Page 31 of The Ever King

Inside the hull, the door groaned and snapped as the heavy, ironed chains clanked back into position. Swallowed water drained through the floor and was heaved back into the tides. We sank with it until my feet planted on the floor.

Though, the whole of the ship remained underwater, inside the hull was little more than damp.

The princess, hunched and soaked, spluttered at my feet.

“Get up.” I gripped under her arm. “You’ll miss your chance to wave farewell.”

“What, I—” Words cut off when I strode to a wide staircase.

The ship rocked. Livia slammed into the side wall. On instinct, I slipped an arm around her waist to keep her upright. She drew in a sharp breath when I opened the hatch to the main deck the same moment the ship carved through the surface.

The bow shot through the surf toward the moon, like a whale breaching the waves. I tugged her into my side and gripped the rail until the ship righted over the surface again. She slipped off a stair, forced to cling to me to keep from tumbling belowdecks. I laughed, reveling in her disquiet. The look she returned was wholly worth it—dark and hateful.

“What ways are you thinking of slitting my throat, Songbird?”

“It’d be foolish of me to give up my plans,” she hissed. “I swear to you, it will be a show worth the wait.”

“Such venom.” With one knuckle, I stroked her cheek. “Careful with your threats of my untimely death, love, or you might end up stealing my heart.”

On deck, crewmen tugged on the rigging, some still clambered over the rails on their return from the land. At the sight of me and my songbird, voices rose in a chorus of chants and jeers. Most were aimed at the fae locked in the burning fort, but some were bolder and tossed their taunts at the princess.

Livia kept her eyes schooled on the deck, even on the steps leading to the helm.

Tait gripped the jagged handles, jaw tight, and a narrowed look I could see even buried in the shadows from the brim of his hat. “The mantle?”

I guided Livia in front of me, my palm open on her stomach. “Soon enough, but we now have something to barter.”

Tait kept his frown, but a gleam of the thrill he never showed lit the ribbons of red in his eyes. Behind him, Celine had perched on one of the rails, Larsson beside her, blood splattered across the edge of his jaw.

Celine smacked her lips, licked grease off her sharpened fingernails, then threw the bone of whatever fowl she’d taken from the masque into the sea. “What a lovely haul you’ve brought us, My King.”

Celine snapped her teeth, laughing when Livia flinched.

Larsson tossed a skin of coins between his hands. “The bastards are aiming to set sail behind us.”

Celine took a spyglass from a pouch on her belt and handed it to me. Longships were being loaded. The glow of the burning fort revealed the endless warriors on the docks.

“They seek a chase, let’s give them one.” I folded the spyglass again and took the helm from Tait’s hold.

One hand on the helm, one on my songbird, I faced the crew. “What d’you say, men? Ready to show these bastards what it means to chase the Ever Ship?”

The crew pounded their fists and began the eerie chant.

We work, we rot. . .

I pulled Livia close to my side. “Hang onto me. I’d hate to lose you along the way.”

She scoffed, teeth bared. “I’d rather drown in the depths than touch you.”

“Suit yourself, love.” I released the scarf between her hands and returned to the helm. “Hoist the banner, you bastards! The sea calls.”

Hums and grunts and chants came from the deck as the crew scrambled to their positions. Four bulky men gathered near the main mast and tugged on the black rigs, drawing the frayed banner of the Ever to the top of the sails.

Horns and battle cries echoed in the distance.

I glanced over my shoulder, just enough to witness a few of her people begin the hopeless pursuit. Those oars in their odd longships weren’t a match for the sleek hull of the Ever Ship.

I met Livia’s gaze. “Say goodbye, Songbird.”