Page 79 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

“They’ll be here soon,” Samuel spoke as he stopped by her side. “They’re not docking the ship. A boat with three men is rowing to shore, not the dock. I’d say thirty minutes tops.”

To the east sat multiple docking piers, where ships normally docked for travellers and shipments. It’d grown quiet over the past decade and was left unmanned. To the west, past the cliff faces, was King’s Guard Cove. An infamous port with a towering keep, used for transportation of prisoners to Deadwater Prison.

Samuel paused, raking his gaze over Kora’s dishevelled state. His humorous sparkle had diminished now they were to be joined by constituents of the royal family. “Alright, Captain?”

“Just going to freshen up.”

She shot Blake a glare and snatched her leathers, running to the hidden rockpool. Her shirt already reeked with sweat, and she knelt by the pool of water, splashing it against her flushed, sticky skin before pulling her leathered layers on with a grimace.

Her hair curled around the nape of her neck and she soaked it with water, pushing the growing lengths back. Kora savoured the brief relief of coolness before seeing to her needs and trudging back to camp.

Aryn hovered by the horses, lining them up, and checking their saddles and bags were attached correctly. She noticed Cadence had been strapped with more saddle bags than the others.

“Who’s riding with who?” Kora asked as the rowboat neared. There must be a reason Cadence was carrying the most load.

“I’ll take the sentinel,” Blake replied quickly. “They can take the two guards,” he nodded at Aryn and Samuel. “Eat this—now.” He handed Kora a small rationing of bread, dried meat, and fruit. “We all need our strength.”

She gobbled it down fast enough to not even taste it, and her stomach twinged in protest. The sun baked the dazzling, reflective stones of the shore as the dark wooden rowboat came to a stop. The wood scraping against the pebbles set her teeth on edge, and sweat dripped down her back from the mid-morning heat.

Three large, muscular males disembarked from the rowboat. They donned black and grey clothing, with fine silver vambraces, and thin, yet impenetrable, silver armour coveredtheir shoulders, abdomens, and thighs. Impressive Azarian steel. Highly coveted, and highly sought.

Gods’ sake they’re walking targets.

An exquisite purple stag, with a four-pointed star between its antlers was emblazoned across their torsos and backs. The symbol for the royal Staghart family of Azaria. The Talmon Empire had a demurer version of the four-pointed star, signifying it as an extension and subsidiary of Azaria.

“I thought you said sentinels were academic,” she hissed to Blake as the three males approached.

One had a large sword strapped to his back, whilst another carried an elegant black recurve bow. Aryn eyed him intensely. The third had two hatchet axes sheathed on either side of his thick hips.

Blake audibly swallowed in response as the males effortlessly strode across the pebbles. Kora was certain their muscular thighs were wider than her head, and a tremble overcame her at the sheer threat of them.

To the left, the archer’s long black hair flowed behind him, framing his pale skin. His facial features were sharp, long, and cold, with matching black eyes, and he bore the slenderest frame of the three.

To the right, the swordsman was the tallest of the three—even taller than Samuel. Dark pink disfigured skin snaked up his jaw, ending by his lips and ears, the colour stark against his light brown tone. His dark, thick hair was cut short, with matching stubble coating his wide chin. Despite his vibrancy, his hooded eyes were lifeless, the colour of dirt after death. He wore black, leather gloves.Gods, he must be sweating.

Blake stiffened, sizing up the swordsman, his own hand twitching over his golden cutlass sword. Which left the final one in the middle—who now stood directly in front of Kora.

The axe-wielder.

She craned her neck back at the towering mass of muscle. His skin was of the darkest chocolate, deep and rich, as were his eyes. His features were round and smooth, and his head was shaved. His hands, which rested on his dual silver axes, were covered in scars, with barely a centimetre of unharmed flesh visible.

“Which one of you is Captain Cadell?” His voice was deep, and boomed with an authority that made Kora’s knees quake. His dark eyes swept over Blake, Samuel, and Aryn—not even acknowledging her presence.

She deflated at the question. They’d requested her—without knowing she was a female. Not only did the islanders think the captain ofHell’s Serpentwas male, but so did Azaria. Erick’s mission to force her to blend in had worked better than he’d probably imagined. She bit the inside of her cheek at the disrespect and summoned her voice to her lips.

“I am.” She sagged with relief at the strength in her voice. “We’re here to escort you to Stormkeep Fortress.” Kora gestured to her crew.

The three males finally looked at her and blinked with surprise. A blush crept onto Kora’s face at the weight of their stare, and she felt small as she returned it. Their eyes lingered on the scar covering the side of her face, and she resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at them.

“An escort,” the swordsman snickered as his eyes greedily roamed over her chest. “I can see why they let women join the navy here. Must be quite boring without some . . . entertainment.” His voice had a slight lisp to it.

“Watch it,” Blake threatened, but he winced at the wordescort.

Kora could only imagine what kind of entertainment he meant, and she was certain it was theforcefulkind. The axe-wielder raised a scarred hand, silencing his fellow swordsman.

“Excuse Callan. We don’t let him out much, he’s not used to seeing a woman fully clothed.” He smirked, earning a glare from Callan. “My name is Theron, and this is Ivar.”

Theron gestured to the archer to his right. Ivar tightly nodded, his mouth a thin, pale line, his arms crossed in front of him. Kora swallowed her irritation at Callan, and thanked Theron for the introductions, her palm sweaty as they shook hands.