The crew was efficient and there was no work left for Trynne or Fallon after coming off their night-watch duty. Too agitated from the night’s events to rest, Trynne leaned against the railing and stared at the burned and charred remains of the quarter of the city on the other side of the river. The ruin of that part of the city had been complete. Only a few brick chimneys stood like sparse sentries over a vast wasteland. She wondered how the fire had started and why that portion of the city had never been repaired.
Fallon joined her at the rails, leaning down on his elbows and hunching his back. His tallness was a major part of his insufferableness.
“This place is devoid of good feelings, Fallon,” she murmured softly, gazing at the ruins. “The queen is terrible. Mighty, but terrible.”
“Quite a contrast to Genny,” Fallon said with a chuckle. Then he sighed, his gaze faraway.
“How I miss your sister,” Trynne said sadly. “I miss Reya. I miss home. Every time the sun rises, I grow more anxious to return there.
It’s only been a few days, but it feels much longer. What is happening at Kingfountain?
“I’m grateful for Martin’s cleverness. One of the sailors told me that we’ll reach Dochte Abbey by tonight if the weather holds. If there’s a storm, it can take days to cross the waters. I hope there’s not another delay.”
“We could try using the ring,” Fallon said, giving her a wink.
Both of them knew such an effort would kill him. “It will take Drew several days to muster his army. There’s no way he can compete with your fleet, Trynne. Even if many of your ships are still in the East. Ploemeur is safe by sea. At least for a while. He’ll have to bring his troops by land.”
She sighed, feeling her insides squirm. “Captain Staeli must detain them for as long as he can. How fast can Drew reach Brythonica once he marches?”
Fallon rubbed his chin. “If it were Severn leading, he’d be at your borders in five days. Your father? Maybe three.”
The mere mention of her father made her heart ache with longing. Soon, she told herself, soon.
“Look at the two of you, idle as princelings,” Martin scoffed, coming up from behind them so quietly they hadn’t heard him approach.
Trynne flinched, but Fallon merely looked over his shoulder.
“You came to chide us for laziness or just to eavesdrop, Captain?”
“To eavesdrop, lad, of course,” Martin said with a snort. “You’ve given me precious little to go on so far. But I make do.”
Trynne turned around, leaning back against the railing, and folded her arms.
“So now we have mention of a father,” Martin said, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her. “And certain names I’ve heard naught of. Bryth-won-wick. Didn’t quite catch it, but I know of no city by that name. And naught in Pry-Ree, for I know every hamlet there. Is it the place where the mastons have all gone, I wonder?”
He was pressing for information, trying to get them to reveal more about themselves. They needed to turn the tables.
“The queen said she was from Pry-Ree,” Trynne offered.
“Aye,” Martin said with a shrug. “The blessed shores. My homeland as well, by Cheshu.”
“She seemed particularly upset about that note you brought her,” Trynne continued. “That note you forged.”
A crooked smile flickered on the captain’s mouth, but not without a flash of ire. “You could say that there is no love lost between the Aldermaston of Dochte and myself.”
She wanted to ask what an Aldermaston was, but doing so would certainly be a mark of her ignorance of the world.
“Why did the queen feel loyalty to the Aldermaston?” she asked instead. “Why was his betrayal especially bitter?”
Martin rubbed his thumb into his other palm, as if trying to soothe the memory of an old pain. “I want to help ye. But I cannot if I don’t know who I’m trying to help or why,” he said in a low, sincere voice. “We are going to Dahomey, as you asked. But once we get there, what next? Whom do ye seek?”
“Give us a reason to trust you,” Fallon said in a quiet, deliberate tone. “There is something binding you to this queen. You say you once served a noble prince. She is not very noble.”
His mood turned black in an instant. “I know, lad. There is very little to trust anymore in this world. The most worthy of it are done and gone. Disappeared. I could have gone with them. But I chose to stay behind because of her. Because of the queen.” His dark eyebrows cinched together. “She is my granddaughter.”