Page 35 of Among the Burning Flowers
A ship of that size was hard to miss. And not many of them came to Yscalin.
‘Shit,’ Melaugo breathed. ‘Is that theRose, for certain?’
Without replying, Liyat took off her bandolier, then unlaced her jerkin and tossed it aside. Melaugo stared at her.
‘I would usually not protest you undressing,’ she said, ‘but why the fuck are you doing it now?’
‘Where there are wyverns, the plague follows. Every chronicle agrees on that,’ Liyat reminded her. ‘I don’t know about you, but I would rather die by drowning than by cooking from within.’
She knelt to remove her riding boots. Without looking back, she sprinted to the end of the wharf, past the shallows and the people, and dove into the water. Melaugo hesitated, unsure if she was impressed or appalled, then cursed and stripped down to her shirt and breeches.
At the end of the wharf, she stopped, heart pounding. Liyat waited for her in the water.
‘Liyat,’ Melaugo gritted out, ‘I may not know about keelhauling, but I do know that I am a terrible swimmer. TheRoseis too far. We’ll be dead before we—’
‘No. I have an idea.’ Liyat kicked away from the wharf. ‘Hurry, before the wyverns reach us!’
Melaugo swore again and plunged in after her.
There was blissful silence, then salt in her eyes. Her fellow smugglers had taught her to swim, but she had not tried since leaving Perunta, and a few days of hearty food had failed to restore her wrecked body. By the time she caught up to Liyat, every joint and limb was sore.
‘Saint’s shrivelling codpiece,’ she stammered. ‘Harlowe really wants me to be a seafarer?’
‘Just swim, Estina!’
They forged past the merchant ships and the old hulk that served as a gambling den, towards the distantRose. Melaugo stopped to sputter, the balls of her arms screaming in their sockets. The sea was calm, but trying to stay above the surface was exhausting her.
‘Estina.’ Seeing her stop, Liyat came back. ‘Come on!’
‘Just leave me.’ Melaugo coughed up seawater. ‘Liyat, please, go without me. I can’t—’
‘Yes, you can.’ Liyat wrapped a strong arm around her waist. ‘Hold on to me.’
Melaugo gripped her shoulders. They bobbed on the surface like a pair of bottles, treading water. Behind them, red fire and screams filled Oryzon. Beside Melaugo, Liyat watched the sky.
‘What are you waiting for?’ Melaugo said, shivering.
As though it had been summoned, the sun broke through the clouds. Liyat thrust up a hand, and the small mirror in her grasp caught the light. She tilted it back and forth, so it flashed.
‘You’re signalling.’ Melaugo laughed so hard she coughed again. ‘You’resignalling, Liyat!’
‘It might not work. We need to keep moving.’ Liyat pulled her on. ‘Stay with me, Estina.’
There was no choice now. Most of the harbour was ablaze, the wyverns circling the ships, setting fire to all of them, from the cogs to the ornate galleons. A few other people were swimming for their lives as well.
TheQueenIdreiga, a royal warship, was berthed on the northern end of the harbour. As Melaugo swam backwards, unable to take her eyes off the destruction, three wyverns converged on it, and the gunpowder inside was kindled. It ripped the ship apart with a force that blew the wyverns back. She dived underwater before the heat could reach her. When she broke the surface, theQueen Idreigawas a smoking wreck, and bodies scattered the churning waves around it.
Liyat came up beside Melaugo. With all their strength, they forged onward, though Melaugo was already floundering again. She kept hold of Liyat, who supported her as much as she could while keeping them moving.
The sun was setting now, and with it, their hope of being saved. Liyat held up the mirror once more, catching the last few rays. They had gone too far to turn back. When Melaugo started to sink, she knew she was too exhausted to kick back to the surface. Liyat suddenly let out a laugh.
‘Estina,’ she gasped out, ‘look!’
Melaugo looked. A rowboat was riding the waves, closing in.
When it reached them, a scarred Hróthi woman offered a hand. Liyat grasped it and was pulled, sodden and breathless, into the care of a dozen people. She reached back for Melaugo. Their fingers slipped apart, and Melaugo thought she would be washed away, but then they were both in the boat, wrapped in mantles, and there was a warm hipflask in her grasp.
‘Estina Melaugo?’ the Hróthi woman said. Melaugo nodded. ‘Good. Back to the ship, now!’
