Page 30 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

“Hope Sybil holds up this round. This foul weather has done quite the number on her, hasn’t it?” he said, turning back to Mazie.

“She’s been doin’ alright,” she replied with a soft smile. “More than what you expected when you stole her, at least.” She looked out into the ocean. “I think back then, we didn’t know what to expect, even when I joined you. It terrified me—steppin’ on a ship that creaked every time you sneezed.” She flashed a smile before that smile faded to a frown. “Bah! The waters have been dreadful, that’s for certain. But you could not have asked for a better crew of buccaneers who have kept her for the most part unscathed.”

“Aye. It is the unshakable loyalty from our crew that has held this ship together,” he said.

Captain Lincoln gave her a meek smile as he thought back to the day a crew of pirates rescued him from the sea. The moments followed when he realized that being a pirate was his destiny.

“When I joined Wentworth’s crew all those years ago,” he continued, “My only thought was to be this seafarin’ man with no ties to dry land. There was no place to be other than out here, searchin’ for my own crew to sail the wide-open ocean—with complete and utter freedom.”

His smile grew a little wider as nostalgia set in.

“They cannot touch us anymore, Mazie. Not out here. And if they do, I’ll die, even sink down with my ship, protectin’ my mates. That, I promise you.”

Mazie gave a lopsided grin as she reached for the pipe. She held it up to her nose for a beat before lazily resting it to her bottom lip, sucking in a puff of smoke.

“I’d say you picked a damn good bunch of buckos, Captain,” she said in a hoarse tone, clearing the smoke from her lungs. “Besides, it’s absurd to believe we wouldn’t go down with you. We took an oath, remember?” Mazie turned back to the purplish horizon and rubbed her arms as prickles of goosebumps rose on her skin. “Blimey. I don’t’ recall Zemira ever feelin’ this cold, eh?” she said. “It was bloody hot this mornin’.”

Lincoln nodded, though he was indifferent to the chilly breeze blowing through the ship. “Aye, things have changed. ’Tis not the same place it was ten years ago.”

Mazie held the pipe to her lips again, holding it for a bit longer. She coughed that time, having taken a little more into her lungs than she had planned.

“This shit is terrible,” she said, handing it back to him while watching a barely noticeable smile edge his lips through the cloud of smoke.

“Yeah, but it’s helpin’ me, so I don’t jump overboard and go lookin’ for her,” he confessed. He placed the pipe on the damp balustrade—his throat already feeling parched from the number of grog shots he had earlier that day. “A pirate doesn’t stand by and allow anyone to steal from them, Mazie.”

Her brow rose. “And what would you do if you found her?” she asked.

Lincoln stared at Mazie long enough for her to know the answer. “Alright, I’ll leave you alone to wallow in self-pity. We start our long voyage at dawn, Captain. We all need rest.”

* * *

Nola hurried towards the oceanfront, holding the pistol in her palm with hands trembling so forcefully, she felt she would drop it.

What was I thinking, stealing from a pirate?Nola thought as she hid in the shadows of a fetid alley.

The siren snuck between two of the storage chests used to stock supplies for the trade vessels. She leaned against the wall, placed the bag between her legs, and closed her eyes.

Almost there,she said in her thoughts. I just need to find that ship.

Nola stared at the docks, shivering from the coldness of the night wind. Once she felt calmer, she focused on her surroundings—the laughter in the city streets, the waves crashing against the rocks.

She looked around for the trading vessel her father had mentioned, but it was not there. The only ship docked was a pirate ship. She could tell by their flag. Then, as her eyes narrowed in on the ship, she noticed a name written on the side—Sybil Curse.

“Fuck.”

She looked ahead at the coastline; the rocky cliffs towered high above the sea. If she traveled back north, keeping flushed to the rocks, she could stay hidden, she thought. Nola could probably reach another port, a few miles northward, but it was much closer to the kingdom walls than Brecken. That alone would be more reckless than hopping aboard a pirate ship.

Lightning crashed down on the ocean as the raindrops thickened. She needed to hide before the eye of the storm came in, and there was only one place now that would take her to where she needed to be. She had overheard one of the female buccaneers mention the Eastland Forest at the tavern; they were traveling there. No stops in Queenstown. It was a free ticket to the Fae kingdom, where she needed to go.

A rush of fear stormed through her body. “Well,” she said out loud, her beating heart not agreeing with the words that came next. “I never thought I would be saying this, but it looks like I’m going to be a stowaway on a pirate ship.”

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