“I promise,” Petal said softly.
Jyrine brightened and threw arms around her in a tight, reassuring hug.
Behind her, the two newcomers tried to shake their friends awake, but the writhing locals only groaned in pain.
Chapter Three
present day
Compared to Candle Bay, the Capital’s tiny military harbor was nothing worth mentioning. It was surrounded by sheer cliffs, so cargo from the ships had to be raised and lowered by a series of platforms supported by pulleys and cables.
Calder had been forced to dock The Testament here. He couldn’t abandon the Lyathatan unsupervised in the Capital’s largest harbor indefinitely, and too many of the public knew his ship on sight to risk it.
But leaving his ship, his Soulbound Vessel, tucked away in this rocky, guarded, inhospitable stretch of coastline had left Calder feeling somehow lonely. As though he would never return.
So this morning, just to prove that feeling wrong, he had carved out some time to visit.
Escorted by Imperial Guards, he strode onto the deck he’d built with his own hands and saw his crew waiting for him.
Petal trembled, shooting peeks at the monstrous Guards through her dark cloud of hair. She shrunk inside her overcoat, fiddling with something inside that Calder couldn’t see. It would be some kind of self-defense alchemy, he knew. Holding a gas bomb or a vial of acid would make her feel more secure.
Foster wore his reading-glasses, his shooting-glasses still hanging against his wild gray beard. He was examining a nearby cannon, grumbling about its condition. The old man wore his toolbelt, his own Soulbound Vessel, and the tiny tools trembled as though aching to be used.
While Petal looked nervous and Foster distracted himself with work, Andel seemed completely comfortable surrounded by the Imperial Guard. He stood in his pristine white suit and hat, hands tucked behind his back, a subtly amused smile on his face as he watched Calder.
It lifted Calder’s spirits to see them, though he couldn’t help but eye the gaps between them. Urzaia would have laughed and thrown his arms around Andel, and Jerri would have rushed up to greet him.
The empty spaces made his heart ache, but he hadn’t expected any of the crew.
“Finally sick of slumming in the Imperial Palace?” Calder asked. “I see you decided to return to true luxury.”
Andel raised an eyebrow. “I was visiting with friends in the city when a very polite young man with ram’s horns instructed me that I was expected by the Imperial Steward.”
“They shook me from my bed,” Foster grunted.
Petal shrunk back from the nearby Imperial Guards, then spoke in an apologetic tone. “…I was in my room. They told me to come.”
Calder pushed down his instinct to blame this on the nearby Guards. For one thing, they had not given the order. He had. He just hadn’t intended to.
“I am more than sorry, everyone, but I do bring good news: the Independents have accepted our proposal for peace. The meeting is in two weeks’ time.”
From their lack of response, he could see they already knew.
“No, stop, settle down, your excitement embarrasses us all. Now, to celebrate, I mentioned that I wanted to spend some time on my ship and that you should be invited. I didn’t intend any kind of order.”
Foster peered deep into the cannon. “Lucky you, Captain. Now you have people that listen to your orders whether you want them to or not.”
Calder hadn’t made a plan or even looked too closely at his own intentions. He simply wanted to feel the old deck beneath his feet. Even wearing these armored boots, it was good to feel a connection to his Vessel, from its slick green-black seamless deck to the green-veined stretch of sails currently furrowed like a wing overhead.
Tapping into Kelarac’s warm handprint on his arm, Calder sent his Intent deeper into the ship. Through the chains at the bottom of its hull, his awareness dove to the Lyathatan, manacled and resting above the sea floor.
The Elder had been far more manageable ever since Calder had received the mark of its master. Now, it floated in the shadow of The Testament, contemplating its own slowly unfolding plan.
When it felt Calder’s touch, the Lyathatan sent a demand back up. It wanted repayment for a favor long granted.
Sharks, the Elder ordered.
Calder almost never needed to feed the Lyathatan. It could go months—maybe years—without eating, and when it was hungry, it was more than capable of hunting for itself. It took a moment before he could unravel the layers of its alien Intent and understand its full meaning.
It wanted the sharks that he had promised it as repayment for a favor. A favor it had granted years ago. And one that Calder had paid for already.
But he supposed he didn’t want to leave an angry, hungry Lyathatan in the Capital’s secret military harbor. Especially now that they had begun mining the Gray Island for its treasures.
The other two ships in this harbor were returning from the Consultants’ former headquarters, bearing teams of Readers and investigators determined to unlock the secrets of the Gray Island.
“Make a note,” Calder said to the nearest Imperial Guard. “We need to bring sharks to the harbor.”
The Guard inclined her head.
Calder clapped his hands together, the Emperor’s gauntlets clashing as he did so. “My apologies, everyone, but you know you can make yourself at home. I only planned to spend an hour here, and you’re welcome to return with me to the Palace afterwards.”
Petal scurried up to him, looking even more uncomfortable than usual. “Um, I wanted to…talk with you…soon. I found a job.”
That was a surprise blow, and it landed square on Calder’s chin. “Are you not being taken care of in the Palace?”
She shook her head vigorously. “…but if we won’t be sailing anymore, I wanted…” She brought out vials of brightly colored liquid, pushing them forward as though they explained what she wanted to say.
“It’s a research position in the Champion’s Guild,” she explained. “Not that I’ll be a Champion. But I have experience with…you know. Urzaia.” She studied the deck beneath her shifting feet. “A lot of their staff left since…the Emperor. They need alchemists.”
Petal peeked up at him as though expecting to see him angry.
Though it wounded him to see his crew crumbling in front of his eyes, how could he be upset? Petal had always been more talented than the Alchemist’s Guild had recognized, and she deserved to find a Guild that could use her talents.
He had thought she was happy working with the Imperial Palace alchemists, but if that wasn’t the case, he was glad she had found a new position.
“Congratulations, Petal! The Champions will be lucky to have you.”
Even in his first meeting with Baldezar Kern, the Head of the Champions had mentioned how short-staffed their Guild had become. This would be for the best.
Petal squirmed in place, but took a step back when Andel walked up to join them. He tilted his hat back so Calder could see his eyes.
He saw only compassion there, so Calder braced himself for more bad news.
“I’ve been looking for a position with the Witnesses,” Andel said gently. “Not as a true Witness myself, of course. I wouldn’t do any better as a Silent One than Petal would as a Champion. But they need paper-pushers and staff managers just like anyone else.”