The sailor eagerly nodded. “We are heading out in the morning to look for her.”
“You have a clue as to her location?”
“Only that everyone’s been looking and not found anything. They think she left on a ship after she killed her father.”
“You actually think she murdered him?” Darius remembered the fondness between the king and princess the one time he’d seen them together at a ball. Not one he was invited to, but given it was a masquerade, he came to enjoy how the Enclave lived. He could see the allure. The food was insanely good.
“For ten bags of dust, I don’t care,” snorted the sailor.
Darius could understand the reaction. The prize being offered was tempting even to someone rich like him.
As his ship left the Isle of Teeth, he moved his thoughts from the poor doomed princess to ponder the fate of the port city. How would it fare given the Enclave fought amongst each other as to who would take over? It seemed not all were in agreement that the duke should become the next king.
The citizens down below wanted nothing to do with the Enclave power struggle and declared the Sapphire city a democracy. They wanted to vote for who would be in charge. Which led to even more fighting. Nothing too deadly as yet, mostly protests and boycotts. But the lack of casualties wouldn’t last. Something would explode.
Not a man who enjoyed politics, Darius made the decision to remain far, far away from the unrest. Far away from his brother and his kingdom, and the niece who suddenly spouted prophecies.
There was nothing more uncanny than a seven-year-old girl looking a man dead in the eye and declaring, “You’re going to be important someday.”
“I already am,” Darius had boasted. People knew his name and that of his ship.
“Bigger than that. As important as my daddy, and you’re going to give up the Ocean Avenger to live on land.”
At that he choked. “Never.” Ever. He might have said it too firmly, because his niece smirked and then predicted he’d end up with several daughters. As if he’d ever settle down. The ocean was his mistress.
When they’d finished reloading the ship, he set a course for Tawa on a lark. Why not? A bit more expensive to dock at—especially given the price of companionship for the crew, the ale even more so. He consoled himself with the fact they’d be going through a usually quiet stretch of ocean, meaning time for him to finally relax.
“Jorah, you have the ship,” Darius declared, leaving his capable first mate in the iron bridge.
The Ocean Avenger was the sturdiest ship sailing the seas. Plated hull. Metal decks. The cabin a box-like structure that boasted few points of entry. A watertight ship was especially important when you got flipped upside down. Sea serpents often got rough when riled, but they were worth hunting for the price they fetched in the markets.
Darius headed to his room, only to pause. The wine selection in his quarters had dwindled, meaning he should replenish it. Veering around, he dropped down a short, tight set of steps into the bowels of his ship. Literally. Below decks, every inch of space had a use: engine, cannons, storage, hammocks strung wherever a spot could be found. An iron behemoth such as the Ocean Avenger didn’t need a huge crew, but he couldn’t see himself parting with a single person on board.
The amount of metal on board made his beauty a heavy beast, but that didn’t stop it from sluicing at a fast clip across the water when the engines were churning. The never-ending supply of saltwater fuel helped them move quickly.
The storage room he wanted lay at the end of the hall. The door initially stuck when he pulled on it. A mighty heave yanked it free, and he found himself face to face with the biggest eyes, almost the same turquoise as the ocean he loved. He knew those eyes. Recognized that face because he’d seen it once in person.
He groaned. “Oh no.”
But denying it didn’t change the fact that stowed away in the belly of his ship was the Princess Shereen. The woman everyone was looking for. The one who, with a price on her head so high if brought back alive, he couldn’t just toss from the ship.
And how did she greet him?
Blerg.
She threw up on his feet.
He stared at her as her chin raised and her wan gaze met his. He waited.
She cracked and spoke first. “Hi.”
Just that one simple word. No sorry for making his life complicated. No apology for fucking up his planned quiet moment. No getting a rag and wiping off the vomit on his boots.
It might have meant he replied a bit gruffly. “Don’t ‘hi’ me. What are you doing on my ship?”
“Sailing,” she said with a shrug.
His one organic eye twitched. “Not very well.” He spotted the bucket in the corner and saw it wasn’t the first time she’d tossed the contents of her stomach. How could the daughter of the most powerful known water wizard be seasick?
“I’m sure I’ll get over it. Eventually.” The green cast to her skin said otherwise.
“How did you get in here? I don’t recall giving you permission to come on board.”
“You didn’t. I did.” Jorah stomped down the hall, and his voice carried.
Darius spun to glare at the much larger man, wishing his bionic eye had a laser to burn the insolence from his first mate. “You’re supposed to be on the bridge making sure we don’t sink.”
“Tanzie’s watching. Figured I better came talk to ya.”
“Do you think?” Darius said with an arch of a brow. “You are responsible for this.” He waved his hand at the princess, who swayed on her feet.
“Yup,” Jorah stated with no remorse.
“So which bounty are you collecting on?” Darius asked.
“None.”
Meaning Jorah didn’t have her on board for a payoff. “I assume you have a good reason for hiding a fugitive on my ship.”
“Yup.”
At the short replies, Darius gritted his teeth. “And that reason would be?”
The first mate rolled his shoulders, and the motion waved through his big body. “She had nowhere else to go.”
The urge to slam his head off something got stronger. “Exactly how long have we been hiding Port City’s most wanted?”
“Since we left.”
Which was more than a week ago at this point. Darius groaned and rubbed at his face. “Who else knows about her presence on board?”
Jorah shifted. “A few people.”
“How many is a few?”
“Almost everyone.”
“I’m the only one who didn’t know, aren’t I?” Darius groused.
“Yup.”
“Why, Jorah? Why would you do this to me?” He flung up his hands and did his best to pace in the tight space; one stride, turn, one stride turn. Not very satisfying, which might explain why he felt a need to rant. “I was looking forward to some peace and quiet. You know how I feel about getting involved in skirmishes that aren’t our problem.”
“I couldn’t exactly leave her on da docks,” Jorah explained. The big man couldn’t say no to pleading eyes.
Darius ignored those eyes. He was a man who knew how to keep his focus on the prize. Not much motivated him apart from money. Bringing in the princess would net a big payoff. At the price of his immortal soul. But he didn’t have much use for that.