28

A shoal of tiny, darting silver dragons raced alongside the Finch, glinting in the light every time they joined the waves that splashed against the wooden hull. Ainsley stood at the edge with her hands wrapped around it, a breeze at her back and gaze fixed on the living water below.

It had been three days since the storm, and a week and a half since her escape from Ellay. She had no way of knowing the conditions back on the mainland, whether tensions had died down and she was still being searched for or if Ackerley had already decided to let it rest. Perhaps her country had already been plunged into war and she was here instead of trying to right things again.

But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

That thought arose every time she saw Gael.

Ainsley felt a smile she couldn't resist as the pirate appeared, strolling across the deck in a moment of rest from the work that had been keeping her. The Finch was in dire need of repairs after the storm it had come through, and Ainsley and the crew had been working tirelessly to fix what they could.

A swath of sunlight made its presence known, glowing strands caught in Gael's wind-whipped curls and lining the contours of her face in gold. Ainsley struggled to tear her gaze away. Despite the intimate night they had spent together, asleep and tangled in each other's arms, she wasn't sure what they were to one another or how to manage this new angle to their relationship.

She liked Gael, not more than anyone she had liked before, but in a very different way.

But that had added a level of confusion to this entire thing, and Ainsley found it easier not to bring it up.

"How is the Finch?" She asked as Gael approached to lean against the edge with her.

"She's nearly in good shape again, but there are a few things we need to make full repairs, such as new canvas for the sails." Gael tipped her head up to squint at the white sails that spread and billowed over them like the wings of a giant bird. "We need to make a stop. In a few days we pass by the Dune Islands. We can drop anchor near Greater Dune and get what we need before leaving again."

Ainsley nodded, recalling her geography and political studies. The Dunes were a small principality, two cozy islands nestled close to each other north of Ellay. It likely wouldn't pose too significant a risk to stop there, but she voiced her worries regardless.

"Do you think it's safe?"

"Well, we have to make this stop regardless of safety. The sails need to be patched, and Holman needs more medical supplies. We'll make the visit as brief as possible and be back at sea again shortly." Gael's smile settled the anxious tickle in Ainsley's stomach. Of course everything would be fine. It wasn't as though her father had any reason to search for her on Greater Dune.

A shadow swept across the sun, carving a path through the light that fell on their shoulders for a brief moment before it passed agian. Ainsley glanced up. There shouldn't be seabirds, they certainly weren't close enough to shore for that.

The silhouette, however, was distinctly draconic in nature, bearing a long, serpentine neck and the shape of leathery wings. Ainsley squinted against the sunlight, watching as it soared between the towering masts, disappeared briefly behind the sails, and then swept towards them again in a leisurely arc.

"A dragon?" She mused.

Gael looked up as well. "Did you...?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea what it's doing out here. I didn't call for it."

"Maybe it just felt your presence and came to greet you," Gael joked. Ainsley smiled.

It soared closer, and she realized it was perhaps the size of a hunting dog. When she reached out for it and it promptly dropped into her arms, however, she let out a surprised chuckle. It was much heavier than a dog.

"What are you doing here?" She asked it, adjusting the ungainly creature in her arms and stroking the ruddy scales on its snout. It shoved its nose into her face, then lifted a clawed front leg. A metal cylinder was clutched firmly in its talons. Ainsley frowned.

"Is that a letter?" Gael asked, coming closer to stare at it. Ainsley tugged it from the dragon's claws. "I didn't know non-dragonbloods could send dragons as messengers."

"They can't," Ainsley replied, turning the sun-warm metal over in her hands. It was finely made and closed with a seal she recognized. Her heart plummeted, but she kept her voice controlled regardless. "It takes the ability to communicate requests to a dragon to get it to do something like this. Or control, I suppose." She rubbed her thumb against the waxy, engraved surface, tracing the edges of the family crest. "This is my father's seal."

The fluttering wind and rustle of water against wood were the only sounds for a moment as Gael processed the information.

"You mean the king sent you a messenger dragon?"

Ainsley's heart thumped erratically. Something was very wrong.

