Page 53 of The Queens and the Kings
He breathed out a vexed sigh. He couldn’t deal with wyverns right now, he had to speak with Jordaire.
First, Einar.
Humans.
They annoyed him more with every passing year. If it weren’t for Malcolm and Britt, he would have long ago given up contact and thrown all his focus and attention into wrenching his beloved Mila away from those biddies.
Besides, there was more at play than he could ever tell Einar, no matter how badly he wanted to shout the truth from the top mast.
“You want something to do?” Pedr asked.
“Yes!”
“Get below deck and shut up. I need to talk to Jordaire, and he won’t come if you’re yammering up here. After I speak with him, we’ll know better what the hells is going on.”
Pedr reached for a filthy glass jar hidden under a board below his bed. The board slammed shut when he released it. He held the jar up to the light. As long as his hand, only as thick as his wrist. Loamy earth filled the interior, creating a black rim along the far edge. Ten years in this glass jar, and the soil looked fresh as a summer field.
He brought it out of his cabin and onto the deck, carrying it to the far side. Einar was nowhere in sight. Good. The fool could listen. Pedr tipped a palmful of the stuff onto his fingers. A painful shock reverberated through his palm, all the way to his bones.
He gritted his teeth.
Jordaire.
Such a horrifying monster.
Pedr lifted his palm to the sky. “Himmel,” he whispered, “please carry the offering for me. Tell Jordaire I need to speak with him.”
Wind swept the soil out of his palm. It rose in a flowing current, winging out of the bay and toward land. He watchedit go until it faded into the bright blue dome. Eyes closed, he listened, waiting. Himmel was his only connection to the land. Thanks to the Siren Queens cursing him to Rosenvatten, she was the only way to contact Jordaire.
Ten minutes later, Himmel whispered, “He will not come.”
Pedr composed his rush of anger. “I cannot go to him.”
“He knows.”
“I’m trying to helphim,” he hissed. “There’s something from the land that’s a problem. It’s a dust, a powder. It’s affecting humans. Killing them. Forming the onded. It’s not from the sea because I don’t recognize it. It’s not responding to my arcane, and I know it’s not your work.”
“I will tell him.”
The promise drifted into the sky, leaving Pedr stranded on the water, his heart a tight fist inside him. Curse those blasted Siren Queens. There had to be a way off this ship so he could charge the mainland and forceJordaire to listen.
One day.
But not today.
Chapter Eighteen
HENRIK
When the Ladylord appeared,Britt’s nervous babbling immediately stopped. She whirled around, yanked her shoulders back, lifted her chin, and broadened her fake smile. Henrik positioned himself behind her, but not too close. He sent away the urge to step in front of her. She’d need a powerful position, facing the leader of the mainland.
As a pair of narrow shoulders appeared in the doorway, Britt’s tension shifted into surprise. Her brow rose. Breath caught.
“Alma?”
Alma, mother of Carina, and Britt’sfriend.
Unexpected twist.
