“What do you say, Morrass?”
Drake almost laughed. It was obvious now that Elaina had no idea about the deal he’d struck with her father. He was getting both of their support for the same terms, and all he had to do was put up with them both for the rest of his life. It was a hefty price to pay, but one that was definitely worth the prize of a crown. Besides, there was always the chance neither of them would survive the coming battle.
“Aye,” Drake said in a whisper amidst the sea of noise. “Can’t do this without those ships of yours. Soon as this fight is over, you and me sit our arses on the throne together.”
Elaina laughed. “Louder, Morrass.”
Drake ground his teeth and stared at the woman. Elaina didn’t flinch one drop.
“Listen!” Drake roared, the command in his voice forcing the tavern to quiet. “There’s a fight coming. The big one. The last one. The one we’ve been gathering for. And it’s coming soon.
“Sarth and the Five Kingdoms have sent a fleet fifty ships strong. We got them pretty equal on numbers there, but they’ll have bigger ships, more men. We win this battle and there won’t be another. The bastards will have no choice but to recognise us as a kingdom, right and true.
“You’ve all put your trust in me to gather you together and lead you to victory. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Can’t do it alone though.” Drake sent a long, poignant look at Elaina. “So the moment this is all over and I sit down as king, I’ll be sitting down with Captain Elaina Black as queen.”
“You’ll marry her now,” Tanner’s voice was loud and clear over the pirates clamouring at Drake’s announcement. “Don’t want ya slipping your way out of it once the hard work is done.”
Drake clenched his jaw so tightly it hurt.
“I’ll even perform the ceremony myself,” Tanner continued. “Elaina – daughter. Do you take our king, Drake Morrass, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Drake at least had the pleasure of seeing a look of panic flash over Elaina’s face, but the woman recovered quickly enough.
“Aye, guess I have to.”
“And Drake.” Tanner grinned across the room. “Do you take Elaina Black, my daughter, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Some situations there was simply no escape from. Drake nodded. “Aye, I do.”
“Then by my power as a captain of my own vessel and by the witness of all these good men an’ women…” Tanner paused, a victorious smile spreading across his lips. “I now pronounce you man and wife.”
A cheer rolled around the tavern, so loud that Drake had to wonder if the woman was really that popular or if the pirates were simply jumping upon any opportunity for celebration. There certainly hadn’t been too much cause for it of late. Drake let the cheer do a few rounds before holding up his hands for quiet, desperate to get the situation back under his control.
“News worthy of celebration, no doubt, but right now we got more important things to talk about.” Drake waited a few moments for the crowd to calm down. “The fleet is coming. It’s on its way already and could be here any day. Truth of it is, we’re not ready.”
“We’ll kill ’em!” shouted a swarthy old captain by the name of Twotone Elric, and a few of the others cheered their assent.
“Aye, we will,” Drake said loudly. “But we ain’t got no more time to dawdle and piss about. I don’t want them getting here to New Sev’relain. A fight on land is a fight we don’t want, and the good folk here have been through enough. They ain’t fighters, and they don’t deserve to be beaten into the role.
“I want us to meet these fuckers in open water with decks under our feet and Rin’s blessing in our sails. So load up ya ships with supplies and get your crews back on board and as sober as you dare. In three days, we sail out of New Sev’relain to claim ourselves an empire.”
The crowd cheered.
“To claim ourselves a legacy!”
The roar grew even louder and the thumping of feet on the floor was a thunderous accompaniment. Elaina smiled at Drake and drew close.
“To claim ourselves a crown,” the woman all but whispered in his ear before turning and walking to the door. Drake watched her go, admiring her presence. Elaina was as strong and skilled as any pirate, the perfect queen for the tough life of the Pirate Isles. Drake was already wondering how easy she would be to manipulate.
Chapter 53 - Starry Dawn
Elaina sat in the sand, staring out at the bay and all the ships that crowded it. There were so many masts it reminded her of Chade, or Larkos. Her spirits were high, and with good reason. Drake had set himself up as king and now she was his wife. Elaina would be queen, even if it did mean the occasional sharing of a bed with Morrass. The very thought of his hands on her skin sent shivers coursing through her body. Drake was pretty enough, that was true, and if even half the rumours about him weren’t shit, he knew his way around a woman’s body. But Elaina couldn’t shake her distaste for the man. He was slimy as a sea serpent and dangerous as a shark, and Elaina wanted nothing to do with him. But sacrifices sometimes had to be made, and Drake was hers. The thought of carrying Drake’s child inside her sent a new set of shivers down Elaina’s spine, and she decided to think about something else.
She had yet to choose a ship to take as her own. She had twenty-four vessels under her command, more than anyone else, but none of them were hers. The thought of Starry Dawn, and of those who had taken her from Elaina, made for a sour state of mind. She needed to pick a new ship and quickly, not dwell on the past. It would take some time to appraise the crew and familiarise herself with the quirks of a new boat, and time was something none of them had. She briefly considered strolling back aboard The Phoenix, if for no other reason than to piss off that pregnant waif, Aimi. It wasn’t a real option though. Elaina was to be queen of the pirates and, as such, she should damned well have her own ship.
“Hi, Cap,” Surge said, sitting down just out of striking distance.
Elaina did a good job of holding her surprise at the treasonous pirate’s appearance. Instead of rounding on the bastard and stabbing him to death for taking part in the theft of her ship, Elaina simply offered him a cold, dead-eyed glare. Surge quickly took a particular interest in the sand.
“Look, Cap, about the whole…”
“Where’s my ship?” Elaina growled.
“Out in the bay,” Surge said quickly, his hands up in the air.
“I don’t see her.”
“There.” Surge pointed to the bay. “Well, she’s a little hidden behind Ocean Deep, I suppose, but she’s there alright. Tanner, uh, Captain Black has her again.”
Elaina made knuckles in the sand.
“I’m sorry, Cap,” Surge offered. “We all are.”
Elaina launched to her feet and strode away from the apologetic pirate. Tanner had taken up residence just a short way down the beach, setting up a large tent where he could hold his court apart from the residence of New Sev’relain, and Elaina was eager to have words with him.
Tanner was dozing in the afternoon sun just outside his tent with his feet up on a barrel. Blu sat near him, pretending to read a logbook, and a number of Tanner’s crew were close by, guarding their captains.
“Da,” Elaina all but shouted.
Tanner let out a startled snort and his eyes snapped open, dark fury burning behind his crystal blues. Blu was quicker to respond, throwing the logbook into the sand and jumping up to stand in his sister’s way.
“Don’t remember anyone requesting…” Blu started.
“Blu,” Tanner said.
“Sit the fuck back down, brother,” Elaina snapped. “Ya say one more fucking word to me, and I’ll have that ship of yours taken away and given to a Riverlander.”