The crowd quietened to hear Elaina’s answer. “We don’t know,” she shouted. “The Fortune went down in the fight. He might have drowned.”
The noise started up again; this time it seemed far less happy. Folk were muttering to each other, some sending furtive glances Elaina’s way. The atmosphere was changing, and she wasn’t the only one to feel it. Some of her crew followed her down the gangplank and stood at her back.
Elaina took a deep breath and shouted over the crowd’s rumblings. “You all have likely heard that I married Drake. Queen of you and the isles. Well, that agreement went further than just looking pretty by Morrass’ side. I agreed to take on his dream should he fall in battle.”
It was a bold-faced lie. Elaina had never made such an agreement with Drake, and the marriage had clearly been under some duress on both sides, but she’d see his dream through all the same, because it was the right thing to do. Besides, the good folk of the Pirate Isles wanted to hear it. They needed to hear it.
“Drake might be gone, but I remain. We’ve won the battle, aye, and the rest of the war needs fighting with words, not swords. As queen, I’ll be visiting Sarth and the Five Kingdoms. I’ll make certain they realise they’re beaten and that if they ever bother us again, we’ll destroy them. I’ll make peace. A peace we can all prosper from.”
Some of the crowd turned and walked away, looking anything but happy, but more stayed; some even began cheering again. The plump older lady stepped forward, a sceptical look on her face.
“Do you really think you can do this in his stead?”
Elaina smiled. “I’ve already made an alliance with the free cities, and it was my fleet, more than his, that won us our freedom. Aye, I can do it. I’ll do a better damned job than he ever could.”
The woman chewed her lip for a moment before nodding and holding out her hand. “Name’s Breta. I sit on the council here. Brought folks’ problems to Drake when it was needed. I’d happily do the same for you.”
Elaina took Breta’s hand and shook it. It seemed to be all the confirmation many of the crowd needed, although a few more people still slunk away. It didn’t matter – it was the support of the many Elaina needed, and she’d convince the others through her actions.
Chapter 73 - The Phoenix
Keelin watched Elaina stroll up the beach towards the town, surrounded by people wanting her opinion or her orders. It wasn’t too long ago that he’d been in that position, with all the folk of New Sev’relain looking to him to solve their problems. He’d hated it then. It had seemed a real imposition when all he really wanted to do was sail the seas and find a way to exact his vengeance.
It all seemed a bit foolish now. Keelin had devoted so much of his life to hunting down the Arbiter only to find he’d been dead for Rin knew how long. So much of his life wasted. Now he needed to decide what he wanted to do with however much remained. On the one hand he could pursue Elaina and the throne she now came with; on the other he could try to make things right with Aimi.
Keelin sighed and leaned on the railing. “What do you think I should do?” he asked the figurehead. She was a glorious bird with wings of flame, hatching from naught but ashes. Rebirth from fire. Seemed a fitting name when he took the ship; after all, he’d set fire to his family home and then run away to become a pirate. It had seemed a romantic notion back then. The boy he’d been would never have expected to see so much blood, so much death.
A man departing one of the nearby ships caught his eye. A man with long, lanky hair and a milky white eye. Keelin turned and ran for the gangplank.
“I’m going ashore, Smithe,” he said as he ran past his new first mate, not waiting to hear a response.
Keelin launched himself down the gangplank and hit the pier running, holding onto his cutlasses so they wouldn’t swing around too much and injure anyone nearby. He spotted his quarry making his way up to the town proper.
Keelin caught up to the man under the shade of a lonely palm tree that dared to call the beach its home. “Prin…” he started, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath. “Princess.”
“Aye?” Princess said mournfully. He turned to Keelin with a heavy sigh. “Thought that were you, Stillwater. Nice jog?”
“Drake?” Keelin said, still breathing heavily in the close air.
Princess’ shoulders slumped. He looked old and worn through. “Dead,” he said.
“You’re sure?”
“Bitch of an Arbiter put two shots in his chest then set fire to the ship. Most of the crew burned up. Me and Anders got a boat lowered before that damned Everfire… No idea what happened to her. Everything got a bit hectic.” Princess let out a loud sigh. “I hope she drowned. Or burned. I think I’d prefer burned, actually.”
“Dead,” Keelin mused.
“Aye,” Princess said. “Now if ya don’t mind, I’m gonna go drink myself unconscious in the tavern. Got picked up by the Freedom, and Captain Zhou don’t let a drop of booze onto his ship. Bastard.”
Princess trudged away towards the town, leaving Keelin beneath the palm tree. After a few moments he realised someone was watching him, and he turned to find Aimi nearby. The bump of their child was starting to show beneath her blouse.
“Hi,” Keelin said, and cursed himself for how foolish he sounded.
“I wondered if you were gonna come see me,” Aimi said. “After a while I just thought, ‘Fuck it, I’ll take the first step.’”
“How are you?” Keelin smiled weakly. “How’s the, um…”
“I’m fine. Our child is fine. At least, as far as I can tell. It wriggles and kicks occasionally, makes it uncomfortable to do anything – and nothing.”
Keelin nodded. “Good. I mean, not about the discomfort, but… good.”
Aimi sighed. “So I hear we have a queen now. She doesn’t like me.”
“It’s not you she doesn’t like.”
“Yes, it is.” Aimi shook her head. She joined Keelin underneath the palm tree and sat down on the sand.
She smelled of wood smoke and hard work. It was strange. Before, Aimi had always smelled of the sea.
“Feel free to join me,” she said, a hard edge to her voice.
Keelin laughed and did as he was bid. He struggled to think of something to say. Only a few months ago they’d spent hours at a time sitting in his cabin and talking of everything and nothing, and now he couldn’t think of a damned thing to say to her. He looked down at her midsection, at the bump. At his child. It was strange to think there was something living in there. Even stranger that he’d never even thought of it until now.
“Oh, for the love of Rin,” Aimi said with a sigh. She reached over, grabbed hold of Keelin’s hand, and placed it on her belly.
Keelin went rigid, and he wasn’t even sure why. He felt nothing. Only tight skin stretched over a rounded bump where once her stomach had been flat.
“Um…”
“It’s not moving at the moment,” Aimi said. She took her hand away and Keelin quickly withdrew his own. “I’ll let you know if it starts again.”
“Good,” Keelin said, and they both fell silent. “You said her name over land.”
Aimi sighed and sent him a withering stare over her shoulder. “I’m carrying a child conceived at sea, Keelin. She’s not about to smite me down for saying her name.”
“That’s true, I suppose.” He was still trying to decide what to do, which course to take. Sometimes it was best to jump in with both feet, set your course and stick to it.
“I think you should move back onto the ship,” he said, finally making a decision.
“I think that’s a bad idea.”
“Huh?”
“I was born at sea, Keelin, you know that. I want our child to be born at sea as well. Just not aboard The Phoenix. I…” Aimi paused, frowning. “I don’t think we work together. If we did you wouldn’t have run off and fucked Queen Bitch. I wouldn’t have spent the last few months hating you.”