“Savage!” Verit shouted as he pulled open the door. “I will watch you stretch for this.”
The Blademaster, still laughing, stood up and walked after the admiral, making sure to avoid the expanding puddle of piss. He nodded once to T’ruck and left, pulling the door shut behind him.
T’ruck put his cock away and waited. They would come for him before long and put him back in his cell, and the admiral would no doubt make good on his threat. The Five Kingdoms was a long way away, though, and there was plenty of time for him to either escape or force the crew of the behemoth to kill him in battle.
Chapter 3 - Starry Dawn
Three days Elaina whiled away in Chade. She toured the city and witnessed the things Rose and the Black Thorn had done with it. Chade had once been a dark, grimy city full of thieves, murderers, and those corrupt and rich enough to call themselves politicians. Elaina remembered the city as dangerous even for a pirate to travel alone, and more than one had ended up in a slave’s iron collar for no crime other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Then Chade had become a war zone, and that had been Drake Morrass’ doing. For months upon months folk had fled the city, many of them taking to ships and crossing the Pirate Isles. Elaina remembered seizing more than one boat only to find it brimming with passengers instead of loot. Some folk called it a shadow war, but there was nothing shadowy about it. Gangs, guards, and pirates had walked the streets, slaughtering each other and causing chaos. As always, the good folk of Chade had been the ones to suffer most. The city had burned day and night until the Black Thorn murdered the man opposing Drake.
Out of the conflict and the war and the mindless death, Rose had appeared, taking the city in hand and restoring order. Elaina wasn’t clear how Rose had taken control, but once she did, peace quickly followed. Now the free city of Chade was larger, safer, and more prosperous than it had ever been. Everyone agreed the change was Rose’s doing, not her more famous husband’s. But the Black Thorn commanded Chade’s army, and considering they now had almost half the Wilds under their rule, he was apparently doing a fairly good job of it.
“What would you do?” Elaina asked the little woman in the cavalier hat. She’d met with Henry twice now, and both encounters had ended in a tavern with plenty of booze and plenty of stories. It was a friendship, of sorts, but now she was once again being escorted to Rose's mansion, to make her decision.
“Me?” Henry said, tilting her head so Elaina could just see the sneer on her lips. “I’d fuckin’ run. Jump back on that little boat of yours an’ see what the other side of the world looks like. Take it from someone who accidentally started a rebellion once. Power ain’t what ya reckon it’ll be. Don’t mean ya get ta do what ya want all the time; means ya gotta do what every other fucker wants. Much better bein’ the knife in the darkness than waitin’ fer it ta come for you.” Henry finished with a cackling laugh.
“Did Rose mean it?” Elaina said. It was the question she’d been wanting to ask Henry for the past three days. “Is her offer legitimate?”
Henry sniffed and spat into the street. “Aye, she’ll make you a queen if she can. She’ll hold it over you fer as long as she can too. Bitch is smart.”
Elaina glanced down at her. “Doesn’t sound like you like her much.”
Henry laughed. “I don’t. I reckon she’s a treacherous little whore.”
“Then…”
“’Cos he does,” Henry interrupted. “Thorn’s earned more than his share of trust. Reckon ya know the way from here.”
They were standing outside Rose’s mansion. The guards at the stop of the steps watched them, but at a nod from Henry they stepped aside to allow entry.
“You’re not coming?” Elaina said.
Henry’s cavalier hat shook. “Got my own place ta be. Part of her plan too, I reckon. Don’t let her haggle ya down. Anything she’s offerin’ is because she needs somethin’ from it. You’re the one with the shit ta offer, not her.” Henry spat once more into the dusty street and turned away, leaving Elaina alone.
Trepidation seemed as good a word as any. Elaina was nervous, and that was because she was inclined to accept Rose’s proposal. The terms seemed good, but before she committed herself she needed to know just what the woman wanted from her in return.
Raising her chin and putting purpose in her stride, Elaina climbed the steps and proceeded into the refreshing shade of Rose’s home. She hammered on the same door as before and waited for a response.
The door opened, revealing a tall man in long white robes. He had short brown hair and bright yellow eyes that set Elaina’s skin crawling. He stared at her, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Reckon ya wanna be staring elsewhere, before I make you,” Elaina snarled.
“I apologise, Captain Black,” the man said in a Sarth accent. He slipped out of the room. “Good day.”
Elaina watched him walk away and felt a shiver travel up her spine.
“Are you coming in, Elaina?” Rose called from inside the room, and Elaina turned and walked through the doorway, still feeling uneasy from the encounter with the robed man.
“Have you come to a decision yet, my dear?”
Rose was sitting behind her desk, fanning herself with a large paper triangle and looking very uncomfortable. Despite the obvious discomfort, she was still beautiful in a composed, powdered sort of way.
“Not yet. Reckon we need to talk over a few points first.”
Rose smiled and beckoned Elaina to the chair opposite the desk. “Do sit down, dear. We have water or wine if you would like. I always find negotiations go so much better with refreshments. I take it these are negotiations.”
Elaina approached the chair and nodded. “Aye.”
“Excellent. Then we’re already all but agreed.”
“Where’s the Black Thorn?” Elaina said as she sat.
“He has some business a bit further north. Besides, he hates negotiations like this. Not nearly enough stabbing for his tastes.”
“Mine either,” Elaina said with a crooked grin.
“I’m sure.” Rose shifted in her seat. She looked distinctly uncomfortable in her own skin. “I’m very sorry if I seem unsettled. It appears my daughter has her father’s restless spirit.”
“This alliance,” Elaina prompted.
“Yes,” Rose said. “With you. Not your father, and not with Drake Morrass. Just you.”
“In the hope that I’ll be queen of the isles one day. What do you get out of it?”
“A powerful ally,” Rose said with a genuine smile.
Elaina laughed. None of the Blacks would claim to be the smartest folk on the ocean, but Elaina was as wily as her father and she recognised a bum deal when she saw one. She doubted the future queen of the Wilds would make an alliance without some immediate gain.
“It could be years before my da shuffles off…”
“Plenty of time to see your brother fall foul of a bad storm or an angry serpent.”
“Or me.”
“We wouldn’t want that. I’m sure you’ll survive us all, Elaina.”
Elaina shook her head. “Life on the water is dangerous for even the most timid, and I ain’t that. No guarantee I’ll outlast Tanner, and your alliance with me means you get nothing ’til I’m the one on the throne. So what else is there? What else do you want?”
Rose shifted in her seat, taking her glass and sipping rosy-coloured liquid from it. “An advance upon our alliance.”
“Eh?”
“My empire is in a dangerous period, Captain Black. I am fighting wars on more fronts than most people realise exist. Do you believe you pirates are the only ones experiencing pressure from Sarth or the Five Kingdoms?”
Rose’s smile slipped, and for just a moment Elaina saw past the perfumed composure. In that moment Rose looked tired, worn thin by the rigours of building a kingdom, fighting for that kingdom, and pregnancy. But with just one deep breath Rose’s smile was back, and its viciousness was matched by the flashing danger in her eyes.