A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne

Author:Rebecca Thorne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

KIANTHE

Bobbie was eerily quiet, and Kianthe hated it.

To be fair, the constable usually chose silence. Riding with her was boring unless Kianthe could prod her into some kind of ridiculous debate. But as they sailed up the Nacean, leaving Koll, her possessions, and her career behind, Bobbie was stoic enough to creep Kianthe out.

She didn’t cry. She didn’t shout. She responded with one-word answers and otherwise stood at the edge of their commandeered boat, staring at everything—and absolutely nothing.

“When you watch the river like that, it makes me think you’re going to leap in,” Kianthe said, just to break the silence.

Bobbie turned a scowl her way, the first sign of dispute. But just as quickly, it fell away, and she slumped against the railing. “I’d prefer some time alone.”

“Tough to accomplish that when we’re stuck on this boat together,” Kianthe replied.

The former constable sighed, turning her back on Kianthe.

They sailed on. Night slipped into day, and they made good time. Kianthe coaxed the wind to maintain speed, a spell that required minimal effort on her part, and spent the rest of the time brainstorming how to fix Bobbie’s mood. She came up empty over and over, and eventually drifted to sleep right there on deck.

Luckily, the wind was smart enough to work without her input, and Kianthe jolted awake to a totally different section of the river. It was late morning now, almost midday, and instantly, she knew something was wrong.

For one, the boom that woke her up sounded suspiciously like a cannon.

“What’s happened?” She wrenched herself upright, blinking in the bright sunlight. The wind immediately swept around her, a flurry of magic that carried its complaints at being slashed to hells by a careening metal ball.

“Cannon fire,” Bobbie said sharply. This was the most animated she’d been since she lost her job, and Kianthe desperately wished it was under better circumstances. The woman leapt to the front of the boat, leaning over the railing as she scanned the river for its source. “You don’t think Arlon attacked her, do you?”

“Based on recent events, nothing would surprise me anymore.” Kianthe leaned over the railing on the boat’s side, her fingers drifting in the water. Magic spread along the river’s ley line; further upstream, the water circled around a ship desperately trying to turn away from four—no, five—attackers.

Horror spiked through Kianthe’s chest. “I left her alone for one day.” And with a sharp tug of magic, their boat snapped forward, wind whistling against the sails as the elements themselves shoved her towards Reyna.

They weren’t far. Another cannon echoed and Bobbie flinched as screams pierced the air. More shouts accompanied it—an army of them, it sounded like—and they curved the river bend into what looked like an all-out war.

Or rather, bullying. One ship with no defenses and … Kianthe counted five adults on board, maybe six? Meanwhile, five of the diarn’s best ships seemed intent on sailing it down. Two were armed with cannons, and one was already in position, taking aim at the pirate ship’s two masts.

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