“Have you seen your brother?” I asked Heidel after King Herrick and my father had disappeared into the ship’s interior.
“He is helping the princess, I believe.”
“The elven princess?”
Heidel nodded.
Why would Kull be helping the princess? I thought back to last night. I hadn’t seen Kull since I’d talked with my father.
“You will share quarters with me and two others,” Heidel said, interrupting my thoughts. “Princess Euralysia and Lady Ket will also bunk with us. I have already tried to renegotiate these arrangements, but my father will not have it. He feels I should keep you under my watch.”
Great. Just what I always wanted. My own guard dog.
“Your father doesn’t trust me, does he?”
“No. But you still have much to learn of our ways. My people believe that trust must be earned.”
“And I suppose I haven’t earned his trust yet, have I?”
“No,” she answered.
Scanning the crowd, I tried not to let my annoyance with her show. The last thing I wanted was an angry guard dog.
The Wults and elves finally began to board the ship. As the crowd thinned, I still hadn’t found Kull. Heidel gave me instructions to find our cabin on the third level below deck, and then she turned away and entered the ship’s interior. I remained where I stood.
Finally, when I felt that Kull must have drowned in the sea, he appeared out of the mist. Princess Euralysia limped by his side, and Rolf walked closely behind them.
I raced down the gangplank to meet them. Princess Euralysia looked worse up close. Her usually silvery-blonde hair was now a lackluster gray that hung in limp strands over her face. Her lips were cracked and dry, and her eyes were shadowed and seemed unfocused.
My previous feelings of jealousy began to diminish as they walked up the footbridge.
“Hello, Olive,” the princess greeted me.
“Hello,” I answered.
Kull smiled weakly as the princess limped beside him. Rolf gave me his customary grin. I couldn’t believe the princess would come on such a dangerous journey in her health, but I suspected she felt she had no choice. If the magic were not restored, there wouldn’t be any elves left to save.
When the three made it onto the ship, Euralysia leaned against the wooden railing to catch her breath.
“Olive,” she said between breaths, “it is good to see you again. You look well. Much better than me.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer.
“Kull says you’ve brought the bloom?”
I eyed Kull. I hadn’t wanted anyone to know, but I supposed that was my own fault. I hadn’t warned him not to tell anyone. I would have to correct my blunder as soon as I got a chance.
“It is safe,” I answered.
“Good.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment, looking ready to collapse.
“Shall I take you to our cabin? Heidel tells me that you will be bunking with us.”
“Yes,” she answered quickly. “Yes, please.”
I took her by the elbow and led her toward the hatch leading downstairs. Kull followed us down until we found our cabin.
The ship was easy enough to navigate. Whoever had built it had done so with a plan in mind. The floors all had a specific purpose. The galley and officers’ quarters took up the first floor. Passenger cabins took up the next two floors. Freight compartments took up the bottom level. We descended the stairs until we found the third level down. The candles’ flames flickered behind etched glass, lighting the rooms in hues of soft yellow.
Framed pictures of mermaids and water dragons filled the walls. I stared in fascination at the paintings. For the most part, mermaids resembled their Earth-world portrayals, but there were a few differences. Mermaids didn’t have skin. Instead, colorful scales covered their flesh, and their hair was reminiscent of a jellyfish’s tentacles. I’d never seen one up close as they were a reclusive species and preferred to stay hidden from land dwellers.
We made our way through the hallways, our footsteps making the wood-planked floors creak. The cabins were small and built for efficiency, each having four bunks—two bunks on one side and two on the other. Two up and two down. There were compartments beneath each bed, and some rooms even had a small porthole.
I found our room at the end of the hallway. Euralysia took the empty bottom bunk on the right. Heidel had already claimed the bunk on the left. She sat on her bed sharpening her goblin knife.
Lady Ket stood by her bunk as she unpacked her things. She pulled out more knives and short axes from her bag than clothing. Typical Wult.
I was left to choose the only bunk left, above the princess.
Ket looked up from unpacking as Kull helped the princess to her bed. “Kull?” Ket said. Her eyes widened.
“Ket.” He nodded, standing a little taller. “I did not realize you would be making this journey.”
“Yes,” she answered. “I must have impressed the tribe leaders when I slaughtered the jagamoor attacking our village.”
Kull raised an eyebrow. “Jagamoor?”
“Yes,” she answered. “I suppose it runs in the family.”
Heidel stood abruptly and sheathed her knife. “Ket, Kull, I will have a word with you. Alone.” She brushed past Kull to enter the hallway.
“She’s still as sociable as ever,” Ket said to Kull.
“Yes,” he answered, “some things never change.”
“I know,” Ket said.
A look passed between the two. Did it mean something?
I pushed aside my misgivings as best as I could as they left the room. Euralysia remained on her bunk with her eyes closed, her breathing shallow and unsteady.
I focused on unpacking to keep my mind distracted. Opening the drawer beneath my bunk, I placed a few of my things inside. I left Father’s memory charm and the magical orb in my bag, trying to decide what to do with them.
“It’s difficult to be with a man like him,” Euralysia said.
I jumped. Hadn’t she been sleeping? “Excuse me?”
“His political duties always seem to interfere, not to mention his temper, his overbearing attitude—yes, he is not an easy man to get along with.”
I wasn’t
