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?”
I procure it from my boot so she can look at it. She tries to reach for it, but I say, “There was a cost. I can’t let it be parted from me, else I will die. Maybe Kearan, too.” The object was still in Threydan’s heart when I used its power to heal Kearan. The rest of the injured were healed after I freed the object and killed Threydan, but Kearan and I will depend on it for as long as we both live.
Zarian translates for Dynkinar, and she narrows her eyes slightly.
So I explain in detail what I know to be true about my connection to the object.
I finish with “I don’t want it, but it’s what’s keeping me alive. I have to have it on me at all times.”
Alosa turns to Dynkinar. “I can imagine how you feel about that, but the four of us in this room are the only ones who know where the panaceum is. If we keep it that way, it will remain safe. I trust Sorinda with my life, and it would seem she has already preserved yours once. Is this going to be a problem for you?”
Dynkinar listens to Zarian’s translation carefully. She meets my eyes.
In Driftan, Dynkinar says directly to me, “Let no more blood be spilled between our peoples. You have saved us from Threydan after we tried to kill you. You have proven yourself to be trustworthy when he offered you immortality. For that, I will allow the artifact to remain in your safekeeping. But if word should get out about it, we will need to revisit this discussion.”
“Understood,” I say.
Alosa looks at me curiously.
“Another perk of having the artifact.”
“Very nice.”
“Dynkinar agrees.”
“Excellent. You’ve done well, Captain.”
I wince.
“You disagree?” she asks.
“Only at being called Captain. I don’t care for the position or the title.”
She sighs wistfully. “I hoped a journey like this would change your mind. I do so need more captains I can trust. But I understand. You are who you are, and I shall not ask you to captain a vessel again unless I grow desperate once more.”
My relief is palpable. I want nothing more than to return to my duties as assassin.
“Do you have a new job for me?” I ask.
“Oh, no. You haven’t even finished this one yet. That vessel and all those upon it are in your charge until we return home.”
I try not to cringe. A month still of captaining.
“And then, when we return to Queen’s Keep,” Alosa continues, “you’re to rest from your travels and recuperate. We’ll also have to see about acquiring a new ship for you.” At the face I make, she adds, “Purely for emergencies, mind you.”
My lips twitch. “Then I won’t object if it’s only for emergencies. I’ll try not to sink this one.”
“Technically, my people sank it,” Zarian says. “You did the best you could.”
“Aye,” Alosa says. “That she did, and it was more than enough. Sounds to me like she stopped a threat to the entire world before it could even leave the island.”
“That she did,” the translator says on Dynkinar’s behalf. “I am eager to learn more about the incredible individuals within your ranks, Captain Kalligan. If any of them are half as talented as Sorinda, then I don’t think the King of the Undersea stood a chance in the first place.”
Embarrassment heats my cheeks, and I look away so the pair don’t notice.
“I have only the finest working for me.” I can hear Alosa’s smile in the words. “As for you and the Drifta, we would be happy to have you join us at the keep. We are still building our fortifications there. Perhaps you could occupy another section of the island and build the first town?”
“I’ll take my leave of you for now and discuss this with my people.” Dynkinar and the boy leave, leaving me and Alosa alone in her captain’s quarters.
It is a comfort to be in such a familiar setting. I’ve spent years of my life sailing on this ship. She is more familiar to me than any other place in the world. I have hidden in her shadows and found every nook and cranny there is for secreting stuff away. This ship was the first place that felt like home again after I lost my family.
“You look like you wish to say something,” Alosa prompts.
Where to begin? “I … changed while on the island,” I start.
“Yes, you mentioned how the panaceum made you temporarily immortal.”
“No, I mean, me. In here.” I point first to my head and then to my heart. “I don’t know how to say this, but I think I might … be with Kearan.”
Alosa blinks twice. “What do you mean be with Kearan?”
I take a deep breath. This is Alosa. I can tell her anything. Her good opinion of me won’t change. I have to trust that. So I tell her my story. The full story of what happened to my family. What happened with Kearan. Where we’re at now. I end with “So now we’re together, and it’s strange, but I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.”
Alosa shifts slightly, but she doesn’t break eye contact. “That’s a lot of information you just threw at me, but let me see if I’ve got this right. You’ve lived your life at a distance because you didn’t think you were worthy of anything more. Because of that little girl who died in your stead. But you’ve had a change of heart, thanks to Kearan. Also, you are with him. As in there’s kissing and stuff happening. Have I got that right?”
“More or less.”
She takes a moment to let it all sink in. “I’m sorry I didn’t make you feel as though you could trust me with the story of your childhood. I should have done better—”
“No, it wasn’t anything you did. I cared too much about your good opinion. I didn’t think what I did was forgivable. I was stuck for a long time. And then you forced me and Kearan together on this voyage, and it was the best thing that’s happened to me since the day you found me and convinced me to join your crew.”
Alosa smiles. “If that’s the case, then I’m happy for you. I’m happy for you both.”
“Thank you.”
“And of course I don’t hold your past against you or think less of you for it. If anything, I’m more astonished by you than ever. You’re a rare soul, Sorinda. I’m proud to know you and call you a friend.”
I feel my face softening, so I turn it toward the floorboards. “There is one more thing I wanted to discuss. I think that perhaps I might like to train some of the girls.”
“Train? As pirates?”
“Assassins.”
“Stars,” Alosa says. “I’m just trying to imagine more than one of you at the keep. The land king will shat his royal britches once he hears of it.”