enough. Axis, on the other hand… I looked over at my Prince and was so thrilled to see him leaning over the side, hand on one of the small firefins, chuckling to himself as he spoke with it. He was doing so well! He really, truly, cared!

“The Prince is your lover? Why didn’t you say you were a Princess? I will tell the Queen!” Rensi said. I laughed.

"I am a scientist first, Rensi. I have always been a Princess but on another planet. Now I am a Princess on this planet, too."

Rensi had hung around our boat the entire time we had been taking samples, trying to get an impression of Will in at any moment of silence. He was like a twelve-year-old child.

“Where is your family, Rensi?” Axis asked, walking closer to us. Rensi's swim slowed, and the images he showed us made my heart break. They were images of the first wave of the blue flu on Farian. Firefins washed up on shore, before they realized that feeding in certain areas was extremely toxic to them. He had lost both parents and two siblings. Bodies of these huge, elegant beasts, just torn apart by carrion birds on the shores. Rensi had watched, distraught, from the waters beyond.

“I’m so sorry, Rensi…” I said, laying my hand on his head, so I could pour my sorrow into him. I gulped, and tears rushed from my eyes immediately as a wealth of sadness I didn't know could be summoned came into me. I realized it had happened when Axis laid his hand on Rensi, too, pouring his ungainly, untempered emotions into the telepathic hold.

“I promise, I promise, Rensi… I will do everything I can to fix this. I will cure this flu. My Princess Ceritha and I will. We will work to heal and restore you. We will give you hope again.”

Rensi nuzzled into us with sad eyes, then snorted bubbles from his dragon nose and rushed away into the depths as a siren’s call reached us from the coves, calling all the firefins back in and away from the Curans.

Axis turned away from me, his shoulders caved in, breathing heavily, hand gripping the side rail. When he turned back to me, his eyes were solemn.

“We have to keep that promise, Ceritha.”

“We will, Axis… I will make sure.” I wiped my eyes on my sleeves and nodded to him.

Cartari had to sail us back to the boat. Axis and I were close to puking from the dizzying nature of the telepathic pull of the communication with the firefins. We sat next to each other at the bow of the little sailboat, our legs touching. At one point, Axis took my hand and held it, not looking at me, just looking far off behind us at the firefin nesting grounds and squeezing my hand with his.

I kept track of the medical kits once they were loaded on board and then we cast off the anchor and headed back to Bristola. Axis looked at me once more, winking, then disappeared into the cockpit. More news had come from the King.

I took a deep breath and waved good-bye to my new firefin friends. It was time to finish setting up the lab. I was eager to keep the promise we had made them.

Ten

Gorgin

I crept along the dock, careful to keep out of any rare flash of light. All these boats, just ripe for the stealing. Just wait till my men got here…

Most important was nabbin’ the girl right now.

Pretty little Prince had given pretty little Princess a sailboat. Would be just a matter of time afore she took it out. Princess was said to be headstrong and willful. Was certain she would take it out before long, on her own. Prolly without even telling anyone she was going anywhere. I was counting on it.

Thirty ships were headed toward Bristola ports. The Prince had to know by now. Made sense why his Navy was so up in arms and why there were extra lights in the training grounds; extra soldiers on duty and more mouths to be fed and bedded down, most likely.

Maybe even some of King Kajo’s troops. No matter. Beast King didn’t scare me none.

Even if all my ships did was cause damage in this attack, that’s all we needed to do this time. Cuz I was gonna get the girl. This Princess was the key to everything. If she could talk to animals, and could teach us how to talk to animals, then we could make every fight our own. We had one of her little friends, but he was weak. He had given in real quick right. Didn’t seem to be working, though. Animals didn’t like me none. I needed the Princess. Her little friend said she had the magic touch. I needed the magic touch. Needed the Princess touch to make her make the beasts my friends, too. And I wasn’t thinking just on the seas. There were other animals on land and in the mountains, we could train, too.

Maybe.

But first we needed to take out these port cities, maybe secure some of these ships for our ownself. Rally more pirates to our side. It had disappointed me that only six of the Captains wanted to come with me. Everyone’s peoples were dying. The blue was ruining the oceans. We had to find other sources of food and raiding the land people was the only way to do that.

I was just thinking of the bigger game at play.

I spotted the StarChaser and slid over the side lifeline and crouched down into the bow. It wasn’t a big boat, no real place to hide. Luckily there was a canvas tarp I could lay out under, just peeking from underneath. Hopefully she came down here tonight for some reason, even tho’ twas gettin’ late. Would certainly make my job easier. There’d be other stuff happenin’ tonight that would be distractin’ the Prince, that was for damn sure, especially if I caught

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