Chapter XIX

The ship stood in the harbor, flying the normal empire colors. No one needed to know that the emperor had gone, even if just for a little while. Hyeon stared down at the harbor and the dockworkers busy loading supplies for the voyage.

“Do you have to go?” He felt a hand on his shoulder. “People still need you here. It hasn’t even been half a mooncycle since the coronation.”

“That’s why I have to go now. Those who know that I’m leaving are those important enough to know. They need to have confidence that their new emperor won’t hide at the first sign of danger. I have to see this through so I can lead without fear when I return. Both of inside and outside threats.” He turned to Nari, wrapping his armored arm around her. Darksteel wouldn’t do any good on the seas, and it would end up weighing him down and killing him if he ever fell overboard. But being an emperor did require a certain level of caution, and leather did the job fine without weighing him down. Nari winced a little at the motion. The wound on her abdomen still hadn’t healed all the way, so they’d instead bandaged tightly and let the empress wish him off. She’d be ordered back to bed the instant she set foot back inside.

“At least take me with you. I can’t do anything to help you while I’m here. The empire will practically run itself.”

Hyeon looked out at the waters, fog circling above it. They’d have to sail slowly until they made it away from the mist. “I need you here. You know as much as I do about governing, probably more. You’re the one that can persuade people to do what you see best.”

Something flashed in Nari’s eyes, a bout of frantic thoughts taking shape. “Hyeon, what if I’m not good enough? You’re the one they look up to. I’m just here to look pretty most of the time.”

He pulled his arm away and took her hands in his, turning to look at her head-on. “You are the smartest, most passionate, most amazing woman I have ever met. You can think on your feet and command anyone that needs direction. You’ve been there for me every single time I needed you. I’m sorry I can’t be there for you when you need me most. But you won’t need me. You can do this without any sort of help.”

Nari rushed forward, wrapping Hyeon in a hug of draconic proportions. “Come back safely. I don’t want to be alone here.”

He returned the hug. “Don’t worry. I’ll have Lieutenant Han and Lieutenant Choi with me. You know as well as I do that if it gets through them, none of us stand any chance. They’ll keep me safe.” He paused. “I only wish I could keep them here to protect you.”

A servant in a jade green and silver tunic appeared at the top of the tower steps. “Your Majesty, the ship is ready for you.”

Hyeon let go of Nari and nodded to the servant. “Very well. I’m on my way.” The man ducked back out of sight. Hyeon turned to Nari. “I’m not going to keep you from taking the stairs, am I?”

She huffed. “Absolutely not. I’m going down there whether the healers tell me I can or not. You’re not leaving without a proper goodbye.”

“I thought you might say that.” Hyeon walked over and started down the steps, his travelling cloak trailing behind him. Nari followed close behind, one hand around her stomach and the other supporting herself against the curved outer wall of the tower. As the two rounded the bend, the soldiers standing on the dock saluted. He dismounted the steps and turned to Nari, giving her a long kiss. “Please don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded. “I understand. Stay safe. I love you.” She followed Hyeon through the tunnel of soldiers, stopping just shy of the edge of the wooden planks near where Lord Altingborough stood with his hand resting on his sword. Nari wrapped her arms around herself and shivered despite the warm weather. Now that Hyeon stood down by the ships, he could feel a cold breeze blowing, though only a small one. It would die down soon in the heat of the morning, but soon cold would take to the Sixth Spire. He hoped to be back before the weather did anything worse than simply get colder.

The emperor closed his eyes and stepped onto the ramp up to the ship. Upward, onward, towards answers. Hopefully. He opened his eyes at the top of the ramp, the captain standing at the ready.

“Take us out.”

The captain relayed the message. “Sailors at the ready! Secondary sails only, into the wind! Drop the mainsails when we clear the dock!”

Hyeon grabbed onto a nearby rope as the ship pulled away from the mass of people on the dock, steadying himself as he looked to Nari. They locked eyes, unspoken messages passing in an instant. He raised his other hand and blew her a kiss. She reached out a hand and caught it, pressing it close to her chest. Hyeon looked away from his home and towards the open sea. The mist seemed to be lifting, parting for him as he embarked on a voyage. If only everything else cooperated with him, he could get to the Western Isles and quickly confirm they hadn’t launched the attack. Then he could come back and start mounting an attack on the Engineers. But mostly he just wanted to come back to Nari. To have her with him always, and then suddenly to have her gone from his side, that scared him. And an emperor shouldn’t be scared.

Astoria felt the Spire swaying around her as she woke, the rock ceiling above her moving in such a way that it made her nauseous. It felt like flying on a sick dragon. Not something she wanted to repeat.

