Page 27

Wyatt and Carter stood at the bulwark as the riggers behind them worked the sails to bring their ship into port at Chestwil. It was a few hours past sunset, and though they’d come as quickly as they could after he received a letter from Rue telling them where to go, it had still taken several days. He hoped he hadn’t missed his chance to meet her.

“I’ve never been to a pirate island,” Carter said.

“Are you scared?” Piers asked, stepping up beside them.

“I wasn’t…” Carter answered. “…Should I be?”

“No,” Piers laughed. “Not unless anyone sees your Sovereign marks.” Wyatt reached up to adjust the wrapping around his upper arm, making sure it fully covered his mark. “How long are we here for?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Wyatt told him.

Carter added, “He’s going to try meeting with his informant tonight to find out.”

“Oh, right,” Piers said, “my fathers were speculating about who she was.”

“He swore he wouldn’t tell anyone,” Wyatt said, glancing over at him.

“He won’t,” Piers assured him. “Well, besides my dad, but they tell each other everything and I’m a compulsive eavesdropper.”

Carter leaned closer to Piers and whispered, “Wyatt’s got a little crush on her.”

Piers gasped and teased in a matching whisper, “You’ve got a crush on a pirate?”

Wyatt passed Carter a glare, but Carter only grinned at him in response. “I’ve got a meeting to get to,” he announced .

They’d finished docking and the ramp had been lowered, so he left Carter and Piers behind with a playfully obscene gesture, which made them laugh as they called hushed teases at him. He wandered off the ship and toward town, stopping someone on the street along his way to ask how to find Blue Sail, the tavern and inn that Rue had told him to meet her at. After receiving directions, he picked up walking, only to have someone throw an arm over his shoulders a few steps later. At first, he thought it might be Rue, but he glanced over and found Piers instead.

“You can’t come with me,” he said.

“I know,” Piers told him. “Carter saw Beecher sneak off the ship to follow you.” Wyatt started turning to look behind him, but Piers tightened his grip on his shoulders to keep him forward. “Don’t look. Carter’s tailing him and I’m going to make a distraction. You’ll have to be quick, but I think you can lose him if you slip into an alley and avoid the street the rest of the way there.”

“How will you make a distraction?” Wyatt asked.

Piers didn’t answer. Instead, he released Wyatt and shouldered hard into a massive man that was passing them. “Oi!” Piers shouted at the man. “Watch where you’re walking, you bullox.”

The man stopped and turned back to Piers, growling, “I know you’re not talking to me.”

But it wasn’t just the one man. Three others of almost equal size who’d been walking close by joined his side. They all had some bruises on their faces like they’d already been in a fight, and Piers grimaced as he glanced back at Wyatt and said, “Run please, while there’s still a point to this.”

Wyatt didn’t wait to see the distraction unfold, and he ducked through an oncoming crowd right as the first blow landed in the resulting scuffle behind him. He didn’t glance back to see if it worked either, and trusted wholly that Carter and Piers would be able to get Simon off his trail. He zigzagged through back alleys, keeping the main road in his mind to stay oriented as he made turn after turn. Eventually, he reached what seemed to be the rear of a tavern, and he worked around the side and stayed in the shadow of the dark alley for a minute to watch all the people in front of it, making sure Simon wasn’t among them.

Once he felt it was safe, he came out of the alley and went through the front doors, stopping to scan the inside. It was crowded and lively, full of people drinking and laughing and dancing to the loud music being played by a troupe near the back. What he didn’t see, however, was a hallway or doors to any rooms. He wandered up to the bar on the right side, and waited a minute until the barkeep came over to him.

“Do you have any rooms?” he asked the woman.

She gestured her thumb behind her. “Next building over. Out the main doors and to the left.”

“Thank you.”

He peered out the front door to make sure the coast was clear before exiting and making his way to the adjoining building. He didn’t stop at the desk in the entrance, and told the man instead that he was meeting someone as he continued into the hall of doors. He checked the crack under each door he passed by to try and spot the brim of Rue’s hat, but none of the rooms on the bottom floor were right, so he continued upstairs. It was up there that he finally spotted the one, and his heart skipped up the hall ahead of him as he made his way to the door.

