It was a mix of mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion, and another kind of exhaustion that came from using magic. I wanted to climb out of the bed but my body didn’t allow me to; instead, I just waited there for a moment.
The room was empty. Everyone who had been hovering over me must have left some time ago. Was it night? I didn’t think so. I highly doubted I had been passed out for a full day.
After just sitting there for another minute or two, I mustered up the strength to finally get up and out of the bed. I paused as I saw what had been laid face down on the side table— it was my mask.
My broken mask.
I sighed as I realized I wasn’t even wearing my hood up. That meant everyone now knew what I looked like. And with what happened with Lilith… I had some explaining to do, which I was not looking forward to.
Still, I forced myself to move: I exited the room, looking around the hideout. I was met with the familiar scene of the cove with its rock walls and rock ceiling, as well as the sandy beach. But something was different.
It was… emptier.
That was not to say it was completely deserted and I had been abandoned; I recognized most of the faces that were meandering around, but there were significantly less people about. In fact, one of the ships— the bigger ones— was gone from its usual place. It had been anchored in the same spot for the entirety of the time I had been here, but now it and dozens of people were missing.
I knew what that meant, of course. It was obvious.
Not all of the pirates were gone; in fact half of them were still here. But the ones that were most vulnerable— the elderly, the mothers, and the children— had been brought to another place for their safety. Not all the noncombatants went. I spotted Sevin as he was passing by and I called out to him.
"Sevin."
The young man stopped when he saw me. He hesitated for a moment, before approaching me with an apprehension he did not have before. "Melas, you’re awake," he said. "I’m glad. When you came back yesterday and they told us what happened, I was so worried."
He sounded worried. But the way he eyed me told me he was uncomfortable— still processing the fact that I was a kid and not some Half Goblin like I had led him to believe.
"I’m fine now." I turned and gestured past him, deciding that this was something I could discuss with him later. "Where’s Ginah? Kai?’
"They’re over at their meeting room. The usual place."
"Thanks."
I bowed my head slightly and hurried in the direction of the meeting room. I was about to enter it, but stopped as I saw the man standing guard in front of it. Braz glanced down at me and nodded.
"You’re up," he said simply.
"I am."
Unlike Sevin, he did not seem too put off by me now that he knew I was a kid. He shot me a casual grin and jerked a thumb behind him. "Come on in. Your Dwarf friend has been anxious and getting louder by the minute."
"Gennady?" I cocked a brow and peered into the room. I wasn’t able to make out any of the conversation inside but there clearly was one going on, and it was getting tense. "What’s going on?"
"They’re discussing you. So you might want to get in there and back yourself up."
I had thought that was the case. Sighing, I went in followed by Braz.
"...and I’m telling you, you can’t just do that."
"We know. But it’s too much of a—"
Ginah cut herself off as she saw me enter the room. Gennady’s face snapped in my direction and he quickly rushed over to my side.
"Melas, Goddess grace us— you’re awake!" The broad chested man wrapped his arms around me and I struggled to break free. "You’re fine!"
I squirmed in his arms. "I won’t be if you keep hugging me so tightly."
"Right, sorry." He quickly released me and stepped back. The Dwarf looked at me once over, placing both hands on my shoulder. "I’m glad you’re ok."
"I’m glad too," I said. "I was already worried about my own life when fighting Bahr. But when Saintess Lilith showed up, I thought I was dead. I—"
I paused and glanced over at Ginah and Kai standing off to the side. Jack and Lisa were in the room too; they did not look too enthused to see me— well, Jack was his usual dour self, while Lisa was more on edge than she had been around me before.
I realized the context of the conversation even before I heard what was being said; there was only one thing to be discussed now that Bahr was dead, and the fact that there even was a discussion going on indicated that it was probably not a good thing for me.
I took a deep breath, ready to explain myself, but before I could speak the pirate Captain opened her mouth first.
"We had no idea you were a child," Ginah said. "If we did, we wouldn’t have made you fight for us. We’re sorry."
I gave her a blank look. That was not what I had expected her to say. "Why are you apologizing?" I asked, confused.
She gave me an odd look. "I just explained why."
"Right." I shook my head, still not fully cognizant just yet. "You don’t have to apologize," I said. "I
