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“I wouldn’t give that one something so pointy as a needle,” I say.
“I’ll take my chances.”
Wallov and Deros both come up top, each gripping one of Vordan’s arms firmly. He’s wriggling in their grasp, but no single man is a match for their joined strength. Vordan shouldn’t even bother, injured as he is.
“You’re handing me over to Kalligan?” Vordan asks.
“You’re to stay in the keep’s dungeon for safekeeping until I decide what to do with you.”
“Have you forgotten our little chat already? You need me. I—”
“You can go to the dungeons standing or we can get out the cage again. Your choice.”
Wisely, he shuts his mouth.
I dart my eyes to the men on either side of him. “Take him through a side entrance. I don’t want to see him again.”
“I’m heading out,” I tell Niridia. “See to it that everyone cleans up and gets well rested. I want theAva-leestocked up for sailing again. I doubt it will be long before we’re back on the sea. The king will want to move the fleet to the Isla de Canta as soon as possible.”
I leap off the side of my ship. Most would prefer to use the gangplank, but the distance doesn’t bother me. It takes just a second to reaccustom myself with solid, unmoving ground after weeks at sea.
Several ships float along the separate docks in this particular cave. It’s the closest one to the keep’s main entrance, so only those in my father’s inner circle are permitted to anchor here. Among them areHell’s Breath, which belongs to Captain Timoth;Black Rage, which belongs to Captain Rasell; and theDeadman’s Blade, which is captained by Adderan. My face contorts in disgust when I spotDeath’s Secret. If Tylon and his ship weren’t so important to my father, I’d whittle holes into the latter when no one was watching—maybe the former, too.
The docks lead to a path down through the cave, which eventually opens up onto the island. From there is a well-trodden trail obscured from the beach by large fir and spruce trees. It’s incredible that their roots are strong enough to breach the island’s hard surface. The keep is a composition of hollowed-out rock with wooden embellishments.
Several islands over is a long-at-rest volcano. The littleisland the pirate king uses as his keep is a series of tunnels, once carved out of rock by steaming lava, a deadly natural force.
Now it houses the deadliest men alive.
I kick a pebble out of my path as I reach the largest tunnel opening, which serves as the keep’s main entrance. Dead men dangle by ropes from the top of the tunnel, giving it the appearance of a gaping mouth with scraggly teeth. The ropes are tied to large hooks at the end, hooks that have been inserted into the mouths of traitors. They are hung up like captured fish for all to see what happens to those who meet my father’s wrath.
The tunnel forks into multiple paths, which also veer into their own countless directions. The keep is an endless maze to all except those who serve the pirate king.
I’m following a tunnel deeper and deeper into the keep, in search of my father, or at least someone who can tell me his location, when I pause in front of a door.
Thedoor.
He found something on that island where he met your mother. A weapon.
After weeks of distance from Vordan and his lies, I’d begun to relax. But just like that, doubt creeps back in. Unbidden and unwelcome.
The entrance to my father’s chambers is just one door over. There’s another door inside adjoining the secret study to my father’s bedchamber. As one of the select few allowed to visit my father in his private rooms, I see this door regularly.
It’s my study, Alosa. Surely you know what a study looks like?hesaid after I asked him what it looked like inside when I was little. Out of embarrassment, I never asked again.
My thoughts are my own. I am not being controlled. I can’t listen to Vordan. Iwon’t.
And yet, I press an ear to the door, listening carefully.
I don’t know what I expected. To hear ticking? Feel the pulse of anti-siren magic?
Sighing, I move down the hall. I raise my fist and rap on the door to my father’s rooms, remembering why I came here in the first place.
No answer.
I’ll have to look for him elsewhere. I turn—
My breath leaves me. I’m being shoved backward, and wood slams against my spine. Brilliant blue eyes glare at me.
