Fully aware of the spies in his ranks, Kor bided his time, sniffing them out and slowly winning them over, making promises better than the ones Jemsin made. Now, two years later, his crew was fully his own—a fact Jemsin knew, and one that made him nervous.
But other than outright killing Kor, there was nothing Jemsin could do. Kor hadn’t done anything to provoke such an action. Not yet, anyway.
It was only a matter of time, though. Because the more power Kor tasted, the more he wanted. One day, Kor would break free of Jemsin. Eris knew this. So did Jemsin. But before Kor made his final move, he wanted one more thing. Something Jemsin would never give him.
Kor wanted Eris.
As she lay in her borrowed bunk, Eris listened to the windhowl and the hull of theSea Mistressgroan. The single lantern in this cabin swayed, casting light back and forth across the dark room as she studied the slender throwing knife in her hands.
She’d been gripping it in her fist when she stepped across.
It was different from the other knives the commandant kept sheathed in her belt. The blade was thinner and more delicate. The hilt was more ornate.
As Eris ran her fingers over it, she thought of the commandant alone in her room—her trap dismantled, her criminal gone.
Strangely, it brought Eris no pleasure this time.
The sudden sound of heavy boots clomping down the stairs made Eris go still. She’d barely sat up when the cabin door swung open, and the glow of her lantern illuminated the young man standing there.
He had a square face and deep-set eyes. Long dark hair was pulled back from his shoulders and the pale cotton shirt he wore was wrinkled, the cuffs undone. His left ear was missing, cut off by his father in a rage when Kor was only five. In one hand was the neck of a bottle. In the other, two copper cups.
Her stomach turned over at the sight of him.
“Kor,” she said, forcing a smile as she lowered the knife in her lap.
“Would you look who it is. Jemsin’s little pirate thief. Four days late.” Kor grinned thinly as he stepped into the cabin, kicking the door shut behind him. He set the bottle and cups down on the overturned supply box in the corner. “I’m assuming you have it?”
“Have it?” asked Eris, watching him uncork the wine.
He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, shooting her a puzzled look. “The loot Jemsin told you to steal.”
Right.Eris shook her head. She’d stolen the king’s ruby so long ago now—was it a week already?—she’d forgotten it was the thing Jemsin sent her to Firgaard for. “Of course I have it.”
That strange look didn’t leave his face as he turned back to the wine and started to pour. “Well, what took you so long?”
I got distracted,she thought as she slowly traced her thumb along the hilt of Safire’s knife. “I took my time,” she said instead. “Didn’t want another run-in with the empress. Or her dogs.”
When Kor turned and offered her a full cup of wine, Eris was tempted to refuse. She didn’t like taking things from Kor. Didn’t like owing him anything. Kor had a mean spirit and a temper. But Eris was under strict orders from Jemsin to do what was needed to keep Kor on his quickly fraying leash.
Kor wanted Eris—for more than just thieving. Therefore, so long as Eris remained with Jemsin, Kor would remain with Jemsin too. It was one of the reasons the captain made her report to Kor so often. Made her stay aboard Kor’s ship—where her spindle was locked away, keeping her bound and defenseless until Jemsin summoned her for her next assignment.
Please him,Jemsin told Eris in no uncertain terms.Keep him close.
So she took the wine Kor offered her.
But she didn’t drink it.
For a heartbeat, she wondered if she might be able to slip a pinch of scarp thorn powder into Kor’s cup without himnoticing. It was how she’d drugged the guards in Firgaard’s palace, enabling her to walk undetected into the king’s treasury.
“You know, I’ve been thinking.” Kor sat down on the bunk across from her. Eris’s fingers tightened around the cold copper, mentally measuring the space between them. “Thinking about how the captain always seems to send you away whenever he’s meeting Leandra.”
This time, Eris did drink—just a sip—if only to have somewhere to look other than Kor’s eyes. Which were staring hard at her now. No one but Jemsin knew who Eris really was: the fugitive the empress had been hunting for years now.
Eris and Jemsin had a deal: he would never reveal her or hand her over to the empress so long as she did his bidding. She had to steal whatever he wanted her to steal. And, more recently, she had to keep Kor biddable, too.
But the presence of the empress’s army—soldiers calledLuminabecause they “illuminated” her law—had increased on the Silver Sea these past few years. Eris feared Jemsin wouldn’t be able to keep her hidden forever.
If she could have run, she would have. She’d get as far as the southern isles, or maybe farther, just to be out of Leandra’s reach. To be free and safe.
