“Fresh air on this side of the harbor?” asked Arabessa, brows rising above her mask. “I fear you won’t find any.”
“I’ll attempt anyway,” she said before waving off her sisters. Placing her mug on the table, she left to step outside.
The caved world greeted her with a refreshing, cool embrace. Far above, the glowworms pulsed on the ceiling, the stars of the kingdom, as the sounds of nightlife shuffled by. Niya stood on the muddy road, looking out at the boats tied to the thin docks that stretched along the harbor. Her gaze turned toward the masts peeking over the buildings on her right, where she knew the larger ships made anchor.
Her muscles ached to walk there, to see if one particular black beast floated in the dark water.
But she was frozen, knowing that path only led to disappointment.
If Alōs had wished to see her, he would have by now.
It wasn’t as though she were the one traipsing about Aadilor these past months.
By the stars and sea, she thought, frowning, have I become a bore?
Since when did she sit still waiting for anyone?
Niya scratched the back of her neck, realizing Arabessa was right. She was moping.
Well, no longer!
Setting her shoulders, she readied herself to return to the bar but froze as a cool slip of energy caressed her back.
Her chest tightened.
No, she thought, closing her eyes, unsure if she could trust the sensation to be true or merely her body wishing it so.
But then it grew stronger, along with a wave of movement, and Niya heard him speak.
“I’d have lost good money,” purred a familiar deep voice from behind her, “if I had bet where I’d find you this night.”
An eruption of wings burst free in her chest as she smiled. Remaining still, she replied, “Then it is lucky for you I have given up gambling.”
“Have you now?” Niya heard the amusement in his tone. “What a pity, for I so enjoyed finding you in my debt.”
Niya turned then and drank in Alōs’s presence.
His large form was swallowed by his dark coat, hair pulled back at the base of his neck to reveal his angular features and startling glowing eyes. Eyes that enveloped her with a burst of memories and desire.
“Hello, fire dancer,” he rumbled.
“Hello, pirate.”
For a moment they stood in silence, merely looking upon the other, studying what neither of them could forget: each other.
“I see your taste in establishments has changed since our last meeting.” Alōs glanced to the crumbling bar beside them.
“And I hear your raids have turned honorable.” She arched a brow.
A smile on his full lips. “Yes, it appears the actions of an old acquaintance have opened my eyes to my full capabilities in Aadilor.”
“Have they? Well, I certainly hope to one day meet this person. They sound very wise.”
“Mmm.” He nodded. “And they’re not so bad in bed either.”
Niya kept herself from grinning at his crudeness, though a whip of heated pleasure ran through her. “So, Lord Ezra, what has you strolling through town at this time of night?”
He cocked his head to the side. “I’d have thought it was obvious,” he said. “To find you.”
“Me?” New anticipation swirled in her gut.
“Aye. The king said you could be found here these days.”
Niya frowned at that. Not quite knowing how to feel about her father possibly understanding the emotions that had caused her to walk this part of town over and over. That they were connected to this man and his misfit crew. But then again, he was her father, the Thief King, and knew more than many.
“Why were you looking for me?” She peered up at Alōs through her mask.
“I’m always looking for you, fire dancer,” he said. “In every port we dock, I search for hair that burns like yours.” He lifted a hand to pull at a loose curl. “In every city we walk, I watch for curves that I have memorized with my fingers and mouth.” His gaze drank in the length of her, sending warmth to pool deep in her core. “And when I sleep, that’s when I search the hardest and where, most nights, I find you.”
Niya’s breathing quickened. “Well, you’ve found me again, but I assure you, I am not a dream.”
“Aren’t you?” he asked, sliding closer, his cool gifts flowing from him in a haze of green.
Her own magic responded with a sigh. Ours, it crooned, escaping her to mingle in the air with his.
They stood in a cloud of their power, their reunion.
“How long are you at port?” she dared ask.
“We leave tonight.”
Her heart stuttered, disappointment gripping her. “So soon.”
“Our next voyage is a long one. We most likely won’t return to the kingdom for a month at least.”
“I see.” She tore her eyes from his, pain settling deep into the patchwork of her heart.
And this was why they could not have been together, always one of them leaving as soon as the other arrived.
“Yes, which is why I must know your answer quickly, I’m afraid. Though I hope it is an easy one for you to decide . . . considering.”
“My answer?” She glanced back up at him in confusion.
“Would you care to be a pirate again? At least for this next voyage of ours?”
“What?”
“I appealed to the king that you could help with where he’s asked us to sail next. He’s agreed that it is a perfect mission for you and your gifts. It is far up north, at White Wall, a frozen tundra to be sure, but that’s where you come in handy.” He grinned. “With all your heat.”
“You . . . wait, the Thief King . . .” Niya shook her head, trying to grasp what she was hearing. “He wants me to help you?”
Alōs’s grin was sly. “Yes, it appears our duties no longer take us on as separate of journeys as they once did. You can serve your king and be with me.”
A sizzle of hope ran through her. “Be with you?”
“Yes.” He tipped her chin up so he could bend and brush his lips against hers. A tease of more to come. Niya’s toes curled in her boots as his magic caressed down her front. “The Crying Queen and the Mousai have common interests now: containing chaos for our king.” Alōs let his hand drop as he stood tall once more. Niya fought the urge to settle closer into his pulling power. “What do you think I’ve been busying myself about these past months?” he asked. “Did you think I was going to settle for a measly few sand falls with you every now and again?” Alōs shook his head. “As I have said once before, I can never have my fill of you, fire dancer.”
Niya could only look up into his glowing gaze as the meaning of his words washed over her.
What do you think I’ve been busying myself about these past months? I can never have my fill of you, fire dancer.
“So?” asked Alōs in a husky rumble. “What shall be your answer? And let me remind you your king has given his blessing, so it would be a bit like undermining his authority to say no. In fact, he told me to give you this before we set sail. Though, I warn you, it appears like a rather useless trinket, given I can sense no magic within. It’s also quite worn down for your expensive taste,” he teased. “But who am I to question the Thief King and his reasons for doing anything.”
Alōs pulled a pin from his pocket, the gold weavings flashing under the nearby streetlamp.
Niya’s pulse thumped loudly in her head, nerves and anticipation building as she clasped the cool metal of her mother’s compass brooch between her fingers.
She said when she touched it, it helped give her pause when she felt lost in her emotions. It allowed her to find her way.
Her father was giving this to her? Such a cherished item of both her parents?
So I can always find my way, she thought as she swallowed against the growing tightness in her throat, a well of emotion filling her chest.
Her father was trusting her to go, to burn as bright as she needed, as hot as he knew she could, because in the end, she would always find her way—home.
Niya blinked back the threat of tears as she pinned the compass brooch to her tunic, right over her heart.
Her heart, which was also standing in front of her.