He tried the handle but found it locked, so he knocked gently and called, “It’s me.”

It took several seconds, but then the door opened, and Rue stayed hidden behind it as she motioned for him to come in. Once he’d entered, she closed and locked it behind him and smiled, saying, “You made it.”

“We left the moment I got your letter,” he told her.

She turned from the door and wandered back to the small table in the room, where she’d laid out a deck of cards and had been playing a game. She sat down in one chair, pushing the other out from the table with her boot and gesturing at it, telling him, “Come sit.”

“Did it work?” he asked as he joined her. “Did they break the curse?”

She shook her head. “I was hoping they’d give up the search for Ascension anyway, but they seem more determined than ever.”

“Why are they more determined?” he asked.

“Because they want to help the rebellion,” she answered.

“Freedom in Shadows?” he asked, and she nodded. After what he saw on Remigan, he wasn’t certain where he stood with the rebels. Though, he wasn’t sure how to feel about Sovereign lately, either. “Are you having second thoughts?”

She inhaled deeply, but let that breath out without saying anything, and then she thought about it for a minute. She inhaled again, picked up a playing card to tap the corner of it against the table, and sighed. “No,” she said finally.

“Are you sure? ”

She looked at him for a few more seconds before tossing the card down onto the table and saying, “It’s complicated.”

“I’m understanding more and more what that feels like,” he admitted. “You can talk to me about it, if you want to.”

Rue blew a hard breath through her lips and then huffed a laugh as she said, “You’re the only person I can talk to about it, actually.”

“So,” he urged, “why is it complicated?”

She slumped down in her seat, picking up the card again to resume tapping the corner of it against the table. “I still don’t believe anyone should Ascend, that hasn’t changed,” she said. “But, I don’t know, Carolina’s been different lately. I think…” She paused, glanced up at him briefly, and shrugged. “Ever since I’d found her again, she seemed jaded. Or... disenchanted. But it was always about Ophelia, wasn’t it?” She looked at him again, and he must’ve appeared confused, because she breathed, “I’m not explaining this right.”

“Why was it always about Ophelia?” he asked. “What did she have to do with the curse?”

“Oh,” Rue said, giving a small huff of laughter. “Ophelia’s the one who cursed her, Wyatt. They were in love, but Carolina left her just like she left me.”

“ Oh .”

“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, if anything, it lessened my resentment to know that Carolina abandoned her too. But, I don’t know… when I left Sovereign and found her cursed, it felt like retribution for my own pain.”

He pursed his lips, telling her sincerely, “I’m sorry she hurt you like that.”

“I wish she was too,” Rue murmured.

“Isn’t she?”

“She doesn’t act like it,” she answered. “She’s never said it.” He didn’t know how to offer comfort about that, but Rue didn’t give him a chance to anyway. “And for so long I didn’t care if she stayed cursed because all she’d ever done was express betrayal and bitterness about it, as if she played no part in it. As if she never caused pain herself.” He nodded that he understood. “But she’s my sister, Wyatt, and I love her. She’s been happy lately. I’ve seen a light in her that I hadn’t seen since we were kids, and I’ve finally realized that all this time, all of her bitterness and resentment was a mask for the deep sadness she was feeling. And no matter how much pain I still feel, how could I ever wish that on her? ”

He watched her for a few moments, analyzing the downward turn of her mouth and her distant stare at the surface of the table. “You’re sad, too.”

And for some reason, him saying that seemed to make it worse. Her eyes glistened as she continued to stare at the table for another handful of moments, and then she blinked quickly to get rid of the moisture as she looked up at him. “I wish she’d listen to me,” she said. “I don’t want to have to prevent her from freeing herself, but I don’t know what else to do. They can’t unleash Ascension on the world.”

“I wish I had a solution,” he told her.

She gave a pursed-lip smile and said, “Me too.”

“But I’m with you,” he said, “and I trust you. Whatever you think we should do going forward, I’ll follow your lead.”

