Blood of the Falcon by Court Ellyn

Author:Court Ellyn [Ellyn, Court]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Raven Eye Press
Published: 2012-05-27T23:00:00+00:00

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16

Athna, daughter of Wyramor, wore an unreadable expression. Quick green eyes watched her father’s hand hesitate over a white marble king on a black square. Lord Allaran’s body language made his next play obvious and helped Athna prepare her counterattack in advance. She was careful to avoid looking at her own pieces. At last, her father slid the white king into the adjacent space and sat back, crossing his arms smugly over his chest.

Now Athna’s face changed. She laughed in triumph. “Checkmate, Father!”

Allaran’s face fell, and he searched the board. “Where, damn it?”

“You’re as blind as the moons.” Athna lifted a black horse’s head. “To escape my rook, you moved directly into the path of my knight.”

“Ah-ha, I didn’t lose after all. My move was illegal, and we have to replay.”

Athna bared her teeth in a mock-predator’s grin. “You’ve never played by the rules, you don’t get to start now. You think an army can’t move a king into harm’s way and get him killed?’ you used to say.”

“By an elf’s bloody arse!” Allaran exclaimed, earning a gasp from Ni’avh. His middle daughter sat beneath a lamp, nimble fingers faltering in their needlework. Fair and prim, Ni’avh was an echo of their mother. She never offended anyone and was easily offended. Rocking the boat simply shouldn’t be done.

Islinn, the youngest, giggled over Father’s shoulder. She flipped a red ringlet and piped, “Lost again, Da.”

“Thank you for your keen observation, Issy,” Allaran growled.

Athna had little in common with her delicate, feminine younger sisters. She had always thought of herself as the son Lord Allaran never had. When she turned eleven, her father had secured her the position of cabin girl aboard King Bano’en’s flagship. At twenty-four, she was named first mate. And four years later, the king granted her command of the Pirate’s Bane, a war galleon in the Leanian pirate patrol.

Ni’avh was terrified of the sea; Islinn considered ships squalid and ruinous to a woman’s beauty. Indeed, Athna’s skin was weathered by long exposure to sun and salty wind, her left cheek scarred where a squall-blown stay had laid it open to the bone. But she would trade neither her squalid ship nor her scars for all the pretty red ringlets and silk gowns in Dwinóvia. Even now, surrounded by the gentle comforts of home, Athna was ready to return to Graynor where the Bane languished in dry dock. As soon as rumors of war began circulating at court, King Bano’en ordered every Leanian ship to return to port. Only a select fleet of merchanters and their escorts had been permitted to sail. Athna feared that by the time the conflict between Aralorr and Fiera was resolved, pirates would regain sovereignty over the seas. More, Athna’s crew might be in mutiny. Though the Bane was responsible for sinking or capturing half a dozen pirate vessels during her first months in action, Athna’s crew were still reluctant to cooperate with her. Most took issue with a female captain. Women on board ships were considered bad luck, likely for the lustful thoughts and competition they incited.

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