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“Yes, indeed,” Lord Vikhrov said.
They started toward the edge of the boat. The men who had been guarding the gangplank put it back in place after a nod from Magnus. Moments after that, even though Eneko continued to protest the unfairness of his detention and the disgrace that Olympus had brought on the Hakobyan family name, we all made our way off the boat and to the dock.
“You can’t walk all that way up to the top of a hill,” I told Ludvig as we waited our turn to leave the boat.
“He won’t have to,” Olympus called to us from the dock, where he’d already disembarked. “Some of our men are bringing down a sedan chair to carry him up to the estate.”
I was relieved.
Ludvig huffed a laugh. “I think I like Good Port already.”
I managed a half smile for Ludvig’s show of humor.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Anton,” Ludvig went on, lowering his voice. He rested a hand on the side of my face. “I hold nothing against you. I do not hold you at all anymore. I’m worried about you, worried about what you sacrificed for me.” He glanced past me to where Dmitri—who had already crossed to the dock—was talking to more of the dock workers.
My weak smile died completely. “I can handle myself,” I said. “You taught me how. And besides, we need what Dmitri knows.”
“So you say,” Ludvig sighed, “but I’m not convinced Dmitri knows anything of real worth.”
Whether Ludvig was right or not didn’t matter just then. All that mattered was getting off the boat and heading up to the Hakobyan estate.
The promised sedan chair arrived, and after Ludvig had been seated—and Premila with her baby as well, as Ludvig insisted they ride with him—and we all started up the hill. I stayed close to Ludvig, not really caring where Dmitri was.
Dmitri lost interest in talking to the dock workers and hurried up behind me so he could walk up the hill with a hand on my shoulder. Evidently, he did care.
“Don’t think you can get away from me that easily, pup,” he said with a threatening smile. “And don’t get it into your head that you can escape from me in this big, complicated city. If you leave, I’ll find you. I’ll leave no stone unturned.”
I glanced to him as our entire, large group proceeded up the annoyingly steep hill. “Why would you think I would try to escape or leave you?” I asked. “Why do you keep acting like I should be terrified, or as if you’ve captured me against my will and plan to torture me for your pleasure?”
“How do you know that isn’t my plan?” Dmitri asked, pretending to be affronted at my lack of fear.
I shook my head and concentrated on the path we walked. “You forget, Dmitri. I’ve already been kidnapped by Karpov the slaver, then sold to a man twice my age and used for his pleasure. At least this time, I made the choice to be your pup.”
It was a stretch of the truth. I hadn’t really had a choice about becoming Dmitri’s pup. I could have refused. I could have backed out and let everyone die. But not really. At least this time, I’d gone into slavery with my eyes open.
It took a few seconds to realize Dmitri hadn’t replied to my statement. When I glanced over my shoulder to see what he thought, he wore a pinched frown. I actually took some satisfaction in that. I’d ruined his plan to have a timid, sniveling pup to terrify at every turn.
That actually felt good. I didn’t have much to recommend me, but maybe I could say that I had balls of iron.
ChapterFive
By the time we reached the top of the hill and the gate to the Hakobyan estate, my legs felt like rubber and my lungs were on fire. I had spent a good part of the hike wondering why anyone in their right mind would build their house at the top of such a huge hill. Wouldn’t it have been easier for the wealthy citizens of Good Port to build their estates right against the water?
I changed my mind the second we were let into the estate grounds—which were subtly sealed behind us as Lord Vikhrov whispered orders to the man guarding the gate, who I assumed he believed was loyal. All it took was one casual glance over my shoulder as I tried to assess how far we’d walked and I knew why people with money went through all the trouble of building on hills.
The view was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was like all of Good Port was laid out as a colorful, glittering carpet. As we’d walked up the hill, I’d discovered that the bright colors of Good Port were because of glazed tiles baked into the walls of the houses, and from the angle at the top of the hill, the entire city was a kaleidoscope of beauty.
But it was the natural beauty that really took my breath away. The sun was much closer to the western horizon than it had been when we’d docked, and now the warm light of the impending sunset made an even prettier contrast to the sparkling blue of the ocean.
The colors weren’t the only amazing thing about the view. Dozens of breathtaking tall-ships were anchored in the bay. Even the smallest of them was larger than the boat we’d traveled from Hedeon in, and that had been the biggest boat I’d ever seen. The ships were all of different designs too, indicating that they were from every corner of the globe.
I’d always known that Good Port, unlike anywhere else on the frontier, or perhaps the entire old kingdom, was an international city. I knew that most of the rest of the world relied on sea trade—and even sea living in some places where entire nations had sunk into the water during the breaking of the world—but that was my first time ever seeing that for myself.
“Amazing,” Dmitri said, stopping just behind me and speaking close to my ear. “What do you think of that, pup?”
“It’s an incredible view,” I said, seeing no reason to hide what I was actually thinking.
“Two men could get lost out there, on those ships,” he went on, leaning closer. “Imagine the worlds we could discover if we stowed away and sailed off into the sunset. Or even if we took employment on a merchant vessel. We could leave this mess behind us and start over, completely from scratch.”
