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CHAPTER NINETEEN

IN WHICH THE PARTY PASSES THE TIME WITH A GOOD-NATURED SPARRING SESSION

The hammocks were more comfortable than they looked.

When I emerged from the bowels of the ship the next morning, it was nearly midday, and the main deck bustled with activity.

I found Luthri and the twins idling toward the bow, shirtless.

The twins were doused in sweat, apparently taking a breather after intense activity, while Lu lay on his back, soaking in the sunlight with a serene expression on his face.

Did his wings bother him like that? Or did they not have any sensation? Could he still move them, or would they drag behind him if not tied up?

“Sleep well, darling?” Luthri asked, shooting me a grin as I approached. He laced his fingers together behind his head, which made the muscles in his upper arms stand out. Last time I saw his half-naked body, it hadn’t felt appropriate to stare. Now, I savored the view unabashed.

“Very well,” I answered, crouching by his side. “It’s a miracle what a solid night’s sleep plus a sponge bath, fresh clothes, and a zanna root can do. I feel like a new person.”

“I believe it. You certainly smell like one.”

Tsking, I reached out to flick Lu’s forehead.

He was too quick for me, thwarting my attack with the confidence of one who knew he had the upper hand.

His fingers closed around my wrist as he scanned my face for signs of discontent.

Was he checking to see if I’d changed my mind since last night?

I wasn’t about to dismiss that moment as a mistake—he had earned that much.

A woman who wants to be taken seriously never goes back on her word.

“Did you eat?” he murmured, releasing my hand.

I made a face. “What was breakfast, more meat and crackers?”

“Hari caught us fish.” Lu nodded toward the waterfolk male, who treated a length of rope in his lap nearby. “There might be some left. You should check the kitchen.”

I went to straighten up and nearly tripped over an odd combination of soft and hard textures. Regaining my footing, I glared down to see the knee-high, sun-shy creature whose name I couldn’t remember. He adjusted his bulky head wrap to hide a section of bright green scales from view.

“Merda!” I exclaimed. “Are you okay? For Valuen’s sake, say something if you’re going to stand right behind someone!”

Even Luthri stared, similarly puzzled by the little thing’s sudden appearance. It waddled away, unbothered, to go do whatever it did on the ship. Stand behind other people, maybe.

Vyrain hopped to his feet and came to join Luthri and me. “We were thinking we’d do a run around the deck,” he announced, jogging in place. “Want to join us?”

He inclined his head as I pointed to myself in question. My head shook quickly. “No, thanks. I’ve been on my feet enough the past couple of weeks to last me a lifetime. How you all still have energy for cardio is beyond me.”

“Needed something to do.” Vyrain shrugged.

Of all the activities that could be used to fill time, running was lowest on my list. That reminded me, though—I had meditating to do.

I couldn’t figure out the key to making magic back at the shrine, and after the swamp, I’d been too tired to focus past the basic mana exercises.

But I was so close. Once whatever I was missing clicked, the rest would fall into place.

Honestly, it should be easier without Cantal and his cryptic explanations .

“We could do another round of sparring now that Mar is here,” Luthri suggested, sitting up. A slow-moving smirk made its way across his face. “Unless, of course, that would be too much for the lady’s feeble stomach.”

“Oh, you want to play that game?” It had been a while since I put my formal training to use, but from where I stood, it would be all too easy to tackle him to the deck.

I remembered a few things—a couple of basic takedowns, chokes, arm bars.

It was never the focus of my training—if a spy ended up in a fight, they’d made a serious error along the way—but I knew enough for basic self-defense.

For all the good it did me in a land of magic.

“You up for it?” Vyrain appeared eager. Between him, his brother, and Luthri, he was closest to my size.

Still had a good eighteen kilograms/forty pounds or so on me, but I used to roll with men his size and larger all the time back at the facility where I spent my first few years in America.

Most of the time I was my usual self, too, though I practiced in other forms.

That made the initial takedown quite natural.

The fae were stronger and faster than humans thanks to their connection to and regular use of mana .

Vyrain was a good sport about it, only reacting after we hit the deck.

