Page 16 of Realm of Thieves

“Lost at what?” I frown.

“Whatever game you think you’re playing. The one you’re so desperately trying to make me a part of.”

I suck on my lower lip for a moment. On the one hand, I don’t like how perceptive she is, even if she’s not entirely correct. On the other hand, she’s impressing me.

“I’m not playing a game,” I tell her, sliding the knife back into my boot. “Not with you, anyway. The only game I’m playing is the one we’re all playing.”

“Us against dragons,” she says, her voice going low.

“Us against House Dalgaard,” I tell her. “And in the end, they’re the ones who will lose. As for everything transpiring between you and me, well, that’s a deal. A negotiation that hopefully leads to a partnership.”

She snorts. “This isn’t a negotiation. You’re kidnapping and blackmailing me into working for you. Which will be your biggest mistake. As long as I’m in your care, you’re going to be looking over your shoulder, waiting for me to betray you. After all, if I work for you, I’m betraying House Dalgaard. What makes you so sure I won’t do the same to House Kolbeck? Highest bidder always wins for thieves like me, don’t they?”

Finally, something I can work with.

“Because I’ll make it worth your while.”

Chapter 6

Brynla

Two days later, land appearson the horizon. At first I just see the low bank of fog blanketing the water until it clears and mountainous shapes appear, piercing the sky from below like a row of serrated teeth.

“There she is!” yells Toombs from the helm. “Our fair Norland.”

I’m sitting on a crate of oranges, Lemi lying on the deck at my feet. He was napping but now his head is up at the sound of Toombs’s bellow, sniffing the air. To me, it smells like sea spray and the damp wood of the ship, which I’ve gotten used to over the last forty-eight hours, but I have no doubt that Lemi’s picking up the scent of distant lands.

He’s probably picking up on my energy as well. I’m sitting up straighter as my nerves prickle, looking down the length of the ship to the waves and the world behind in an anxious kind of wonder.

Norland.

I’ve heard about this place my whole life. Of course, I’ve only heard bad things. The government of Esland always made every other realm seem worse than the one we were imprisoned in. Norland was supposed to be a place where monsters lurked in the rivers and lakes,making the water poisonous and dangerous to drink. Where the east part of the land had fractured into a separate territory called Altus Dugrell and the two lands were constantly warring with each other. Legend said the entire north was covered in snow and ice so cold that nothing could grow there while bloodthirsty trolls lurked in the glacier caves, and the south was nothing but a blanket of constant rain and fog, enough that it drove people to slowly lose their minds. We were taught that Norlanders themselves were duplicitous people who would stab you in the back the first chance they got—if they hadn’t already drowned themselves in the sea or under a barrel of pine alcohol.

Despite what I’ve been told, I’ve gotten to know the crew a little, and everyone seems fairly well-adjusted. For a bunch of thieves, anyway. Still, I have no idea what to expect from Norland or its citizens.

Toombs is by far the most jovial and easy to talk to, and he seems to have taken a shine to me, giving me candy from his seemingly bottomless pockets every chance he gets. There’s calm and collected Kirney, who appears to be Andor’s confidant; Rolph, a diminutive but spirited boy of sixteen with bright orange hair who can scale a mast in mere seconds; and a rotund sailor with a bald head who doesn’t speak much and goes by the name of Feet (his feet seem ordinary, so I’m not sure what the name is all about).

Considering I’m their hostage, I’ve been treated quite well. At least better than I had expected from House Kolbeck. At first I was kept in the cabin with my wrists bound together. Andor only untied me so that I could use the ship’s latrine and the small barrel they have onboard for bathing. At least the water was warm and fresh. But today I’ve been given the freedom of the cabin. It’s small but private. The porthole is too small to fit through (I tried, but my rear acted like a cork), and they’ve stationed guards outside my door.

Usually it’s Andor, joined by Kirney or Feet. I suppose they aren’t so worried that I’ll jump overboard again—I doubt any of themwould rescue me a second time—more that I’ll try to kill one of them and force the boat back to Esland.

Honestly, it has crossed my mind. The blade that Andor used to slice through the ropes looked like it would put my ash glass to shame. If I could get my hands on that…

Now it’s too late. As the continent of Norland comes into full view beneath the towering clouds and beyond the fingers of fog, I know Lemi and I could jump off the ship and swim for it. I feel much stronger now than I did when I made my first futile (and frankly embarrassing) attempt, thanks to the simple but protein-rich meals of fish I’d been served in my cabin, and I don’t doubt I’d make it to land.

But then what? The crew may have treated me with some modicum of respect, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the Norlanders will. What if all I was taught about them is true? What if I stand out like a sore thumb here? Andor keeps remarking on my purple hair—is it possible that this is a color only found with Eslanders? From the derisive way he saidSoffer, I’m going to assume that they aren’t well tolerated. Without any weapons I might not survive very long in Norland on my own.

I bristle at the idea of having to rely on someone else for protection.

“You’re looking a little green,” Andor says as he strides over to me, having come up from the lower deck.

I glance up at him, my features bending into a scowl. “I guess I’m thinking about stepping foot in Norland for the first time.”

He stares at me for a moment, those watchful golden eyes taking me in, the corner of his lips slightly curled. He always looks like he’s on the cusp of telling a joke, like he finds this whole kidnapping-and-blackmailing-me thing to be most amusing.

“You were thinking about swimming for shore,” he says, dropping down into a crouch to scratch behind Lemi’s ears, and I feel my scowldeepen. Aside from Tromson, Lemi seems to like everyone here, and it would be a lot easier if he didn’t like Andor.

Andor looks up at me. “I’d tell you it’s a bad idea except I know that would only make you do it.”

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