"Apparently so," she replied, dropping the dragon. She broke the seal, letting it crumble between her fingers, and opened the letter case. She dumped the contents out into her hand and another piece of paper fluttered out from inside the rolled up interior of the one she had taken from it. Gael snatched it out of its downward path. The sheet Ainsley unrolled was edged in gold, and her father's recognizably tiny script seemed to jump out at her. The other letter, however, was much simpler, and from the glance at it that she got, contained no more than a few lines of handwriting.

Sharing a nervous moment of eye contact with Gael, Ainsley lifted the letter closer to her face and began to read.

The words all seemed to muddle together in her mind, like she was reading them but couldn't untangle them. Blinking against the dazed sensation of surprise, she lifted her eyes from the handwriting.

"What does it say?"

"He says—" Ainsley swallowed and looked back down at the paper. "He says he's... 'mysteriously come into dragonblood abilities.'"

Her shock was mirrored in Gael's wide brown eyes.

"That can't be possible."

"It isn't supposed to be possible. The only way I can imagine it being done is through dark magic, and even that is only earned by someone who has earned the wrath of the titans..." Ainsley swallowed, feeling as though she was trying to wade through mud. Her motions felt slowed. That was why the dragon had been sent as a messenger. Ackerkley trusted the beast would be able to find a dragonblood even if she was no more than a speck on the open ocean. And it was proof of his claims. Somehow, Ackerley had gained control of this dragon. "And that would only create a false dragonblood, he could control them, but he could never touch their minds."

But he didn't need to. The realization was sickening—he didn't need her to start a war anymore.

Ainsley shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Gael seemed to be searching for words, but she cut her off first.

"There's more. He also claims the Reyngal family of Fortra is willing to renegotiate the marriage and end the possibility of war. He's begged me to return."

Gael's expression was nervous, and Ainsley found herself reaching out to take her hand. Their fingers wrapped around each other.

"I won't go."

Even so, her resolve wavered. Perhaps her rebellion would bring Fortra to its doom. Could she have the blood of an entire country on her hands so she could pursue a romance with a pirate instead?

"Here's the other one, if you'd like." Gael passed her the second letter, and Ainsley unrolled it. The handwriting on this one was different, but she still recognized it immediately.

"It's Luca," she said, brow written with confusion. "He says..." Her voice trailed off as she took in the words. Fury surged through her, and before Gael could say a word, she whirled around and threw her father's letter over the side of the ship. It spun in erratic circles before being caught up in a wavelet that crashed the now-soggy mess against the ship's side. Gael grabbed her fallen hand again.

"Ainsley, what's wrong?"

"Everything he said in that letter is a lie," she replied, seething with anger. Her expression hardened. "Luca snuck his message in before my father sent off the dragon. He says there's not truly any marriage renegotiations, it's just a lie to persuade me to come home. Out of a sense of duty, I suppose." She swallowed thickly. "And... he's been sending out search teams outside of Ellay. He intends to take me back by force if I won't return on my own."

One glance into Gael's eyes told Ainsley that she understood the danger they were in.

"We need to be very careful if that's the case."

"I know."

"He doesn't need you to start a war anymore. Why is he so desperate to have you returned?"

Ainsley crumpled the letter and tucked it inside of her pocket, then rubbed her hands against her face. What if Fortra was already in ruins?

"I don't know. It must be more personal than that now. He..." She swallowed thickly. "He must see this as me warring against him." Her defiance against him had gone too far. "He doesn't lose. Certainly not to his own daughter. And I wouldn't be surprised if he sees me as a threat to his rule."

She leaned heavily against the side and pressed the heels of her hands against her closed eyes, struggling to calm her breathing. She couldn't stand up to her father, not if he was as powerful as she was now. And she wasn't brave enough for that anyways. She could do petty rebellion. Could even run away with pirates. But suddenly, the weight of saving Fortra from its doom rested on her shoulders.

She felt Gael's presence next to her, and tears spiked at her tightly-shut eyes.

"It's all too much," she whispered.

Gael's hand found her shoulder, warm and grounding. Ainsley leaned into her, feeling the pirate pull her close and wrap a comforting arm around her. The weight of her cheek found the top of Ainsley's head, and Ainsley in turn let out a shuddering sigh and let herself relax into the pirate's embrace.

uh oh, things aren't looking great,,,, we'll have to wait and see what happens on Greater Dune ;)