Page 120 of Realm of Thieves

“Nice to have you on board, Eydis,” I say to her.

Then, once everyone is clear, I let the line go slack and start pushing the ship away from the dock. When it’s at the end of the rope, I leap into the air, rope in hand, splashing into the ocean before climbing up the rope and onto the boat.

Vidar grabs my arm and pulls me the rest of the way, helping me to my feet. “Good to see you, brother,” I tell him.

“Were you successful?” he asks me.

I wipe the wet hair from my forehead and stare at the harbor, watching as the Black Guard starts galloping across the white tiles, like a spreading stain. With any luck the wind will be on our side, taking us straight to the Midlands, a place they wouldn’t dare follow anyway.

Though after all I’ve seen today, I wouldn’t put anything past them.

“Andor?” Vidar says again, until I meet his eyes. They have a feverish sheen to them, no longer as cool and collected as they usually are. “Were you successful? Did you get the egg?”

I nod slowly. “Brynla did, yes.”

“Are you sure it’s the right one?”

“I’m sure we’ll find out,” I tell him carefully.

As if he can tell I’m studying him, his features go blank. “Job well done, then,” he says, before he turns and walks off.

Chapter 33

Brynla

We arrive at the Midlandsa day later, the winds favoring us the whole way, anchoring on the other side of the wards. We’re near the northwestern tip of the island, an area that Andor was familiar with but was too far to travel to by small boat from the Banished Land. The region is known for its large sycledrage breeding ground, which are the kind of eggs Steiner thinks will work best for raising dragons. Of all the dragons to attempt to raise, I wouldn’t pick the sycledrage, with its cunning and those huge claws, but I don’t really get a say with the Kolbecks. Part of me thought it was best that we head back to Menheimr first and deal with our stolen egg, but apparently Torsten was adamant on getting his breeding program underway in the event that we weren’t successful, and since we already have a ship and a crew (albeit one that has nearly doubled in size), it was decided we’d still continue on to the Midlands.

At least the day at sea gave Andor a chance to heal Kirney’s arm and help Belfaust, who had sustained a stab wound to his thigh when they overtook the Black Guard. It turns out that the Black Guard had also been ingesting suen, making it a bloody battle.

It also gave everyone a chance to get to know one another, sincewe suddenly had five new crewmates. There was Eydis, the girl with the pale green eyes and matching hair; Artemen, the old man; Syla, a former Daughter of Silence who had her tongue cut out and can only communicate in writing; Damiel, a rockdeer herder whose wife was chosen as a monthly sacrifice, just as my mother had been; and Tamber, a middle-aged woman with sky-blue hair in tiny braids, who was known to the government as a troublemaker, shipping supplies across the border to Freelanders.

I for one am just happy that the convent no longer has the egg. Steiner has examined it, saying it looks like there are no visible puncture holes to indicate suen extraction, but because of the way the scales lie, it’s impossible to tell. There’s always a chance that there are more eggs elsewhere. Shit, I mean, considering the convent has an undiscovered species of the realm’s largest dragon chained up in its basement, who knows what else they’ve been hiding?

Still, there’s something about the whole mission that has left me feeling uneasy. It’s not just what the Harbringer said to me, that my parents had hidden the truth from me, that I was a false idol, that they had been watching me all this time and orchestrated the assassination of my aunt…

It’s the fact that the Kolbecks have control of an egg with immense power. Torsten Kolbeck is not a good man, neither is his brother, and I’m not quite sold on Vidar either. I’ve seen the way he looks at the egg, like he’s possessed by it.

But not in the same way I am. The egg calls to me, a soft murmuring sound that puts me at ease. It feels like it belongs to me, while Vidar acts as if he belongs to it.

Though Steiner’s interest in the egg and its suen is intellectual, I’m not convinced such a prize wouldn’t bring out the mad scientist in even the most rational of beings.

And then there’s Andor, who has staked all his hopes and credibility on its magic.

Something to keep an eye on, at any rate.

“Are you ready?” Andor asks me, hoisting a collection bag over his shoulder.

“I am,” I say, strapping on the last buckle of my boot. I wait until Andor’s back is turned before I grab my pouch and fasten it around my waist, being extra careful with the contents. Then we exit our cabin and head up the stairs to the deck. We should already be on the Midlands by now, but we were feeling a little amorous this morning, which delayed our mission. Actually we’ve been going at it like rabbits ever since we returned from Esland. Something about an elevated heart rate and nearly escaping death really makes you want to jump a man. I feel bad for everyone else on the ship who has to listen to us, but not bad enough to stop. Hey, we wouldn’t have the egg if it weren’t for me—I deserve a little release.

“About time,” Toombs comments under his breath as he steadies the rowboat on the side of the ship as Andor and I climb inside. Lemi galumphs down the deck and leaps into the boat, making it rock violently.

“Better late than never,” Andor says. “Lower us down. If the goddesses are on our side we’ll be back before nightfall. If not…”

“Then I’m coming after you,” Vidar says, crossing his arms across his chest as he stands beside the pulley. “I still don’t know why I can’t come now and help.”

“Let’s leave this to the experts, eh?” Andor says, winking at him, which clearly irritates Vidar more. While his oldest brother is more than physically capable of retrieving dragon eggs—after all, he was able to take down a section of the Black Guard—he hasn’t had any experience in it. All his training has been in defense of their holdings as heir. Though I’m starting to realize that Vidar might be a little bit jealous of Andor. While Vidar is usually kept at home and coddled by Torsten, Andor is the one sent off on adventures. I could see how that might be frustrating. It could be why Vidar has had that intensegleam in his eyes over the last day. I’ve been attributing it to some strange desire for the egg, but maybe it’s that he finally feels useful and alive.

I know I certainly do.

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