Page 2 of A Storm in Every Heart
I sigh. It’s the waiting in general that’s upsetting me.
Hydratta’s royal harbor buzzes with the cries of seagulls and the lively conversations of merchants and sailors. The fragrance of saltwater and spices permeates the air, and the dock sways beneath our feet with the rhythm of the waves. Behind me standsThe Adella, my father’s grand trading ship, its sails furled and rigging creaking in the gentle breeze.
It’s the only home I’ve ever known, and after today I’ll never see it again.
“We don’t have to wait for my aunt,” I say hopefully. “We could get back on the ship.”
Mercer glances down at me, pity and exasperation mingling on his face. “You know that’s not going to happen.”
“But I don’t understandwhy.”
“A ship isn’t a suitable place for a girl.”
I squeeze the heavy brass key in my hand until the metal prongs dig into my flesh. “It seems there’s nowhere interesting in the world suitable for a girl.”
He laughs. “True enough, little miss, but there are better places than aboard a ship, aye? The crew wouldn’t know what to do with you now that your father’s gone.”
He says the word “gone” with gravity, as if some great illness or accident took my papa. As if it wasn’t his own choice to throw himself into the sea with no care for what he’d leave behind. With no care for me.
“I could work, you know. I know how to do every job on board. Wouldn’t it be?—”
“That’s enough,” Mercer grumbles. “You’ll be happy living with your aunt. I know your papa was already thinking about sending you to live with her before—” he coughs “—well, you know.”
I nod automatically. Of course I know, but thinking about it makes the backs of my eyes burn. I brush angrily at my eyes with my free hand, refusing to let a single tear fall.
This is the first I've heard that Papa wanted to send me away, but I’m not surprised. There aren’t many children on merchant ships, and even fewer girls, but the sea is the only home I’ve ever known.
I’ve lived my entire life on the decks ofThe Adella.While other children attended school, I’ve never spent more than a week at a time on land. My schooling was in navigation and astronomy, how to barter with merchants in every port inEllender, and how to curse like a sailor. I doubt any of that will be useful in the household of my aunt, Beatrix.
My father’s only sister lives with her husband and son in the eastern kingdom of Vernallis. I’ve never met her, and I dread what it will be like in her house. Will I have to go to school? Will they treat me as a servant or as a lady? I’m not sure which would be worse.
Sighing, I turn my gaze back to the bustling harbor street beyond the docks. Being a noble Fae lady, I can only assume my aunt will arrive to collect me in a grand, horse-drawn carriage.
I’m half right.
Within the hour, Aunt Beatrix arrives in a worn relic of a carriage, with faded paint and wheels that groan and squeak with every turn. The driver, a bored-looking Fae male, guides the carriage to a slow, creaking halt at the end of the dock. With a roll of his eyes, he leaps down from his seat and holds open the carriage door.
A beautiful, dark-haired Fae woman appears in the doorway, taking the driver’s hand to help her down. She’s wearing a tailored lavender silk gown that shimmers in the afternoon sunlight and looks almost ethereal against the backdrop of the battered old carriage.
My stomach sinks, and I lean closer to Mercer. “Is that her?”
He lets out a grunt that might be a “yes” or it could mean, “I’m not sure.”
“She doesn’t look like Papa,” I observe.
Mercer chuckles under his breath, but before he can answer, we’re both distracted by another figure in the carriage’s doorway.
A skinny boy with messy coppery-brown hair jumps down to stand beside Aunt Beatrix. He can’t be any older than twelve, but he’s already taller than his mother by several inches. Mouthy, too, by the look of it, because he cranes his head back and sayssomething to the carriage driver that makes the grown man’s face redden.
Seemingly unbothered, Aunt Beatrix strides toward us, her head held high. Her son trots after her, looking somewhere between sheepish and annoyed.
Mercer straightens his shoulders and steps forward to meet them halfway. “Are you Lady Ashwater, Ma’am?”
“I am!” Aunt Beatrix’s face breaks into a wide smile as she stops in front of us and looks from Mercer, to me, to the ship behind us. “And you?”
“James Mercer, Ma’am. Recently appointed captain ofThe Adella.”
Her smile turns tight. “Pleasure to meet you. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