“Thanks,” she said, and she finally tossed the card she was still holding aside and straightened up in her seat. “We should be going to Breezeport on Clerwood next. Carolina’s giving the crew till the end of the week to rest. We’ll leave Sunday, you should leave the day before.”

He nodded. “Oh, you need to know that Simon Beecher has been trying to follow me. He wants to know who you are.” Rue’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry, my friends have been intercepting him, but you may still want to sneak out the back when you leave here.”

She sighed, “I’m glad you have friends you can trust.”

“Well, Carter I trust,” he told her. “I’m still getting to know Piers.”

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“The bounty hunters’ son.”

Her eyebrows lifted, and she thought about that for a few seconds before her head cocked and she smiled at him. “You’re hoping to make allies with them.”

“I was hoping they’d side with us over Beecher if it came to it,” he answered. “But I’m no good at deception, Rue. I won’t be able to force a friendship with Piers if I find him unpleasant.”

“So far?” she asked.

“Well,” he shrugged, “he’s nice, and fun, and he may have taken a beating tonight to get Simon off my trail. So far, there’s nothing not to like.”

“Except that he’s a bounty hunter,” she said.

“His fathers are trying to retire, actually. Miss Parker is supposed to be their last bounty. The reward is why they took it. ”

“Huh,” Rue breathed. “I delivered the warrant letter to her. I thought it was good timing, but it turns out I was wrong. I’m not sure what she’ll do with it now.”

“What would Carolina do if she knew we were following her?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” she answered. “There are other forces at play here. A Caster boarded Omen back on Trayward, and we don’t know why.” Rue’s brow furrowed. “Unless it was Beecher?”

“A Caster?” he asked in shock. “What happened?”

“Someone was in Carolina’s cabin,” she told him. “But they ran when Carolina became aware of them.”

Wyatt shook his head thoughtfully. “I guess it’s possible. Maybe he was searching for any information Carolina already has about Ascension, but Simon doesn’t strike me as the type to run.”

“Right,” she said. “He doesn’t have a reputation for avoiding conflict.”

“No, he doesn’t,” he agreed. “What if it wasn’t him?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. Trayward authorities tried to stop us from leaving and we don’t know why either, but Carolina’s still too preoccupied with Ascension to seek out answers.”

“Interesting,” he murmured, and Rue hummed. “Could someone else know that she’s after it?”

“Anything’s possible,” she answered. “Just be careful. If it’s made Omen a target, it could do the same to you.”

“I will,” he assured her. And though he wasn’t quite ready to leave, he wasn’t sure he had any other reason to stay. “I should go and make sure Piers didn’t get beat up too badly. And the crew is getting a bit restless, can I let them disembark?”

Rue thought about it for a few seconds and then said, “I think that should be fine. Carolina doesn’t leave the ship often. Just be careful, and make sure Sovereign marks are hidden.”

“Of course,” he agreed.

When he got up to leave, she reached for his hand to stop him. “Wyatt?”

His stomach fluttered at the touch, and he tried his best not to let that feeling flood his cheeks. “Yes?”

“Thank you for listening to me,” she said. “It helps just to know that you’re with me, no matter what I decide to do about Ascension.”

“Of course,” he told her with a smile .

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and then let it go. “See you in Breezeport.”

He nodded, lingered for another moment in his hesitation to part ways, and then headed for the door. He didn’t bother taking the back alleys while returning to the ship, as he figured if Simon was still around then it was too late not to be followed anyway. Not that he needed to worry, because when he got back to the ship, Simon was perched on the bulwark near the top of the ramp, waiting for him. He almost turned right back around to see if Rue was still at the tavern to avoid Simon, but he didn’t, and instead took a deep breath to steel himself and trudged up.

Simon glared at him the whole way, but he refused to show that he was intimidated, and when he reached the top, he asked, “Do you need something, Sir?”

“Yes,” Simon said, hopping off the bulwark to step up to Wyatt and lean in threateningly. He had a single cut in his bottom lip. “I need to know why I can’t trust you. Everyone else thinks you’re too simple to do anything other than what you’re told.” He looked Wyatt up and down and said, “I’m not convinced, and I think you’re up to something.”

