tal said with a grin.
“Does it have to do with your cheek? You’re bleeding.”
Tal touched the cut, and his fingertips came away stained red. He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the wound. “No, that’s another matter. Anyway, I have a scrap of parchment in my pocket. Do you think you could let your neighbors know to come to the square near the seaside market if they need any of the supplies?”
“Yes, of course, Your Highness.” She dipped into a curtsy and Tal laughed.
“He was right, you know, I’m not fussy.”
“You’re dressed in clothes more expensive than my home.” She sobered. “I still think your family is arrogant and out of touch, but you might not be so bad.”
