Page 34 of Ship of Shadows
I stared at the door. “I don’t think any of them like us.” My jaw clenched. “But they’re the ones who took our boys. If anything, we should be the ones who dislike them.”
Leoni squinted at me, suspicious. “Why do you care if they like you? Or is it a certain pirate lord you’re concerned about?”
“I don’t care about the pirate lord,” I said quickly. “About any of them.” Once upon a time, I would have. Bastian had told me so much about his crew, Mia and Kara included.
“Barty was friendly, at least,” Driscoll pointed out.
“Because he hoped we’d be his newest fans,” I said. “He’s already trying to write a song about us.”
Leoni shook her head. “Let’s just get up on the main deck and figure out how close we are to Elwen.”
She and Driscoll started walking toward the stairs while I chewed at my bottom lip, still so certain I knew Kara and Mia. There were secrets lurking on this ship, and I intended to uncover them.
Chapter Sixteen
The next day, I emerged from belowdecks to see that the ship was sitting still in the ocean, pirates milling about, many of the crew napping on the main deck, others sitting and playing cards, some drinking what smelled like liquor.
“What’s going on?” I asked Kara, staring at her tattoos, one of a skull that looked a lot like the skull on the flag of the ship. “Why aren’t we moving?”
She rolled her eyes. “In case you didn’t notice, Princess, we need wind to move. Unless you can make that happen, we’re stuck.”
She shoved past me and stomped away. Well, the animosity toward us hadn’t calmed at all. I looked at the sky. I wasn’t from Valoris, the sky court, so I didn’t have the power to control the wind. I eyed the dark blue sea, its color dim under the cloudy skies. But I did have the power to move the water.
Mia stood by the helm, talking to a crew member whose hands gripped the wheel.
I approached them. “Can I speak with you?” I asked Mia.
She eyed me but nodded, following me to the end of the quarterdeck. “I’m busy, so I don’t really have time to...”
She trailed off as I struck out my hands and commanded the ocean to carry us forward.
Her eyes widened as the ship lurched. “What are you doing?”
“Moving the ship,” I said. “Is that helpful?”
“I—well, yes. Until the wind picks back up.” She looked up at the sky. “Rain might be coming in, so I imagine the winds will pick up soon.”
Crew members jolted as the ship moved, some scratching their heads in confusion.
Mia tugged at her short brown hair. “I thought your magic was depleted?”
I concentrated on keeping the ship moving. “Well, it was. After we use magic, it drains us temporarily, weakens us, but as we rest, it builds back up again.”
The sails billowed above us as the ship moved faster.
I kept my hands out, the ocean pushing us along. “I won’t be able to do this for long, but Leoni can help too.”
She stared at the moving water in fascination. “So you can command water and also create it?” she asked.
“Something like that.” I paused. “We can make water take on different forms, we can command it, manipulate it, and create it. But we try not to use our magic unless necessary. We don’t use it frivolously.”
At least we didn’t in the water court. I couldn’t speak for the other courts, for how strict they were with their use of magic.
Mia leaned against the railing, biting her cheek like it might be a betrayal to ask me these questions. I needed to get on someone’s good side. Having allies on this ship would make our journey easier.
“I’ll answer any questions you have,” I offered, the ship still moving forward.
She glanced around, but no one was near us. She leaned closer. “Does manipulating water drain you faster than creating something from water?”
