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“Now!” I shouted. “Get back to work!”
And no one was as surprised as me when they did.
The Aja Shore reminded me of Bone Island, only cleaner and full of nobles and rich merchants instead of cutthroats and pirates. Queen Saida kept a private island set a ways off from the shore, with a big house filled with servants, who, far as I could see, got to live there all year and only had to work when Queen Saida decided she wanted a vacation.
We didn’t bother making port at the dock, just dropped anchor out in the open sea off behind Queen Saida’s island, the Nadir looking big and hulking and monstrous next to her pretty little garden-ship. I let the crew row in to the mainland to go chasing after the gambling I promised them. Then Naji and me made our way to Queen Saida’s house. It was like being in the palace. Her private guards hung around trying to look inconspicuous, and the servants gave me weird looks before leading us up to our rooms. They seemed to give Naji a pass, probably cause every time he opened his mouth he sounded like a noble.
“We’re preparing your midday meal now,” the servant told us as she wandered around my room, pulling down sheets and drawing the curtains away from the open windows. The sea glittered in the sunlight. “The house bell will chime when it’s prepared.” She nodded at me and slipped off into the hallway.
I sank down on the bed and sighed. The warm wind blowing in through the windows made me sleepy, though at least it smelled like the sea, like home, instead of the jungle. It didn’t take long before I drifted off to some breezy dream. Marjani was there, and Queen Saida and the manticore. No Naji. It was nice.
In the dream, Marjani knocked on wood, looking at me expectantly. She knocked so loud it woke me up, and I realized someone was knocking on my door. The little whisper in my head told me it was Naji.
“What do you want?” I called out.
He pushed the door open and stood there staring at me.
“Well?” I asked. “Ain’t no Mist lady in here.”
“I can see that,” he said.
I had half a mind to go sifting through his head, but I didn’t much feel like putting forth the energy.
“Seriously,” I said, “did you need something?”
Naji shook his head silently and just kept staring at me. I sighed and rolled over onto my back, looked up at the ceiling.
“I spoke to the Order about this Court of the Waves,” Naji said. “There’s no record of such a place in any of our histories. Saida’s librarian had never heard of it either.”
I sighed. “Well then. I really don’t trust it.”
Bells started ringing.
“Well, that’s proper timing, isn’t it?” I sat up. “Food’s always better than magical killing rocks.”
“Wait,” Naji said.
“What? They said they’d ring the bells for lunch.”
Naji shook his head. “They aren’t coming from the house.”
I froze, listening. He was right. The bells were caught on the wind, blowing in from the sea–
And then I heard the faint boom of ca
That got me to my feet. I rolled off the bed and darted over to the window. I couldn’t see nothing but the sparking sea, but the smell of ca
Naji grabbed me by the arm, yanked me back. “My room,” he said.
He dragged me down the hallway. His room looked the same as mine, but the thud of ca
The Aja Shore was burning in patches. A Confederation ship sidled up along it sideways. Another volley of ca
The city bells clanged against my skull. Naji tried to pull me out of the window.
“No!” I shouted. “I gotta see which ship. If it’s some Hariri allies–”
“Ana
The pain in his voice startled me enough that I loosened my grip on the windowsill and went tumbling backward. He caught me before I could hit the floor. My headache evaporated.
“They aren’t here for you,” he said. “They’re sacking the town.”
“Yeah, looking for me!” I wrenched away from him and was halfway to the door when he had one hand on my shoulder, one arm wrapping around my chest, drawing me into an embrace that startled me into stillness.
“Please,” he whispered into the top of my head. “Please. It hurts me even more now. Now that I–”
I pulled away from him. Whatever he almost said, I didn’t care. And besides, I didn’t have any other choice. I needed to get out to sea. It wouldn’t take long before they made it to Queen Saida’s island, before they saw our boat floating out in the water – if they hadn’t already. We didn’t have the colors up – I ain’t stupid – but any pirate worth his salt would see that the Nadir was a gussied-up Empire boat. And if these were Hariri allies, they would know what that meant.
“I ain’t safe here, neither,” I finally told him, pulling out one of my pistols. “And if we lose our ship, then we lose everything.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Marjani caught me in the hallway. She had her sword in one hand and her pistol in the other, though she was still dressed like a princess.
“Do you know who it is?” I asked.
The smell of smoke was everywhere.
“Not any of the Hariri allies that I know about.”
I slumped with relief, dropping my sword to my side.
“They’re here because of Saida,” she said. “The Aja merchants always bring out the best jewelry and silks when she comes to visit.” Marjani took a deep breath. “Her guards have taken the queen’s ship. I told her we’d take the Nadir.”
“As privateers?” I frowned. “Are we go
Marjani scowled. “Does it matter? And not officially, no.” She jerked her head in direction of the shore. “Those pirates are going to try and take the Nadir once they’ve finished sacking the shore anyway.”
That was probably true.
We didn’t have much crew on the Nadir – most of ’em were on shore, and so we just had the few scoundrels who got stuck with the second shift. Jeric yi Niru was one of them, though, and lo and behold he’d gotten them to ready the boat for battle. When me and Marjani came on board and saw the crew packing the ca
“Captain,” he said. “I imagine we’ll need to fetch the rest of our soldiers for the battle.”
“They’re my crew, not soldiers,” Marjani said. “But yes, you’re right.” She took the helm. I stood beside her, my heart pounding in my chest. The sky was black with smoke, and I could hear screaming and pistol blasts coming from the mainland. The queen ship was ahead of us, her green sails bright against the haze. My head ached some, from being separated from Naji, but it wasn’t too bad. If I concentrated I could make it disappear completely.
“Ana
It was Naji. He stepped out of the shadow of the mast, clutching a sword and a knife, his eyes glowing.
“I have to protect you,” he said.
I didn’t say anything.
Marjani glanced at him. “Oh, good, you’re here. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
Naji frowned at her, and then put his hand on my arm. His skin was warm through the fabric of my shirt. “Please,” he said to me. “It’s not your fight.”
“It’s my boat!” I said. “Marjani said so. The Nadir’s as much mine as she is hers. I ain’t go
The skin crinkled around Naji’s eyes. He pulled out his sword.
“Hold steady!” Marjani shouted, leaning against the helm. We were close to the Confederation ship, close enough that they had to have spotted us–
They had. Their ca
“Fire!” Marjani screamed, and the whole boat rocked backward as the ca