Page 82 of Lady for Embers

“What do you want?”

“Eliza is... Well, she does not want to take her watch on the ship with the children today.”

“And?”

“And I do not know what you did to piss off Sorin, but he insisted you be the one to take her place. He said if you resisted to tell you that he is pulling rank,” Rayner said.

Of course he did. That fucker knew he’d been on night watchonly a few hours ago, and he was making him pay for speaking to Scarlett like he did yesterday. He could say no, but that would just make this all worse, and he couldn’t blame him. He’d be pissy too if someone had spoken to Thia like that.

He sighed again. “Fine. How am I getting over there?”

“He said to be on the main deck in ten minutes.”

Cyrus shut the door, cursing under his breath as he hunted for a tunic among the clothes strewn about the small quarters. He shared it with Rayner, but the Ash Rider rarely slept here. He kept his clothing in here. That was about it.

He was shoving daggers and knives into place as he trudged to the main deck. He wasn’t surprised to ?nd Sorin waiting for him, but he was surprised to see Briar there as well. Great. A double dressing-down from the princes. Just what he needed today.

“Neve will be there to relieve you before the afternoon meeting,” Sorin said by way of greeting. “Scarlett wants to discuss strategy with this tracking Mark among other things.”

“Fine,” Cyrus muttered. Sorin studied him for a long moment, before he nodded at Briar and a water portal appeared. Cyrus straightened. “Can you still not create ?re portals?”

Sorin’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Scarlett and I are working on it.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“We would have if you hadn’t been such a godsdamn asshole yesterday.”

“What about Rayner? His magic is going to take weeks to fully replenish,” Cyrus said.

“Later, Cyrus.” Sorin jerked his chin to the portal.

Cyrus ground his molars together but didn’t say anything else, stepping through the portal to another ship. The sun had disappeared behind clouds again today, which was ?tting, he supposed. Sawyer spotted him and waved. Obviously that’s who he was relieving. He rarely took watch on this ship, mainly because he’d never been needed. With the loss of Nakoa and so many others after that battle though, he imagined he’d be taking more watch duties until they reached Avonleya.

Despite the overcast sky, there were children everywhere. Tava and Lynnea were busy trying to get them all rounded up for lunch, herding them towards the food tables that Lynnea had set out.When Tava’s gaze skimmed over him, she offered a little wave, moving his way.

“Lady Tava,” he greeted with a nod.

“Cyrus,” she replied. “How are you?”

“As good as I can be still stuck on a ship,” he muttered. Tava tilted her head at the response, her golden braid slipping over her shoulder with the movement. “Where’s Drake? He’s rarely away from your side.”

“He is off with Cassius somewhere,” Tava said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

He murmured something in response, trying not to be annoyed by that statement. When the silence became palpable, she added slowly, “I am sure they will be back shortly. Cassius was practicing his Traveling and wanted to practice while carrying someone with him”

“That’s a good idea,” Cyrus answered, eyes moving over all the little people running around the deck.

Soft ?ngers grazed his forearm. “They are friends, Cyrus.”

“What?” he asked, swinging his gaze to her.

“Drake and Cassius,” she said. “They are just very close friends. He lived with us for many years.”

“I know that.”

Her turquoise eyes seemed to see into the depths of his being. She saw everything in the background. It made her an asset. It was how he’d operated for decades, how he’d conned so many. Which is why he knew she was seeing far more than he wanted her to.

He cleared his throat. “And Callan?”

---