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King Bakari turned to me, resting a weighty stare on my shrinking frame. I looked back, feeling small. Greedy. Foolish.
"You are an Au'Pearl. Will you not face your royal duties like one?"
My stomach knotted with guilt. His words felt like blows. To my gut. My hearts.
My eyes fluttered closed as the stones sank in my stomach and shame filled my blood. Searot. Why did I even bring this up? After all, he was right. The duty of my crown would always supersede my personal need. I felt the tears welling up before I could seal the barrier to my emotions and keep them at bay.
"Come with me, youngling."
Without waiting for me to follow, King Bakari pushed back from the crystal table, shook out his wings—six membranous pairs lined with small scales—and began swimming towards the palace bridge. Slipping from the table, I followed, letting the water current carry my body along the flow so my wings didn’t have to work hard. I flew behind the king in silence as several Seaveillers floated behind us. I noticed each one belonged to the king's guard, and not mine. Frowning, I kept my eyes forward.
"Payè, where are we going?"
We swam past a bed of clams the size of newborn dolfinis, their mouths opened with large pearls sitting inside. The pearls emanated a warm light that kept the garden feeling cozy. The king finally answered, and I shivered.
"To the bridge. It's time I show you something."
Chapter 3
Entering A Pirates Sabbath
YAKOBBA
The clouds above filled with smoke, as ash turned to rain, tainting the dawn. Balanced atop the guardrail, I floated with anticipation, waiting for Engèli to finish the job and return to the ship. The Airflower burned in the skies overhead, her glory charring into undesirable waste. I watched her burn with satisfaction. With every flame that rose, I solidified my name along the Mistwind Seas. It would be long before another captain tested my patience again.
Within the hôr, Engèli and the crew that remained on the Airflower made their descent. They did a slow flight of victory, stressed by wide grins and dancing eyes. As the Airflower turned to dust, my angels returned to the Ashweaver, planting themselves amid the awaiting crew.
I looked at Engèli, raising a brow.
"All clear?"
"Like piss after drinking a barrel of water."
Engèli grinned, the smile reaching from ear to ear. I choked on a rising guffaw forming in my throat. Cackles littered the main deck. Few of the crew just shook their heads looking at Engèli like he was an oversized, brainless oaf.
Among the shaking heads was Nyala Tereth, my second mate. Her round face was scrunched in a mixture of disgust, annoyance, and embarrassment. Nyala shot Engèli a glare.
"Careful, Nya," Engèli taunted. "Keep screwing your face like that and it'll stay that way. You'll go to the Ellelights looking like a stareagles rhèr."
I choked again, struggling to keep from laughing out loud. A burst of laughter to my right threatened to break my resolve. I snuck a peak and found Jabari Zarya, the Gunner of the Ashweaver and my third brain, bent over his knees, howling. I took a deep breath, praying to the Alpha to help me keep my composure.
Nyala's flaring temper was a lethal, tangible thing. She floated closer to Engèli and Jabari, hands swirling with her summoned ethèr. She could barely reach the chest of either angel, yet the command in her eyes whittled them to only younglings in need of a good plank to their hides.
"You want something to laugh about rotpots?" Nyala seethed. "I've got something for you."
I rushed to the forefront of the main deck, raising a booted foot to the wooden ledge. I rose my blood-stained cutlass before Nyala could get to my pirates. She was tiny, but she could take them both easily, and win.
Spreading my wings—all six feathered pairs—wide open, I pulsed them twice, a show of power and control, before speaking. The moment I tucked my wings back in, every angel on the ship fell silent, all eyes on me.
"Eya!"
The gathering call bellowed from my throat like a roar. The angels responded by stomping their right feet twice, then slamming one of their wings onto the floor of the deck.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Mistwind Sea is ours."
Cheers exploded across the deck as the angels leapt into the air, pumping their fists, and flying back down to stomp their feet.
"Many have been waiting for us to fail. For us to surrender and beg for mercy. For bread."
