Vengeance of the Pirate Queen(91)

The entire journey has been smooth and quick. Not a single skirmish to be found on or off the ship.

And then, “Ships on the horizon!” Roslyn’s shout rouses the whole crew to full alertness.

I join her up in the crow’s nest, Dimella’s spyglass in tow.

What I find brings a smile to my lips.

“Who is it?” Roslyn asks.

“It’s the queen. She came for us.”

“Looks like we didn’t need her help after all.”

“Nope. We saved ourselves in the end, but it’ll be nice to explain the situation to her sooner rather than later.”

Roslyn nods. “Do you think my papa is with her?”

“Only death would have stopped him from being on that ship.”

Roslyn thinks on this. “Suppose I best work on my apology, then.”

“You’ve had months to do so,” I point out.

“Aye, and I haven’t thought of anything yet.”

“Just try for honesty and sincerity.”

“Sincerity?”

“Don’t fake anything.”

“Oh.”

I leave her to think on that and slide back down to the deck.

“It’s Alosa,” I say to Dimella and those near her. “The Ava-lee leads five ships toward us.”

“Thank the stars!” Enwen says.

“Aye. You might be meeting them soon if we can’t find a way to let her know it’s us. Don’t forget, we’re on a foreign ship now.”

Dimella says, “We haven’t our colors. They went down with the ship.”

“We’ll need something the queen will recognize,” Kearan puts in.

And as I eye him, I know just what to do.

“Your coat,” I say, gesturing to Kearan. Alosa is all too familiar with it. “Off with it, and we’ll hoist it high.”

By the time we’re close enough to the pirate queen’s fleet to make out the flags on all her ships, Kearan’s coat is strung high, flapping in the breeze. We’ve explained the situation to the Drifta, and they grow slightly on edge. I don’t blame them. They’re about to meet a foreign monarch. No one would expect the likes of Alosa.

A few hours pass before we’re finally upon each other. Alosa surrounds us with her ships before lining up the Ava-lee with our vessel. A gangplank is lowered, and the queen treads across the distance between the two ships with all the grace and beauty one would expect from a half siren. Two men walk just behind her. The first is, of course, the frantic Wallov, whose eyes scan the ship in search of his daughter. The other is Riden, the queen’s consort.

Alosa’s crew follows after them. They fan out along the edges of the ship, as is protocol when boarding a captured vessel.

Alosa scans the entirety of the ship, taking the measure of all the unfamiliar faces. When her gaze lands on me, she strides forward and embraces me. In my ear, she asks, “Roslyn?”

“Alive and well. She’s at her usual post.”

Alosa claps me on the back before turning to Wallov. “I think you’ll find your daughter up in the crow’s nest.”

He takes off toward the mainmast. I look up at the top, where just Roslyn’s eyes are peeking over, watching her papa advance with a desperation that almost tears at my heart.

To me, the queen says, “I see you’ve brought back with you more than I sent you out for.”

“Aye, Captain. There were lots of folks that needed saving.”

“From?”

“A siren artifact and a man’s greed.”

At that, Dynkinar steps forward, her little translator in tow. It makes sense that she would rather one of her own speak for her than have me be the go-between. She bows her head in a sign of respect, and Alosa does the same.

“I am Dynkinar, last surviving Speaker for my people,” the boy translates. “We are blessed to meet you, Queen Alosa. Captain Sorinda has told us much about you and your greatness.”

“Greetings, Dynkinar. Perhaps we’d better find a place to talk so you can both tell me the whole story?”

We all nod.

“Riden?” Alosa says.

“Aye?”

“Assess the crew aboard this vessel. Have the healers tend to any wounded and make sure all their bellies are filled.”

“Aye-aye.”

Alosa won’t know yet that I’ve already healed the injured, and I don’t correct her. The time for that is not yet.

Alosa takes my arm and leads me across the gangplank toward her captain’s quarters. Dynkinar follows behind us. Alosa says, “Have I mentioned how much I love having him as my new first mate? Bossing him around is such a delight, and he’s so good at following orders.”

I look over my shoulder. Riden has gripped Enwen in a fierce hug. Kearan stands not far off, arms crossed, as he waits his turn.

“He might like it more than you do,” I point out.

“Then we’re both lucky, eh?”

“Aye.”

When we’re behind closed doors, the whole story comes out of me. Dynkinar offers her side of things, sharing a brief history of her people and their sacred charge. I don’t stop until I get to the part where we set sail for the journey home.

Though Alosa looks perfectly perplexed, I know she believes every word. “My mother has never once mentioned the existence of siren artifacts, but then again, she’s not good at offering up information unless I ask for it. Just doesn’t occur to her the things I might want to know. I’ll set up a meeting with her straightaway when we return. We need to know if there could be any more of these artifacts lying in wait about the seas. What did you do with the panaceum?”