“The backing of the Wilds? I assume you are speaking of the Lord and Lady of Chade?” The Queen tilted her head, the motion sending her hair shimmering into a strange shade of blue.
Elaina nodded with a smirk.
“Quite the endorsement. The bloodeds’ days are numbered, and it appears nothing will stop Rose and her Black Thorn uniting their lands. They have supplied you with sufficient leverage to take the throne beside Morrass?”
“Aye, they gave me… eh? Beside Morrass?”
“The king will need a queen, no?”
“I ain’t marrying that slimy sack of rat gut,” Elaina all but shouted, and then drained off the last of her wine in one angry swallow. She’d been so certain Drake was dead, so certain she’d return as Tanner Black’s heir.
The Queen of Blades sipped at her wine and watched Elaina silently. She’d already decided she wanted to be queen of the Pirate Isles. Ever since Rose had suggested the possibility to her, it had been a constant desire playing on her mind. If she was queen, then her father would have to respect her, and she could order that twice-damned first mate of his hanged for his previous crimes against her. She would be able to take Keelin as her husband too, if she decided she still wanted him. Elaina knew she could have everything she wanted if she could just get her own arse on the throne. She took a deep breath and released it slowly, attempting to calm herself. She plastered a smile on her face and met the Queen of Blades’ black eyes.
“It seems you have reached a decision,” the Drurr said, with no small amount of amusement.
“Aye,” Elaina said. “I’d fuck Morrass to sit beside him on the throne. I’ve already got the Wilds’ support, and I want Larkos’ too. So how about you go and sell yourself to me, eh? Tell me why I should pick you over the other guilds.”
The Queen of Blades smiled wide, showing off far too many teeth. “I prefer to discuss what you may offer to me.”
“I offer the same thing as to any of the guilds. Unhindered passage through our waters, the support and friendship of the isles in times of crisis, and first pick to your guild of any of the wares that my people bring to Larkos.”
“That is no small offer,” the Queen said seriously. “This is all dependent on your ascendency to the throne?”
“Aye. You’ll be backing me, not the isles. So why the fuck should I choose you?”
The Queen waved to her attendant, who quickly came forward and refilled the wine glasses. “I can offer you something the other guilds cannot, Captain Black. I can offer you the support of Larkos, not just one of our guilds.”
“Ain’t that what they’re all offering?”
“No. Make no mistake in my fellows’ offers. They will give you the support of their own guilds and whatever forces they can muster – likely a single ship, or maybe two – but only two of us have the power to cajole the rest of the Council into unified action – the Scarred Man, and me.”
“So what’s to stop…”
“The Scarred Man will not see you. You have already sent him one request, which he has ignored, and he will continue to ignore any further attempts. More rigid than rock is that one, and often I believe him carved from it. He will, however, respond to my advances. We have an arrangement, and between us, and those allied with us, we can sway almost any vote at the Council. No other guild can claim the same.”
Elaina made a show of sipping at her wine and regarding the Queen of Blades over the glass. She already knew she would choose the Blades as her ally. She’d known it from the moment she sailed into Larkos. They were powerful, they controlled the central district, and her father had specifically told her to gain the Blades’ favour.
“Reckon we have an accord,” she said with a grin.
“Excellent. There is a Council meeting in just a few days, as I am sure you already know, and I will escort you along as my guest and back your request. We shall see just how much support the other guilds are willing to give you, but I expect it will be more than the ten ships you secured from Rose.”
“I never told you how many ships Rose offered me,” Elaina said.
“No, you did not.” The Queen of Blades smiled.
Elaina continued to sip at her wine as the Queen instructed her on how she should present herself to the Council of Thirteen. It dawned on her that she’d just agreed to marry Drake Morrass, before he himself knew anything about it. Worse, though, was that she’d just agreed to marry Drake Morrass. Still, once they were wed and her arse was well and truly polishing the pirate throne, there was nothing to stop her king from having a tragic accident.
Chapter 24 - The Phoenix
“See anyone we know?” Keelin said as they floated in the bay, waiting for a spot to open up. It seemed Larkos was in a busy period, and every berth was currently in use either for loading or unloading. They had a hold full of pirated loot and a burning need to get it sold before some of it spoiled.
“Depends on your definition, Captan,” said Morley. “I see the Bloody Bride.”
Keelin knew the ship well. It had belonged to Arip Winters until the fool docked in Solantis during the slave uprising. Nobody knew if it was angry slaves or mercenaries attempting to flee the chaos, but someone had busted their way onto Arip’s ship and slaughtered him and half his crew. A couple of months later the Bride sailed into Fortune’s Rest under the command of a drunkard and his five friends. Drake purchased the ship for just a few bits and gave command to his first mate, Zothus. Keelin wondered how much of the rigging was made from the silk spun by that horrific giant spider Zothus kept around. He shuddered just thinking about it.
A small dinghy made its way towards them, rowed by four iron-collared brutes who looked a lot like rowing was their sole purpose in life. In the back of the boat, steering it, was a bored-looking young man with a ridiculously pointed beard and the air of someone who thought he was in charge of something.
“Ho there,” Keelin shouted down as the dinghy bumped against the hull of The Phoenix. “What can we do for you?”
The man with the pointed beard rose easily to his feet despite the rocking of the dinghy. “Are you the captain of this vessel?”
“Aye.”
“We have a berth opening up soon, but I’ll need to inspect your cargo before I can assign it to you.”
“By all means, come aboard.” Keelin turned to Smithe, who was lingering nearby. “Get the barrels of spice moved to the galley’s food stores quickly, then show the leech everything in the hold.”
Smithe frowned for a moment before breaking into a grin. He ran for the nearest hatch below, recruiting a few of the crew as he went. The surly quartermaster almost seemed a different man since he’d brought Keelin the chart of the seas around the Forgotten Empire. Keelin would never trust the fool, no matter how competent he became at his job, but at least Smithe was tolerable these days, and he truly did seem to have the crew’s best interests at heart.
The inspection went much as Keelin had expected. First the inspector looked around the hold and noted down goods and numbers in his little book. Then he asked how The Phoenix had come by the goods, and Keelin took great pleasure in telling the man of the ships they’d robbed. The tax the inspector laid down on them was extortionate, but Keelin knew full well what time of the five-year cycle it was, and the Clerics were no doubt busy extracting every bit of coin they could from all those who docked at Larkos. Luckily the most valuable cargo they were carrying was the spices, and of them the inspector found not a trace.
They were promptly towed into their assigned berth, and merchants appeared to browse the pirated items before the ship was even tied off. Keelin let them all aboard and held an auction for the less valuable goods. He always found it best to let the fools bid against each other with little to no involvement from himself. After the auctions were done, he invited some of the richer merchants into his cabin to discuss the prices of his more exotic items. Aimi accompanied him, because her head for numbers was impressive, as was her attention to detail. She’d long since taken over the job of keeping the ship’s books up to date.