The Eternal Struggle by Esther Wallace

Author:Esther Wallace [Wallace, Esther]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, dark fantasy, Epic, coming of age, fantasy
ISBN: 9781945847257
Publisher: Emerald Lake Books
Published: 2020-04-19T22:00:00+00:00

A week after sinking the Zedelious, Adhelmar ordered Xavior brought to his cabin on the Isholt’s Revenge. As expected, the pirate, though heavily shackled, stood defiantly, his gaze scoffing. Knowing Xavior had not broken in the least as soon as their gazes met, Adhelmar decided to save his interrogation for other pirates. Instead, he demanded, “The smaller ship you were hauling… Tell me where it was built.”

With a slow, evil grin, the pirate rasped, “We steal things—we don’t inquire into where they were made, even if it turns out to be the Immortal.”

“Then from whom did you steal it? What sea were you in?”

“Yours.” At Adhelmar’s frown, Xavior’s smirk grew wider. “From behind the Pursuit of Justice.”

Adhelmar did not so much as blink, but after a second, he growled, “Surely you thought something of its strange design. Moreover, I’m sure you searched it, as you would any ship, for valuables. Did you not think it strange there are no maps, no documents, no logs, no scripts anywhere? Or did you remove them? I’m sure you asked Captain Belon before you tortured him to death. What did you find?”

“Tortured him?” Xavior repeated with false indignation. “I ripped his hide off and hanged him. How is that torture? After all, Nomacir did it to one of my own.”

The cabin descended into silence. Finally, Nomacir’s captain dared whisper, “You killed your son yourself, Xavior. Had you even once thought of him, you would have found somewhere he could live free and at peace. Certainly, he would not have been lacking the funds to do so.”

“Ha, there is nowhere freer than the wild ocean! What place is there where any wealth would not be bled out through some upstart’s tax? None, I tell you! The sons of Zedelious have never groveled before anyone, and so it will stay. No, I gave him the best life imaginable. Dare you say otherwise?”

Twirling his quill pen around, Adhelmar asked instead, “Speaking of ‘the sons of Zedelious,’ from which branch did Arnacin come?”

Xavior’s wicked smile returned. “Whichever one you like! It hardly matters, does it? It only matters that Arnacin Islander is a son of Zedelious.”

“Did he ever live on Mira?”

“If his possessions and clothes are any indication, you already know the answer.”

“He’s a pirate. He could just as likely have attacked a Miran ship, particularly during the days of its evacuation, when it was in panicked flight.”

“He could have.”

“Let me change that—you could have. Where were you those days or any time before?”

Xavior’s eyebrows rose. “In your seas.”

“Then you did not find Arnacin on Mira?”

“No!”

Adhelmar jumped slightly at the vehemence of the answer, yet he quickly smoothed over his surprise. “Where did you meet him?”

For just a moment, the pirate remained silent, then he hissed, “At sea.”

“I have no doubt the two of you are related,” Adhelmar fumed. “Answer me at once! Under what circumstances was he integrated into your crew?”

“The circumstance of your captain’s hanging,” Xavior snapped back. “He nearly begged to remain aboard the Zedelious afterward.

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