I want to defend my father, to explain why he couldn’t be in the front lines. But I don’t—part of me knows the curse, and everything that followed, stemmed from my father’s greed. “Please,” I say. “We need your help.”
Royce’s eyes flick to me. “I doubt it.”
My hands go to my hood. I hesitate. But I can’t imagine what having to sail back to the harbor and outfitting another ship would do to my father’s health.
We need all the time we can get.
I lower my hood, and Royce’s eyes follow the movement.
He gasps. “It’s not possible.” His eyes have gone wide. His mouth opens and closes a few times, like he’s trying to work out what to say.
“I’m Princess Kora,” I say, “and my father’s gold has been stolen. His enchanted gold, which he needs to survive. We need to get it back as quickly as possible. The Royal Armada would have taken too long to supply, so Aris offered the use of his ship.”
Royce’s eyes narrow and swing to Aris. He looks shocked, like he’s been betrayed. “Is this some kind of trick?” He’s pale, as if he’s seen a ghost. “Did you paint a girl gold just to fool me? Everyone knows the only thing Midas keeps locked up tighter than his gold is his daughter.”
“It’s not a joke,” I plead. “I really am the princess.”
“Who took the gold?” Royce asks. His voice sounds even colder than before.
“I don’t know. But I can find out.” Desperate, I clamp my eyes shut. The aura of the cursed objects overwhelms me—either we’re getting closer, or I’m getting better. I can just make out the room the gold is in from the light it gives off. All the items are stacked in a corner on a wood floor. A sheet has been thrown over them.
I return to myself, shaking. I’ve never pictured the gold or its location that clearly before. And I don’t even know if what I’ve seen is enough to go on.
“You don’t know who took it, or how many men we’re going to be facing, or even if we’re sailing right into a trap?” Royce asks.
“No . . .” I admit.
He cuts me off. “You don’t know, and yet you expect my men to fight for you, to die for you?”
“I expect them to fight for their king,” I say. I realize too late it’s the wrong thing to say.
Life comes back into Royce’s face as his cheeks redden. “A king that’s done nothing for his people these past ten years? No, thank you. I’ve tried fighting for him before, and it didn’t turn out so well for me.”
“Royce,” Aris says, trying to step between us.
“Stay out of this, Wystlinos. You’re the one who got me into this mess. I agreed to take you out to a merchant ship, a ship that would be easy to catch and deal with.”
“You were willing to help a girl help her father,” I say, fighting to find anything to keep us from losing more time. “That’s still the case here.”
“Going after a merchant isn’t the same as going after a thief,” he shoots back.
“No,” I concede, “but Aris told me how his crew has taken on pirates and cutthroats before.”
Royce doesn’t look convinced, so I say the only other thing I can think of. The thing I know I’ll regret. “You’ll be paid.”
That gets his attention. “How much?”
“Enough to repair your ship and pay your crew for their services,” I say. Already my stomach is starting to churn along with the ocean beneath us. I can’t take that much money from the treasury. In fact, there’s only one way I know of to get enough to pay him off. The thing I promised I’d never do—use my abilities to create gold.
I’ve never been good at reading people, primarily because most people won’t get close enough to let me study their faces, but Royce seems even more difficult than I imagine most are. His stare gives nothing away.
“Please,” I beg in one final attempt, “my father’s life and the welfare of the kingdom depend on us getting that gold back.”
Royce studies me, weighing me with his eyes. “I’ll take your offer to my crew, but I’ll make no guarantees,” he says curtly and leaves.
I wonder if he’ll come back or if he’s just ordering the ship to turn around.
“I’m sorry about Royce,” Aris says, staring at the door. “Bringing me to the palace was his final payment for buying the Swanflight from me to start his own shipping business.” He stares out the window. “I should have told him everything, but I was afraid he wouldn’t help us. As I’m sure you noticed, he has no love for your father.”
“Why?”
Aris sighs. “Do you remember hearing about the incident with the Orfland Treaty?”
I think for a moment before the realization hits me. That’s where I’d heard his name before. Everyone had been talking about the young captain who’d lost the treaty, the one who could have stopped the war weeks sooner. “That was him?”
Aris slowly nods his head. “And me. I was on that ship too, carrying the treaty to Orfland. That’s the document the pirates stole from me that I mentioned in the rose garden. I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid of what you’d think of me.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Aris sighs again. “We weren’t far from Port Tamur when we picked up a woman floating in the water. I urged Royce to lock her up, but he wouldn’t. That night, we awoke to the sound of cannon fire. A ship had snuck up in the darkness. Just as the men were rousing themselves for a counter attack, the bottom blew out of our ship. Turns out the woman was one of the pirates, the ones I told you about back at the palace. She drugged the lookout and used one of our own barrels of oil to blow the ship in half.” He shook his head. “Royce and I and a few others made it out, but the ship was destroyed, and the treaty papers were lost. We were lucky the currents took us to Port Tamur.”
“I thought you said you fought the pirates.”
“We did. After we reached Port Tamur, I bought another ship, this ship, and went after them. I gave the death blow to the pirate captain myself. After we got back, though, Royce wasn’t the same. He lost all credibility, and they kicked him out of the armada.”
I can see why, and I can see why Aris wouldn’t want anyone knowing about his involvement as well. That lost treaty almost cost us an end to the Orfland Wars. It took months to get a second copy through, and during that time, rumors swirled about what had happened to the first treaty.
“But if anyone can get your gold back, it’s him. I’ve never known a better sailor or swordsman.” Aris moves closer to the window so that sunlight falls on his face, and he smiles at me, the same confident smile he wore in the palace. “Besides, I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for that incident. I first met your uncle when he was investigating what happened to the treaty. Somehow, he knew the truth about my father’s death and encouraged me to come visit you. He thought we might get along.”
Without thinking about it, I move to stand beside Aris. Sunlight hits my face and sends a glint around the room, and he winces as it passes across his eyes.
I duck my face. “I’m sorry.”