Page 66 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

Her sudden question made them both halt, and Blake dragged his admiration from Bree to glare at Kora. In a blink, his face smoothed out into neutrality, the epitome of an officer’s poise.

“I am. I had to liaise with officers stationed in the western town about some activity.” His reply was blunt and indifferent, but something lingered beneath his tone, and she cast a wary glance towards the western town where the lower districts were. Where the Silvermaid’s Emporium was.

Kora could read the thoughts as clear as day in his eyes. They were two sides of a mirror from their years together honing their compatibility as fighters. Always deeply attuned to the other. He’d been called away to dampen the rebellious fires lighting within people’s hearts. She was sure enough that the folio in his hands was a list of names to be executed. Her breath caught in her dry, constricting throat, and she nodded meekly. She hoped Agatha was safe in her shop. Her gut knotted, before plummeting. She’d had a rebel spy on her ship for weeks.

One of the soldiers grunted, “We’d like to escort our lady back home.”

“Of course, mustn’t keep a lady waiting.” Blake bowed, a grin pasted on his face, and Bree laughed in return, swishing her sparkling skirts.

“Feel free to call on me in the upper district,” she swooned as he straightened, her handsaccidentallybrushing over his chest.

If the god of death could strike Kora now, that would be great.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kora murmured, not meeting Blake’s stare as the soldiers pushed them on, towards the gate in the looming grey wall.

“I hope to see you again!” Bree called after a few steps, and Kora bit the inside of her cheek as she carried on walking, not daring to look back to see the expression on his face.

Bree brimmed with elation. “Nowthatis a man.”

“Blake? He’s okay, I guess.”

“Okay? A champion of the trials!” Bree fanned herself as she spoke. “Your first mate, a liaison of the army. He’s strong, powerful, respectable.”

“What are you saying?” Kora stopped walking and the guards halted, their armour clinking at the movement.

“He could be it.” Bree smiled, casting a look back to the port town, as if she could look right through the thick protection wall and see Blake. “He could be the one. No—heisthe one.”

Kora’s temper simmered and she spoke through clenched teeth, “But you have to marry into nobility.”

“I’m sure my father can make an exception for someone like him. I mean, a champion! He could be a commander someday. He should be one already. I could help him. Odd that he’s not tried to advance into the army yet. You wouldn’t know why that is, would you?”

Bree continued walking at Kora’s silence, towing her along, oblivious to her stiff reluctance. She wouldn’t be able to stop a marriage like that, and Bree was right. Blake may have come from low, humble roots, but he’d more than proved himself with his achievements, and with the support of Bree’s family, he could easily become the next commander . . . or even a viceroy.

A viceroy would never be with a captain.

It’d be years before Kora could achieve admiral status. She’d have to replace Erick first as commodore, and he was taking every step to drag that goal further away from her. It was too much time, and marriages happened quick in Azaria, especially for nobility.

But Blakecoulddeny Bree.

She clung to the thought. He could reject her family’s proposal. Maybe Kora could elope with him—no. The thought of leaving Erick, leaving Agatha, made her heart plummet.

Besides, if they eloped, they would be hunted down as traitors to the crown, and to the armada. Obtaining a ship to escape to the seas would be a guaranteed death sentence, and they’d become the very thing they despised.Pirates.

She was already a killer. A thief. Kora felt as though she were taking the steps to becoming a bona fide pirate. She’d already infiltrated a rebel’s nest, blending in as if she belonged. Something she couldn’t report without revealing her own magic.Gods,she was a walking criminal. The power coursing through her veins was a threat to the kingdom. All she’d have to do was start torturing innocents, and blindly murdering everyone that stepped in her path, and she’d easily fit in with Galen, as well.

Exhaustion swept in as the pulsing beat of power evaporated from her limbs, leaving a cold unseen residue, hollowing her core.

“Put in a good word for me, would you?” Bree spoke excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she envisioned her future. “I can tell you have a good friendship with him. Imagine—your two closest friends getting married?”

Kora didn’t want to imagine it at all.

28

What’s this?” Erick sat across from Kora at the large mahogany parlour room table, scrutinising the lemon placed beside her bowl of berried porridge.

“A lemon?” Kora replied between mouthfuls, shovelling her oats down before they commenced their journey to Whitestone Bay within the hour. Plates piled high with cured meats, spiced eggs, and freshly baked pastries covered the space between them. Black drapes fluttered behind her from the tall glass windows, letting in the scorching heat. Erick picked up the lemon with both hands and his frown deepened.

Kora paused as faint lines crinkled at the edges of his eyes, the lines in his forehead becoming prominent. Even the flecked greys in the sides of his hair seemed glaringly bright. When had Erick aged so much? His youth faded away from him faster and faster every time she returned home.