Page 40 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

“We will not be doing anything.” Charis drew in a breath of freezing air and turned, her mask of indifference firmly in place. “I will take care of myself. You can do whatever you want. I really couldn’t care less.”

She stalked to her bed and climbed beneath the rough blanket once more, leaving him standing in the cold alone.

Fifteen

TWO DAYS AFTER being taken captive by the Rakuuna, Charis had yet to sleep or eat. Her stomach clenched at the thought of food, her body thrumming with a strange, jittery energy that refused to let her relax. She jumped at every sound. Startled awake just as she began to doze off, convinced a monster was in her room. And withdrew into a shell of silence that no one could penetrate.

She felt one loose thread away from unraveling completely.

Halfway through yet another miserable day of being stuck belowdecks watching the vast, empty sea fly past her window as the Rakuuna vessel made the journey to Calera in half the time a regular boat would need, she decided she’d had enough of hiding. She might not have a crown on her head, but being queen of Calera was all she had left, and a queen didn’t cower when her kingdom needed strength.

Nothing would save her from what her captors had planned for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still help Nalani save their people. Information was the most priceless currency in any war, and she had her enemies so close she could reach out and touch them. It was time to do some spying of her own.

She had the fleeting thought that she should ask Tal for pointers, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead she left him in the cabin as he prepared to teach Holland the seven rathmas sword-fighting technique. Holland still called Tal by the name “impostor” and was rude to him, even by Holland’s standards, but he was also fascinated by all the things Tal knew, and nothing kept Holland away from what roused his curiosity.

If the past two days were any indication, Grim and Dec would soon join them, and the little cabin would become unbearably crowded.

Charis hung on to the railing as she climbed the stairs leading toward the deck. The sun was a shade brighter than it had been two days ago when Charis was last on deck, but the air instantly nipped at her cheeks and stiffened her fingers. Raising one arm to block the sun from her eyes, she moved to the edge of the boat, ignoring the scattered Rakuuna on deck.

If she acted like she belonged, she was more likely to eventually blend in. One could make valuable observations when one was overlooked.

A Rakuuna much farther down the port side called to another, and then two of them reached over the edge and hauled another Rakuuna out of the water. Charis tried not to stare at the way the water glittered against the creature’s scales or the way her limbs moved as though they had an extra joint.

Maybe they did. That could explain why their legs and arms were so disproportionately long compared to their bodies or how they could swivel their heads like owls.

She filed away that bit of information in case it was useful and rubbed her hands together to bring some warmth back into them.

The Rakuuna who’d come from the sea was carrying a large net on her back. She dumped it, and a load of fish squirmed and flopped onto the deck. Immediately, one of the other creatures squatted and began tearing the heads off each fish and stuffing them into his mouth.

Charis turned toward the sea and tried not to gag.

“It likes fish?” A voice spoke directly behind her. Instinctively, Charis grabbed a dagger from her wrist sheath as she spun on her heel to face a female Rakuuna with broad shoulders, what looked like a tattoo of a constellation on her bony chest, and a length of brown seaweed woven into her tangled braid. The female held a headless fish in her hands, skewered on the end of one claw, but the offering she’d been extending toward Charis was snatched back when she saw the knife.

“Make me bleed?” The Rakuuna hunched her shoulders, hissing as she threw the headless fish to the side and snatched Charis’s wrist instead. Her grip was painfully tight, but Charis kept her expression neutral. A predator only respected another predator. Mother had taught her that.

“I only pulled the dagger because you startled me.” Charis held the creature’s gaze, though looking into black eyes with no white rim felt like falling into an abyss.

“It should be down below.”

“I was told I could come onto the deck.”

“Wrong. Not if it makes us bleed.” The Rakuuna shook Charis’s wrist sharply, and the dagger fell to the deck as Charis’s wrist went briefly numb.

“Why do you care? We can’t harm you. You’ve proven that.” Charis watched her carefully. If she was afraid of physical harm, then they were vulnerable to weapons. Charis just had to learn how.

“Dishonorable.”

Charis’s laugh was an icicle, shattering on impact. “Do not speak to me of honor. We did you no harm. And yet you sank entire ships full of innocent people. Invaded my kingdom and killed anyone you met. Families out celebrating. Children dancing in the street. The queen herself. The Rakuuna are many things, but honorable isn’t one of them.”

“It does not speak against my queen.” The Rakuuna hauled Charis closer.

So they were deeply loyal, then. Charis appreciated that, even as it meant finding a Rakuuna to exploit for information might be difficult. So be it. She was adept at tricking others into giving her far more than they’d planned to.

“Your queen ordered the slaughter of innocents, both here and in Rullenvor. What kind of monster does that?” Charis threw the words at her.

“A good queen saves her people.” Spittle flew from the Rakuuna’s mouth, spraying Charis’s cheek. “It knows nothing of this. It runs away from its people.”

Interesting. What did the Rakuuna queen think she was saving her people from by invading peaceful kingdoms? Or was that simply the excuse she’d given the foot soldiers, who might balk at the idea of colonizing for wealth?

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