The bed below her felt different, too. Her normal blanket was scratchy on one side and soft on the other, where she’d worn it in. And it was a smooth kind of soft as well. This blanket was made of some kind of fur, softer than her own blanket would ever be. Why did she have this blanket and not her own? Her head felt worse than it had ever been since the time she’d fallen off Swampmist.

Swampmist. The name pulled her out of her drowsy slumber. Even with the mental jerk, she lay on the bed for another moment, trying to collect her thoughts.

She was on a raider ship.

She didn’t know where Swampmist was.

The kaptain had said she had a special offer for her in the morning.

And her body had finally started to protest whatever she’d drunk the night before. Come to think of it, what time was it? Her mind told her early morning, but she could see nothing to back that claim up.

Finally, when her head felt a little better, Astoria swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. She immediately felt dizzy, like she’d flown too high for too long. Get over it. You’ve done worse. She placed a hand on the baseboard of the bed and pushed herself up. Her feet felt shaky and that drink threatened to come back up, but she was in one piece. Good enough for now. Now to worry about what she was wearing.

Her priestess’s disguise was ruined beyond repair. It was a wonder her fake moonbeam had stayed in her hair. The robes were much longer than they had been, stretched and weighed down by saltwater. And several spots had started to rip, mostly along the seams. The cuffs and sleeves were ruined from the rope she’d had around her wrists. The neckline had also been stretched, now reaching much lower than she was comfortable with. Time to find something else. Come to think of it, where was her bag? At least she had her uniform in there. It would have been soaked with saltwater as well, but at least it was made of a stiffer fabric. It wouldn’t be as uncomfortable.

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The kaptain had been one step ahead of her. A stack of clothes sat folded on the chair in the corner, right next to the desk. Astoria kept firm hold of the bed as she unfastened the robes and let them fall to the floor. She’d just have to deal with the salt on her skin. Not pleasant, but unfortunately normal for someone who lived near the sea. But maybe she could get something to wash her face with. And the puncture wounds on her shoulders. Those dragon claws had definitely left their mark. And the more she noticed them, the more they burned.

That could come later. She reached for the first piece of clothing in the stack, but something on the desk caught her eye. She moved the stack of clothes from the chair and sat down, shifting papers and pieces of parchment around to uncover the rest of the map underneath. The Spires curved in a line to the left, with the Western Isles almost kissing the left edge of the map. But the mainland didn’t start mid-right-page like it normally did. Instead, the map seemed to have magnified the sea, stretching the view a little in order to fit in all shapes and sizes of islands. Some of them had little icons drawn on them, skulls or spearheads or even a crescent moon. Several of the small islands had lines drawn between them, each stop on the line bearing some sort of scribbled note. In fact, there were also islands in random places that still had writing around them. The whole map had more annotations than any chart Astoria had ever seen, even Rennick’s. Some of them seemed to be in a different language as well, a more flowing script.

A knock came at the door, short and concise. Astoria forced herself to stay still instead of jerking up and knocking something over. She quickly re-covered most of the map and replaced the clothes on the chair. “Yes?” The sleepiness in her voice wasn’t fake. She added a yawn to the end just for good measure.

“Kaptain Rin requests your presence on the forward deck at your earliest convenience.”

Astoria stretched. “Tell her I’ll be up as soon as I can.”

“Very well.” She didn’t hear footsteps recede, but, then again, she hadn’t heard any before the knock either. So maybe some of the raiders actually knew the value of being quiet once in a while. Something good to keep in mind.

Astoria picked up the first piece of clothing in the pile, an off-white blouse missing its sleeves. A few ruffles still lined the vertical row of buttons, along with a purple strip of fabric sewn perpendicular to the buttons and ruffles, a few centimeters in width and curving around. She rubbed the fabric in between her fingers. It was soft from wear. Probably something Rin had banished to her closet after years of use. Astoria slid it in and buttoned it up, noting the short length. Workable, at least. But she probably wouldn’t be able to tuck it in like normal.

A pair of leggings came next, dark navy blue. Like the color of the sea at moonrise. A dangerous color. That fit her well. A stripe of netting ran down the outside of her leg from mid-thigh to mid-calf, where the leggings ended. Also a little short. But, in this case, not really a problem. A belt buckled over the leggings, a deep purple skirt that split in the front hanging from it. The leather smelled fresh, even though the edges of the belt definitely looked worn. The color of the skirt matched the stripe of fabric on the blouse. Come to think of it, Rin had probably sewn the stripe on herself.

Astoria’s boots sat at the bottom of the bed, impassive as ever. She slid her foot into one and cringed at the slight squish. Even after several days, they still had a little water left in them. She put the other one on and tried to forget about it. They’d dry off when they wanted to, and not a second sooner.

The only thing left on the chair was a pair of fishnet gloves, probably made from actual pieces of fishnet now that she thought about it. She slipped one on her right hand, doing up the metal clasp on the leather wristband. A set of three small pearls were set into the leather, black inked designs swirling around them. Astoria raised an eyebrow. Perhaps Rin had a little more money than she initially led people to think.

