Page 3 of Pearls of Salt and Sacrifice

True enough, the sailors from the Endellion had finally beached the rowboat and were assisting the broad-shouldered prince of Desta onto firm ground. He looked a little green around the gills, and she wondered if he had no taste for the sea. His soft brown curls plastered against his forehead, heavy with spray. The sickly pallor of skin contrasted starkly with the sunburn blazing across his nose and cheeks.

This one didn’t often leave his plush throne.

Pity that. She loved a rolling deck beneath her feet and the cutting ocean wind in her hair. It would have been easier to bargain with a man she understood, but Prince Felix…she doubted they had anything in common.

The prince took time to straighten his jacket and brush off his sleeves before slogging through the white sand toward Reva, two gentlemen in heavy coats and cravats stumbling at his heels. One of them clutched a satchel to his chest and shot nervous looks at Rency’s pirate entourage.

The skinny fellow with the eyepatch grinned and waved a greeting that made the advisor squeak and shuffle faster to keep up with Prince Felix.

“Isn’t he a fine dandy?” Rency whispered as he planted himself at her elbow, like he belonged there. “Not one of them looks like they could keep their footing in a stiff wind.”

Reva elbowed him and took a small step to the side. “Shut up!”

Prince Felix drew up in front of her and offered a stiff bow. “Princess Reva. What a dastardly place for a meeting. I suggest we sojourn to the Endellion for negotiations.”

She opened and closed her mouth several times. Good morning to you, too. But she finally managed to plaster a smile on her face. “While a lovely idea, I would prefer to remain on the beach. Neutral ground, as it were.”

He swore like a sailor. Reva arched an eyebrow as Rency burst into choking laughter.

“Such language.” Cassandra flipped her fan toward the prince. “Really, Felix, you must control your tongue in the presence of ladies.”

“Apologies, Cassandra,” Prince Felix said with a dip of his head.

He didn’t sound remotely sorry, however.

Something in Reva’s stomach tightened. When had her stepmother and Prince Felix come to use first names? She hadn’t been aware that they’d ever had much contact, outside the occasional political gathering. Relations with Desta had been strained for years. She flicked her gaze between the two of them, assessing this new revelation.

“Well, if you insist on doing this here,” Cassandra said to Reva, a petulant curl to her lips, “I suggest we sojourn to the awning to get out of this horrid gale.”

It’s hardly strong enough to call wind. But Reva kept this remark to herself and fell into step behind the others, the dutiful princess. Rency strode alongside her, grinning as if someone had just handed him a chest of royal treasure.

“Is everything in order?” Cassandra asked Prince Felix.

Reva tore her annoyance from Rency and focused on the pair in front of her. They walked close together, Cassandra resting her hand lightly on Prince Felix’s arm.

“Yes,” the prince said tersely. “My father took some convincing, but in the end, he saw reason.”

Reva parted her lips, keen to know what they’d been keeping from her, but something caused her tongue to stick to the roof of her mouth. She clamped her lips shut and decided to tread carefully. She couldn’t risk negotiations going sour.

She could berate her stepmother later. Cassandra was still regent, for a few more short weeks. And while Reva had been gradually taking over duties with the help of her advisors for almost a year now…Cassandra still held a position of authority in Etthan.

One that would come to a screeching halt when Reva turned eighteen.

“They’re thick as thieves, aren’t they?” Rency whispered as Cassandra and Felix stepped beneath the shade of the canopy and made themselves comfortable on the cushions Cassandra had artfully arranged around a fire pit ringed in black rocks. The flames flickered feebly in the breeze and cast little heat.

Reva sat across from them as Rency threw himself down beside her, stretching out his long legs and hooking one boot over the other. He laced his fingers behind his head and smiled inanely at them each in turn.

“Why is he here?” the prince asked, his eyes narrowed on Rency.

Cassandra coughed and folded her hands demurely in her lap. “The princess invited him.”

Something burned inside Reva at the sight of her stepmother. She hated that pose—the downcast eyes and meekly folded hands.

Eyes were meant to flash and hands to grip swords.

Felix’s brows drew together. Reva crossed her legs and smoothed her full skirt over them. Stiffening her spine, she braced for the discussions.

“He’s necessary for negotiations,” she said in her own defense. “The best shipping routes will take our ships past Seriposa. It only makes sense that we all agree to share the waterways.”

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