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28 AELIA

“We need to take your sister to the infirmary so we can watch her for the next day. She is resting comfortably, but we did have to amputate her right pinky and ring fingers.

I grimaced.

“Oh, Trinity.”

“There was nothing we could do. The cold got to her. They would have rotted and possibly killed her.”

The whole of me shuddered at the thought of them hacking off pieces of my sister. All I could do was nod.

The witch touched my shoulder gently.

“Why don’t you go home for the night? We put your sister in a deep slumber. She won’t wake until tomorrow.”

“And what of Conrad?”

She shook her head.

“That bargain brand didn’t help him, but he’ll make it.”

“Thank you,” I said, wrapping the blanket tighter around myself.

“Bring that back tomorrow, will you?” she said reassuringly.

“I will.” I headed into the cold night.

The first blush of dawn was just beginning to peek over the horizon when I reached the Alder Townhome. Finneas flinched when he opened the door for me. “Lady Aelia, what happened?”

“So much,” I said, collapsing on the plush couch in the parlor. Finneas pulled off my boots and laid another blanket over me before shutting the blinds and closing the doors.

When I awoke, the room was still dark. I blinked, letting my eyes adjust. My muscles ached from use. I lay there staring at the ceiling for a moment. The memories of last night came flooding in.

Baylis!

I jumped to my feet and hurried to the study, where I found Amolie poring over books on ancient magic and necromancy. Two lamps burned on a large wooden desk, and bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling. The room smelled of old parchment and pine. Her face brightened when she saw me.

“Aelia! You’re awake.” She sprung from her seat, pulling me in for a hug. “You smell awful,” she said, gripping me tighter. “I love it.”

“Baylis is in the infirmary.”

“What happened? I feared the worst when you returned without her, but I didn’t want to wake you.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, deciding where to begin.

“I need some coffee first.”

Amolie rang the servant’s bell, and a halfling woman appeared in the doorway.

“How may I assist you ladies?”

“Coffee and some sugary confections if you have them,” Amolie said.

“Some bacon, too, please,” I added. The woman nodded and left the room. I leaned back in the plush armchair, listening to the crackling fire and reveling in its heat.

Amolie took a seat in the one across from me.

“So? What happened?”

I sighed.

“Well, we saw our mother.”

“And?” She leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

“And she said I’d have to choose between Tharan and Caiden.”

“Well, it seems to me like you already made your choice.”

“But what if that choice was wrong?” I had been wrong before. What if I was wrong again? What if I was doomed to pick bad men? What if I pushed the good ones away? My heart couldn’t take much more of this. I loved Tharan, except… what if we could never be together? What if I was wasting my time loving someone only to have the world rip them from my hands again?

Amolie moved closer and placed a reassuring hand on mine.

“For once, I don’t think you are. I think you should trust your gut.”

I nodded.

“You’re right. I’m being foolish, and she could be playing games with me.”

“Trust your intuition, Aelia,” Amolie said.

I told her at length about our misadventure, finishing with Conrad’s near miss with death just as a servant entered the room.

“Excuse me, Lady Aelia, but we just received word that your sister has woken and is asking for you.”

With those words, I breathed a little easier. “Wonderful. Prepare a carriage for us.”

The infirmary was housed in one of the old god’s temples, built long before the Trinity came to dominate the continent. Light streamed in through stained-glass windows, painting the room with color. Below the arched windows, beds lined the ancient shrine. Baylis was located at the far end. Healers rushed from patient to patient, checking on them, wearing their signature blue-and-white coats that buttoned to their chin. The Healers Guild of the Free Cities accepted all skilled practitioners into their ranks. Elves, sylph, witches, and all manner of magus mixed together freely.

A sense of relief flooded over me, seeing more sailors had survived. Even Conrad was awake and flirting with the healers.

Amolie and I pulled up chairs beside Baylis’s bed. She still looked so fragile, with her skin-tinged blue and shadows beneath her eyes. She couldn’t be a conniving backstabber. That wasn’t in her nature. Even as I thought the words, something in the back of my mind told me not to trust her. She had seen so much already. If she wanted to, she could destroy me. It’s something I would have done to get the information I needed.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“As well as can be expected.” She held up her hand with the two missing fingers wrapped in a bandage.

“Makes you look fierce.” I mustered the best smile I could. “You’ll have to think of a good story for it.”

“Because a giant sea serpent destroyed the ship I was on isn’t good enough?”

I chuckled, pulling her in for a hug. “I guess that is a pretty good story.”

“Not too tight,” she gasped. The briny, earthy smell of the Bay still lingered on her skin.

“I can’t help it. I thought I’d lost you again.”

“You should know by now… Springborns are hard to kill.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I nodded into my sister’s long, blonde hair.

“Save some for the rest of us,” Amolie said. “She’s not going anywhere.”

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I sat back in my chair. When did I get so emotional? Get it together, Aelia.

The healer from the ship approached us. Her silver hair was braided in a tight bun behind her sloped ears. The creases around her eyes marked her as an elder, but I couldn’t say how old she really was.

“Your sister is doing quite well for almost having died last night.” She grinned at Baylis. “You can take her home today. I’ve had the attendants gather some clothes, and you’ll have to keep the wound wrapped for at least the next week.”

“I’m going to have to learn how to shoot again,” Baylis said, pretending to shoot a bow and arrow.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Let’s get you dressed and back home to rest.” I pulled a curtain surrounding Baylis’s bed, and Amolie and I helped her change into a loose-fitting wool dress.

Conrad waved us over as we made our way down the rows of beds.

“Aelia! Baylis! You made it.” Somehow, he managed to keep his hat through the ordeal.

“You’re looking well, Conrad. I’m sorry about your crew.”

“They were good men,” he said, a sullen look on his face. “But there is no better death for a sailor than a death at sea. So, in that way, we honored them.”

I didn’t know what to say. The blood of his men was on my hands, and I would not be able to shake the guilt of that for some time. Maybe ever.

“I’m still sorry.”

“Death is a part of life. We will all meet our makers someday.” He leaned back on his bed. “But the sea has not claimed me yet. Although she did get my left hand this time.” He held up a stump wrapped in bandages.

I grimaced.

“Oh, Conrad, I’m so sorry.”

His eyes brightened, and a charming smile crossed his handsome face.

“Don’t be. I’m having Tiernan fashion me a hook.”

“Well, that’s something.” My eyes flitted around the room, looking for any wandering gazes, but all I saw were healers tending to the sick and injured. “Do you still have the…” I scratched my chest where a necklace would hang.

“I do. And you’re not getting it back.”

“I guess the point is moot now. Queen Calliope already sent her sea snake after us. She will not stop until she has her justice.”

“You should be ready for her to attack at any time. I have sailed her seas for hundreds of years. She is as smart as she is wicked—a creature of the blood and the water. Be ready for a fight.”

“I have been fighting my whole life, Conrad.”

He smirked.

“Tharan said as much, Mind Breaker.”

“We are both fighters.” I turned to leave, knowing this wouldn’t be the last I’d see of Conrad. “Enjoy your new ship.”

“Oh, I will,” he said.