There was only one way to find out.
The ship lurched, and I braced myself against the wall. As I approached my cabin, I found Heidel and Ket inside. The room was nearly put back together. Ket smiled as I entered, though Heidel gave me her usual scowl.
“Have you seen the princess?” I asked.
“No,” Ket answered. “She left a little while ago.”
“Left? Where? In her condition? Did she say where she was going?”
“To get some fresh air, I believe. You might try finding her above deck.”
“Thanks,” I said and turned away from them, still confused at how the princess was capable of leaving the cabin.
“Be careful,” Heidel said.
I stopped and turned around. “Careful?”
“Yes. We’ve come upon quite a squall. The captain is preparing to drop anchor once we’ve reached the straits in order to wait out the storm. It’s quite dangerous above deck.”
“Is it?”
“It is,” she said drily. “I would hate for you to fall overboard and drown. Nasty way to go.”
Her concern was overwhelming. “I’ll be careful.”
“See that you are.”
I left the room and followed the hall to the stairwell, trying to ignore Heidel’s comments. I took the stairs leading to the deck and popped open the hatch. As soon as the door swung open, salty sea spray gusted through. The damp wind stung my face as I climbed above and slammed the hatch lid shut.
Crewmembers clamored around and shouted orders, though the crashing waves muffled their voices. Most of them held on to ropes tied around thick wooden beams. The ship creaked as a wave hit the side.
Gray clouds obscured the morning sunlight as I dodged the crewmen and made my way toward the wheelhouse. I couldn’t imagine why the princess had come up here. It seemed like an awful time to catch a bit of fresh air, especially in her supposed condition. What was she really up to?
I spotted movement inside the wheelhouse and noticed that someone had strapped oilskin tarps around the wheelhouse’s burnt walls. Ducking through the broken doorframe, I pushed the tarp aside and entered.
The room smelled of charred wood, although I was surprised to find it mostly intact. The starboard wall had taken the most damage, and blackened wooden beams supported an oilskin tarp on that side. However, the majority of the room looked as I remembered.
The captain barked orders as one of his crewmen, a heavyset boy with thick, untrimmed hair, stood at the wheel. At the side of the room near the bookshelf, I found who I’d come for.
Euralysia sat in the corner with several maps laid out on a small table. She was studying the maps so intently I didn’t think she noticed as I approached her. Her necklace caught my eye. Three crystals hung suspended from a silver chain, each glowing with a different-colored light—amber, blue, and black—illuminating her face and neck.
She looked up as I approached her. “Olive?” she said. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Yes,” I answered. “I’m surprised to see you here, too.”
The captain gave me a brief glance. “Another now? How many enchantresses does a ship need? I suppose you can stay, as long as you can help this one navigate.” He nodded to the princess.
“You’re navigating?” I asked her.
“I am attempting to.”
The captain turned back to his crewman. “Keep the wheel steady!”
“I can’t! It’s impossible to keep straight. The nave plate wasn’t properly repaired.”
“Yes, it was. I repaired it myself.”
“Then why does the wheel keep locking up?”
“Let me try.” Captain Tobin grabbed the wheel from his crewman. “Princess,” he yelled over his shoulder, “how far are we from those straits?”
“Less than half a league.”
“Good,” the captain answered. “If this gale keeps up, we’ll be there soon enough. After dropping anchor, I’ll have to go below deck to find a suitable replacement for the nave plate. It, ahh… wasn’t properly repaired,” he said quietly.
The crewman eyed the captain but kept his mouth shut. Smart kid.
Outside the wheelhouse, the ocean churned. White-capped waves crashed into the ship’s hull, splattering droplets of seawater on the windows.
After the wave passed, I sat beside the princess and glanced at the maps. “I didn’t realize you had an interest in navigation.”
“I don’t. But after the captain lost most of his maps in the fire, he asked me to help him navigate. Luckily for him, I brought my own maps along.”
“You have maps of the outer islands?”
“Yes.” She slid one closer to me. “I have a passing interest in geography. I knew we would need maps of the outer islands once we arrived, though I didn’t realize I would need to use them this soon.”
Studying the maps, I noted they were drawn in the traditional elven style, with the script written in scrolling calligraphy and the landmasses painted in shimmering golds and greens. I leafed through the stack and found a few maps illustrated with animals dotting the isles. The only species I recognized were dragons, though they were drawn with thick, grayish hides, not the smooth scales of the land species.
“Do you know anything about these dragons?” the princess asked me.
“I can’t remember their correct name. I believe they’re called rock dragons, or possibly stone dragons.”
“They’re called ore dragons,” the captain yelled over his shoulder, “because their scales look like ore from the volcanic mountains they live in. They’re mighty testy. Impossible to kill with those thick hides. Just like stabbing a rock. Best to leave those creatures be.”
“We may not be able to avoid them,” I said. “If they’re anything like their land brothers, they’ll be distinguished for their clairvoyance. They may be the only creatures capable of helping us find where to put the bloom.”
“Ha!” the captain laughed. “That’ll not be a visit I’ll make with you.”
The ship lurched, and a loud groan sounded through the cabin. Outside, shouts echoed, and a crewman burst into the room.
“We’ve made it to the straits!”