I let him roll underneath me so that I could take his back, locking my arms like a seatbelt over his chest. He gave a half-hearted yank, testing my hold, before tucking to try throwing me over his head.

When that didn’t work, he came back down on all fours, preparing to roll again.

The moment he paused, I transitioned into a rear naked choke, slinging my right arm around his neck and tucking my hand into the crook of my opposite arm’s elbow.

I squeezed to make my point, restricting the flow of blood to his brain for a second before releasing him.

He threw himself forward to put space between us, performed a tight roll, and sprang upright.

We circled each other. Hohem had made his way over to watch, and Luthri stood now, observing us with an eager glint in his eye.

My attention snapped back to my opponent as Vyrain barreled into my midsection, tackling me to the ground.

My legs wrapped around his waist even as the breath was knocked from me.

As he reached back to unlock my legs, I snatched his wrist, grasped his ankle, and bridged off my shoulders to send him toppling.

In a blink, he was flat on his back, and I had the advantage, straddling his waist.

An exhilarated grin split my face. He barely resisted, letting me go through the motions without much of a challenge, but still. It was a thrill to put my limited talents to work again. Brought back memories of before everything went to shit.

“I’m next,” Luthri interjected, eyes pinned on our compromising position.

“That’s pretty cool,” Vyrain admitted from under me, thoroughly at ease. A bout of that length wasn’t even enough to steal his breath; the sheen to his skin was all from earlier.

“Yeah, well. Not very useful when everybody’s got magic to throw around.

” I hopped off my companion and offered a hand to help him to his feet.

It took most of my strength to counter his weight enough for him to stand.

I could have laughed. Magic was the great equalizer here—all the more reason for me to figure out how to make the most of mine.

A shout rang out across the deck. Everyone looked up as one.

There was no instant panic, no one rushing to defense positions or scrambling to look.

Hohem, who was nearest the side of the ship, spotted the issue first, pointing out toward the water.

A long, scaled neck protruded from the ocean’s surface, glittering in the bright afternoon light.

The rest of the beast’s body was a rainbow of color underneath the water.

It paddled alongside the ship as though it weren’t large enough to crush the ship in half and swallow any of us whole.

The image had my body tensing in preparation for a brutal fight, a flurry of fear and adrenaline driving my heartbeat to quicken, but that intention petered out a moment later. It would be hopeless, I realized, even with all of us. We’d be crushed, or drown, or worse .

The waterfolk male, Hari, stripped down to bare skin before I could get myself together. He dashed for the side of the ship, family jewels swinging in the breeze, as hands came over my eyes. I batted them away, more to make a point than for the sake of enjoying the view.

“That’s just unnecessary,” Luthri muttered from behind me.

Caught in the throes of my fight-or-flight instinct, I asked the ship at large, “Shouldn’t we… do something?”

No one else appeared to mind the monster’s presence. In fact, Hari was swimming with it, weaving around and underneath the beast as it released a proud trumpeting call.

“No cause for concern,” Gerda announced from behind us. For someone so large, she had a light step. “Sea beasts. We see those every so often in our line of work. They’re curious but won’t bother us unless we give them reason to. Think of them like the lya of the ocean.”

The creature I was looking at more resembled a dragon/Loch Ness Monster hybrid than the docile cattle beasts that provided food and milk for much of the Kereti and Wysalar regions, but it wasn’t a point worth arguing. Especially since the fae had no concept of dragons or the Loch Ness Monster.

As the instinct to fight faded, the cadence of my heart gradually steadied.

Resting against the railing, I leaned forward to admire the beast’s narrow snout and wide head framed by fierce frills, sleek neck studded with spines, and what I could make out of a lithe body distorted by waves.

Its long front arms doubled as fins. Smaller back legs hugged its body as it swam, giving the illusion that they melted into the massive tail.

“Beautiful,” I breathed, suitably awed.

“Indeed.” Luthri’s soft agreement came from somewhere behind me.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” I swiveled around to face him. His gaze flicked to the view beyond us and softened as some distant memory played under the surface .

“Once before. When my family came to this continent many revolutions ago.”