Astoria left the other glove on the desk. She’d retrieve a riding glove from her bag, in case she needed a little extra rigidity, as well as her riding brace. Her waist and midsection felt too exposed without a leather barrier. And her back would thank her for the support. She balled up her salt-dried robes and threw them in a corner before unlocking the door. And maybe she’d grab her cloak from her bag as well. Winter hadn’t quite hit the seas yet, but it probably would soon.

It took Astoria longer than she would have liked to make it back up to the deck. When she stepped off the spiral staircase and let the sunlight wash over her, Rin was already at the front of the ship with a spyglass. She had Astoria’s bag in her other hand. As soon as Astoria set foot on the deck, Rin turned around and stowed her spyglass, a small smile on her face. “Welcome to the seas. I trust you slept well.” Rin tossed the bag to her as she approached.

“Yeah. Thank you.” Astoria looked off the bow.

“It looks like the clothes fit fairly well.” Rin grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen that particular combination.”

“Where’d you get them?”

“The back of my closet. Which is halfway across the ship. One of the downsides of having a small room. But it’s a small price to pay for safety.”

“I like them. You have good taste.”

Rin winked. “Like I said, it’s been a while. I just keep some old things around in case I have to go ashore and win someone conservative noble’s favor. Some people find my current style a bit… revealing.” She tugged at the bottom of her short dress. “But my ship, my rules. You can keep those. I’ve got lots of old things in there.”

“Thanks. Where are we headed?”

“That depends on what you decide.”

Astoria knelt down and set her bag on the deck before opening it. The fabric was stiff with dried salt, just like her old robes. “What am I deciding?”

Rin folded her arms. “Whether or not you want to join me.”

Astoria paused, looking up. “Join you?”

“I said I had an offer for you. This is it. And I don’t give it lightly.”

Astoria set the bag down. “I’m listening.”

Rin looked toward the stern of the ship before fixing her gaze on Astoria. “For a long time, I’ve had a fascination with dragons. But no one in their right mind would let a dragon fly close to their ship. So I’ve observed them from afar. But I had an idea shortly before I met Cirris.”

Cirris. What’s he up to now? Is he looking for me? Thoughts started to pop up in the back of Astoria’s mind. She pushed them away. She had to focus. Rin might seem friendly, but she could still be dangerous.

“Dragon riders exist. But they all stage from a Spire or a small island. What if they staged from a ship instead?”

Astoria looked up at her, confused. Staging from a ship? “So you want me to join your crew?”

“After a manner, yes. I want a dragon with this fleet, both for defense and for attack. But I can’t have a wild dragon set fire to my ships accidentally. No, I need a dragon that is precise. And that means one with a rider.”

Astoria didn’t know what to say. This could be her chance to get out and see the world. But did she really want to leave the Slantspire Riders behind? And Cirris? Or maybe he would come with her if she decided to go.

“I… regardless of what I say, I still need to get back to Slantspire. My dragon’s there on her own.”

Rin frowned. “I’m sure we can find you another dragon. They’re not hard to find.”

“It’s not just finding the right one. Bonding with a dragon takes time. And I’ve been with Swampmist for a very long time. We’re practically sisters.”

“Alright. We’ll get you back to Slantspire then. But consider my offer.” Rin jumped up and caught hold of a hanging rope, placing a foot against the mast. “Listen up, seaweed-brains! We’re heading back to Slantspire. Set a course and get us there quickly!” She dropped back to the deck, landing lightly despite her boots.

Astoria rummaged around in her bag, coming up with various parts of her riding uniform. She buckled the brace around her stomach, tugging on it until it settled into its familiar place. One riding glove went on her left hand, the fingers bare but the palm covered and the wrist shielded by leather. She swirled her cloak around her, still a little stiff from lack of use. It was black with a faint pattern of dragon scales all across the fabric. She pinned it closed around her with a flame-dragon Rider clasp before closing her bag, shouldering it, and standing up. “What do I do now?”

Rin smiled, closing her eyes and letting the wind blow through her short hair. “Now, you enjoy everything the sea has to offer.” She raised her arm, and a morningcrow glided down and landed on it. “I’d start with climbing up to the morningcrow’s nest. The view is unparalleled.” She glanced back at Astoria. “Well, maybe not for a dragon rider. But I think you’ll still like it.”

Astoria looked up at the morningcrow’s nest. It didn’t look too tall. Especially not for a rider. She grabbed onto the rigging and started to climb. Why not? She had nothing but time to kill. And maybe she’d be able to take her mind off Swampmist for a little bit if she were up high again. She’d see her dragon soon enough anyway. No use in worrying.