Wyatt was caught between anger and fear, and that twist of emotions made his heart sink into his stomach, but he swallowed the conflict down. He stared back calmly instead and asked, “Did you board Omen while we were docked at Trayward?”

Simon straightened away from him. “No.” He studied Wyatt for several long moments with a furrowed brow. “Why do you suspect it was me?” But he didn’t give Wyatt a chance to answer, and his head cocked as he said, “There’s another Caster in the game.”

“If you’re telling the truth,” Wyatt said.

Simon stared at the deck, mumbled, “Another Caster… it’s-” His head shot up as he stepped closer again, grabbing the collar of Wyatt’s shirt when he tried to back up. “Listen to me, Kim. If I don’t reach Ascension because you refuse to cooperate with me, then not even your father will be able to save you from my wrath. Or the emperor’s.”

Wyatt feigned stoicism by staring hard between Simon’s eyes as he grabbed Simon’s wrist and pushed down until he let him go. “Your orders here,” he said, “are to stand by until Ascension is at hand. It’s you who refuses to cooperate. ”

“My orders,” Simon growled, “are simply to Ascend, and believe me when I say that I’ll do what I must, and I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.”

“If you attack Omen, you’ll never get what you’re after.”

Simon huffed a dry laugh and poked him in the chest. “I’m threatening you , Admiral. Just so you know where we stand.”

“Noted,” Wyatt said, barely able to keep the tremble out of his voice.

Simon backed off, shoved past him, and stopped to say, “Oh, and tell your friend that if he ever lays hands on me again, I’ll kill him.”

Wyatt didn’t say anything as he listened to Simon’s footsteps disappear, and once he was sure Simon was gone, he deflated. He turned to start heading to the safety of his own cabin, and noticed that Carter was already poking his head out, waving for him to come. He hurried across the deck and through his door, slamming it shut behind him.

“That looked intense,” Carter said. He had a bruise on his left cheek and a cut on his forehead.

“Are you alright?” he asked. Piers was sitting on the edge of his desk and in similar shape, with a split in his chin and a severely red eye. “Why haven’t you seen the healer?”

“I did,” Piers answered. “He healed my broken arm and then told me to get some rest.”

“And you?” he asked Carter.

“Ah,” Carter waved it off, “I’ve had worse.”

“What did you do to Beecher?”

Carter grimaced. “He wasn’t going to let the brawl distract him, so I might’ve, um… shoved him into it.” Wyatt sighed heavily. “I had to!” Carter protested. “He was fine anyway, he laid out two of the giants in four seconds flat. It was terrifying, actually.”

“He said he’ll kill you if you ever do that again.”

Carter gulped, and Piers asked, “What’s this all about anyway? I thought you were working together.”

“I can’t say exactly,” Wyatt told him. “But Simon is bad news.”

“I believe that,” Piers said. “My father said to stay out of his way, and he never lets anybody scare him.”

“Have they seen you?” Wyatt asked. “Will they be upset?”

“Nah,” he answered. “I’ll just tell them it was a random bully throwing his weight around.”

“Thank you,” Wyatt said to both of them .

“You can buy us a drink tomorrow,” Carter said. “Can we leave the ship?”

“Yes.”

Carter grinned, and then asked, “Do you need to be alone?” Wyatt nodded, and so he waved to Piers and said, “Come on, I’ll tell your fathers I started the fight if I need to.”

Piers slid off the desk and crossed the room. “Night, Wyatt.”

“Goodnight,” he said.

As Carter and Piers opened the door to leave, Carter turned back and asked, “Wyatt… are you in danger?”

Wyatt took in a deep breath and let it out in a slow, heavy sigh. “Not yet, at least.”

Carter nodded, said goodnight, and closed the door behind him as he and Piers left. And maybe Wyatt wasn’t in danger so long as he had information that Simon didn’t, but that didn’t stop him from crossing the room to lock his rune-protected door. Just in case.