Page 59 of Of the Stars and Sea

We all wait with bated breath before Tommy continues.

When he clears his throat and looks into the crowd of pirates before him, I finally breathe in. “There were times when I heard her guards mention there was news from Silvermoon Landing.”

“News of what?” Seger asks, his voice deep and guttural.

Tommy looks to his captain. Grayson gives no indication he’s heard about this before, but something tells me they might have already discussed this privately. Or maybe that’s simply my wishful thinking, hoping that Grayson wouldn’t ask Tommy to divulge his history in front of these men without having cleared it with him first.

Tommy looks at Seger now and there’s a hint of a waver to his voice when he says, “I don’t know. Details of the informationwere never shared in front of me. I just know she had a relationship with someone in Silvermoon Landing because I heard the guards make that statement a few times.”

Grayson looks at Tommy and nods at him—a release from further questioning. Tommy moves past Zaos to stand next to me again and even though my hand twitches to reach out for him, I keep to myself, not wanting to draw any more attention to him.

“If what the boy says is true, then that may be our first real lead,” Hawke says. “The children of The Pit are easy targets and most of the ones we’ve saved during route interceptions have come from the Esoros slums. It would make sense for owners of cage fighters to also be dealing in the trafficking trade.”

“We’ve never searched the port itself because it always seemed too obvious for the leader to be that close to the docks where the ships arrive.” Seger runs his hand down the length of his beard, his brows set in a downward slash as he starts to pace back and forth. “We should investigate this lead as quickly as possible. Once the leader discovers another one of their ships has been destroyed, they may go underground.” He looks to Grayson and Hawke. “When should we depart?”

Depart? For Esoros?That’s the one place we need to avoid—Ineed to avoid. Blythe has likely made it known to anyone willing to listen that I was the one to steal the Serpent’s Key from him. If I set foot on the mainland, the King’s Guard will be at the ready to arrest me. And that’s if Red Beard doesn’t find his way to me first.

“Unfortunately, my crew and I cannot join you quite yet. I have something that requires my immediate attention elsewhere,” Grayson states plainly.

Hawke and Seger look at one another and I know they are questioning Grayson’s loyalty to their cause. Since its inception, The Code has always protected children. Though, very few havegone out of their way to actuallydosomething about the horrible crimes committed against them.

“We will join you in Esoros as soon as we are able,” Grayson adds.

Seger steps forward. “Whatever you’re after, Grayson, surely it can wait. We arethisclose”—he holds up his hands with little space between them—“to unveiling the head of the trafficking trade. What else could be more important than that?”

Unimaginable wealth, I think to myself, and a sour note hits my stomach because Seger is right. There is nothing more important than saving the children of the Southern Realm from damnation.

“What I must do may grant us the very thing we need to end the trafficking trade for good.” Grayson’s voice lowers to a menacing tone and Seger is smart to look unsettled. “And let us not forget that it wasIwho recruitedyouto the cause.”

A few of Seger’s men slide their hands to their swords and I pray to the heavens there is no bloodshed today. I’m wearing a brand new tunic, for heaven’s sake. Seger flattens his palm in the air, signaling to his men to keep their swords sheathed. Then his gaze moves beyond Grayson, landing right on me.

His head tilts to the side as he studies me. Then recognition dawns.

“What strange company you keep, Grayson,” he says.

I hold Seger’s scrutinizing glare.

“Strange?” Grayson looks at me over his shoulder. “I find her quite beautiful. Do you not?”

Seger snorts. “Beautiful she may be, but that does not cleanse her of the tainted blood running through her veins. She is aCode breaker.”

Grayson’s canines flash. “Oh, come now.” He takes a step toward Seger, who doesn’t stop his men from unsheathing theirswords this time. “I’m sure there isn’t a soul amongst us who hasn’t broken The Code at least once.”

Rage quivers Seger’s chin as he unsheathes his own sword and points it straight at me. “Shehas turned her back on our kind! Rowenya Stone is a traitor of the foulest order. She is a stain on this world and I will not allow her to walk freely when so many of us have suffered at her hand.” He spits on the ground in front of my feet and I try not to feel the heat of his words and how they lash at me, stronger than the snap of a whip against my flesh.

I am no stranger to his vitriol. I’ve been fighting against it ever since my father’s death. This fight with Seger will end no differently than all the others before. I am tired of having my name sullied by those who know nothing about me and what I’ve had to overcome.

Moving to stand beside Grayson, I can see the yellow of Seger’s teeth as he snarls at me. The men behind him ready their swords, but I pay them no mind. Seger may be a high pirate lord, but he is no match for the pirates at my back.

“My father spoke of you, Seger. He told me of the adventures you’ve been on together. The fun anddebaucheryyou both reveled in,” I say, choosing my words carefully.

As I move closer to him, Grayson shifts on his feet behind me. To protect the Serpent’s Key in my pocket or to protect me, I cannot be sure.

“It would be a shame for your life to end here.” Expanding my arms, I make a show of looking around the cavern. “Lying beneath so much rock, your soul will never find its way to the heavens.”

With haste, I palm my twin daggers and before he has a chance to raise his sword, I cross them at his neck. His men move to strike me down but he raises a hand in the air. They all pause, uncertainty flashing across their faces.

“You will keep my name out of your mouth, lest you find yourself with your ankles bound as I flay open your skin. Cut by cut, you will bleed and once I throw your worthless body into the Aelynthi Sea, the salt will burn your wounds before the creatures of the ocean come to feed upon your flesh,” I say with a snarl.

---