I gritted my teeth, uncertain of what to say.
The Frith Guild was everything I wanted from life. Whereas the Sun Chaser was about making money and doing whatever they felt like to achieve it, the Frith Guild was about protecting people and places, especially from forces like pirates or the plague. Every one of my childhood heroes had served in the Frith Guild at one point or another—and if I could, I would’ve returned there in an instant.
Sure, the airship was a pleasant distraction. The view was undeniable. But it still felt foreign and cold.
“Everyone is always a little nervous when they come to the Sun Chaser,” Karna continued. She smoothed my shirt and undid the top button. I feared she would try to continue, but she stopped and fiddled with my collar. “But everyone comes to love it. You’ll see. You just need a good night’s rest.”
“Why does it matter if I like it here?” I asked.
“I want you to stay,” Karna stated, no hesitation. She met my gaze with her blue eyes, neither flinching nor backing down. “I don’t usually trust arcanists, but you’re the exception. Maybe once you spend time here—and spend time with me—you’ll realize this crew could be your home.”
“I barely know you,” I muttered.
I had met Karna only a few months ago. She had been a dancer at an odd club in the Moonlight District of Thronehold, but even that had been a lie. She had been looking for arcanists to trick into taking her to the castle, and I had been the unfortunate soul she’d convinced. With her doppelgänger magic, she had helped me uncover the villains lurking in the back alleys of the capital city, and I was still grateful, but that didn’t mean we were deeply or intimately connected.
My statement seemed to bother Karna.
She stepped away, her attention on the captain’s quarters, far down the corridor. “Perhaps we don’t know each other well now, but that’ll change. Just keep an open mind, okay? You don’t know everything about the Sun Chaser. You’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”
Again, she spoke like she was hiding something—like she wanted me to ask her what was going on.
But I didn’t. Exhaustion and depression stopped me from continuing the conversation.
“Thank you for helping me,” I said. It was the least I could say. “Without the Sun Chaser, I doubt I’d be able to catch up to Theasin Venrover in time.”
“In time?” Karna asked.
“I… only have a few months before the plague will be incurable, for lack of a better word. We need to find Theasin before then.”
Karna nodded. “Of course. Don’t worry about that now, though. Just get some sleep. We can talk more once you wake.”
3
The Airship Crew
I opened the door to the sleeping quarters and examined the contents of the room. A piece of me suspected the room had once been a storage unit. Hammocks were hastily hung in all four corners, and large crates were piled in between. Three barrels were tied together in the center of the room, each constructed with metal rings, which meant the contents were liquid. Perhaps rum?
Adelgis and Fain waited inside, each seated on a different crate. Wraith sat at his arcanist’s feet, his tail swishing from side to side. They glanced up when I entered, but didn’t say anything for a long moment.
“You look like you should get some sleep,” Fain finally said.
The airship creaked as I walked around the barrels and avoided the crates. I took the hammock in the far back corner, the farthest from the door and safe from the light streaming in through the sole porthole window. The ropes holding my makeshift bed smelled of mold, and I wondered how long they would last before breaking. I sat in the hammock and rolled onto my back, my gaze on the wooden boards of the ceiling.
Fain took the hammock closest to the door. He jumped in and settled all in one motion, obviously familiar with life on a cramped sailing ship.
Adelgis withdrew a book from his satchel and went straight to a section in the middle.
I wanted to sleep. My body needed it. But every time I closed my eyes, a terrible sense of anxiety gripped my chest. It became difficult to breathe, so I held my breath, exhaled, and then started anew. It didn’t help.
After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, Adelgis slid off the crate and ambled his way over to my hammock. He stopped once he reached my side, and he stared down with a blank, unreadable expression.
“Adelgis?” I whispered, unnerved by his gaze.
He touched the side of my neck with the back of his hand. “You’ll feel better once you’ve slept.”
A fog overcame my thoughts, and my eyelids refused to remain open.
Panicked, I tried to throw myself out of the hammock, but it was too late. Adelgis’s magic took hold, and I lost consciousness, even though I fought it every step of the way.
The place of my birth, the Isle of Ruma, had a distinct aesthetic. Blue stones fit into the sidewalks, depicting large fish swimming alongside giant schools of small ones. The iron railing around balconies had the depictions of waves bent into the metal, creating a quaint ocean scene across multiple houses. Statues of jellyfish and seagulls stood in the town square.
I walked down the main road of Ruma, basking in both the emotional and physical warmth. Island sunshine had its own special properties. It fell from the sky and bounced off the glittering waves, hitting everything twice. Skin remained tan no matter the season, and shadows never stayed for long. On the mainland, the gloom could last for months at a time.
Everything felt surreal, though.
There were no people in town. No birds in the sky. No ships at sea.
Off in the distance, on the outskirts of town, was a single cottage and graveyard. My heart leapt into my throat the moment I spotted it. Unable to contain my excitement, I ran for the fence surrounding the cottage, desperate to leap over and run inside. It was my childhood home.
When I slammed through the front door and entered the cottage, it took me a moment to realize there weren’t any familiar scents. That didn’t extinguish my enthusiasm. I ran through the kitchen and went straight to the back door. Everything was as I remembered it, right down to the dirty cooking pans stacked on the counter. But no one was inside. I exited the house and went into the graveyard, my eyes wide.
Where was Illia? Where was Gravekeeper William?
I almost lost hope, but then I spotted a large figure next to one of the gravestones, hunched over and digging a fresh hole. It seemed like an eternity since I had spoken with my adopted father.
Gravekeeper William stopped working and wiped the sweat from his brow. When he glanced over, he smiled wide. “There you are, boy. Come over ’ere and let me get a good look.”
I jogged across the graveyard, smiling the entire way. “It’s great to see you again.” I threw my arms around him the second I could, half-amused by how large he was. He stood six inches taller than me, and he had to weigh nearly twice as much. Thick arms, legs, and a barrel gut—his size made me feel like a child in comparison. “I’ve missed you.”
“Everything’ll be all right,” William said as he patted my back. “You have nothin’ to worry about.”
I tightened my grip, refusing to let go. He wore a pair of trousers, soiled with dirt, a long-sleeved shirt, and an apron he used whenever he handled dead bodies. I didn’t care. I held fast, almost fearful to let go.