Hush of Storm & Sorrow by L. Penelope

Author:L. Penelope [Penelope, L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-944744-15-1
Publisher: Heartspell Media

The storm petered out just before a dawn that rose cloudless and serene. The ship had been battered, but it was nothing they couldn’t fix, for which Ani thanked Myr.

After expending his magic in doing what he could to dampen the storm’s impact, Dansig had returned to his room for some much-needed rest, and Mik was manning the bridge while Tai and Varten did additional system checks in the engine room.

Ani was bone weary, ready to collapse into her bed, but Roshon claimed he wasn’t tired. Then he proceeded to drop into the chair his father had vacated and fall almost immediately asleep. With a sigh, Ani took the co-captain’s chair.

“You need rest, too, little tigerfish.”

She snorted at Mik’s endearment. “I’m all right.” She appreciated that he didn’t respond to the obvious lie. As long as the oversized, ginger knucklehead behind her was here, she’d stay, too. There wasn’t much point in investigating why. Something about his gentle breathing, his presence even while sleeping, soothed the restlessness within her.

They crossed a sea so placid, it looked like a mirror reflecting the rising sun. Mik was quiet as always, and Ani felt herself drifting into a place that wasn’t quite sleep but wasn’t quite awake, either.

When she blinked her eyes, the sun was higher in the sky. Mik was checking the navigation charts, and she peered over his shoulder at her brother’s neat handwriting, which covered the sides of the hand-drawn pages. A captain’s charts were traced during their apprenticeship, each man or woman copying from their master’s. It was the best way to familiarize themselves with the vast seas that would be their homes for the rest of their lives.

“We’re close,” she noted, comparing the page before them with the coordinates.

Mik just grunted.

“Do you think Tai is going to make Dansig row into the Okkapu alone?”

He put the leather-bound book away. “You know he won’t.”

“I know he doesn’t like the odds,” she said. “And I know that while he’s grateful they saved his birthstone, he won’t risk our lives for it.”

Well, he may risk his own. Hers, not so much. Tai had always been overly protective.

And look what it’s costing him.

Mik stroked his bushy, green beard. “Said he feels like he’s supposed to help them. Like it’s Myr’s design.” He shrugged. “Intuition. The path is the way, and it looks like this is ours.”

Intuition had certainly gotten them out of plenty of scrapes, and a captain should never discount it. She was about to ask about the forecast when one of the alert lights on the panel flashed blue. Ani broke into a wide grin and gave a great whoop.

Roshon sat up in his seat, looking around wildly. “What happened?”

“It’s Machen! He’s hailing us!”

Mik chuckled. “Better go see what he wants.”

“Come on.” She motioned to Roshon. “You’re gonna wanna see this.”

He followed her, rubbing his eyes as they climbed down the stairs and onto the deck. Ani rushed over to the rail and leaned over the side, waving at the water.

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