Page 3 of Daughter of the Dark Sea
“Ah, but mycrazyplans always pay off. They alwaysend up with treasure,” Kora replied, angling her head up to meet his keen gaze. “RewardsIam willing to hide from the empire,” she added, fixing himthatlook. She put her neck on the line by amending the ledgers of their plunders. But her crew’s families were starving, and struggling to survive in the streets of Aldara’s lower districts.
It was the least she could do in her position.
Blake’s hair ruffled in the breeze, damp strands hanging over his glinting eyes. Compared to the sun-beaten skin of most naval officers, he was lightly tanned, withmuscledbroad shoulders, and a comfortable yet powerful authority he wielded effortlessly. So different from when they first met, all those years ago.
His uniform mirrored her own, and it suited him well, matching his hair and eyes like it’d been made for him. A thick, dark-brown leather belt hugged his hips, with a gleaming cutlass sword sheathed at his side. Gold thread trailed around the black hilt, connecting to a golden pommel that archedround and protected his hand. A dainty green-and-black tassel completed the weapon.
Everything about Blakescreamedthe Talmon Empire—Kora personally preferred toplaywith daggers—but good gods, was he handsome.
“They’re aware of your previous successes. But this latest venture of yours . . .” Blake glanced past the bow of the ship towards the open, endless ocean. Kora adored the sight of it.
“Then why are they moaning?” Kora snapped. She’d worked her fingers to the bone to achieve her status. Fought harder than anyone. Endured too many horrors.
Blake inhaled sharply, his hands hovering near her calloused and scarred ones, from the many years of working as a low-level sailor. A whisper of a touch. She inspected the dirt crusting her fingernails. She really needed a bath.
“It’s been an extra three days, Kora. We still need to sail back. Supplies are low—no, they’renon-existent. The crew are close to fainting, or even dying.” His assessing gaze raked across her. “So are you. We won’t make it back to Aldara alive.”
They were having this conversation now, then.
“Ignore him . . . keep sailing.”
She grimaced and wiped sweat from her brow. It was no lie that Kora had kept rooted to the helm lately, using it to steady her legs that swayed in time with the ocean waves. Once she’d realised they were running out of water, food, andgrog, she was the first to ration her portions. She didn’t dare admit that all she’d eaten for three days were tiny nibbles of cured meats, the taste so bland she’d barely chewed, gulping down the contents to line the gnawing hole inside.
She couldn’t show anyform of weakness. The first sign of it, she’d be removed from her position, losing the respect and authority she’d wrestled for under the scrutinous judgement of society.
“Are you sure it’s not what’s between my legs that’s stirring them?” she asked saccharinely, distracting him from her quivering stance.
As the only female captain in the armada, Kora was a prize circus act to males—something she felt strongly about challenging as a captain. A small ember blazed within her at the vision in her mind of female captains leading an entire fleet. She’d poured her blood, sweat, and tears into clawing her way into the armada, and rapidly ascended to the empire’s best-ranking captain within two years.
Now, she needed to claw her way up higher, and avoid makinganymistakes.
Just like the one she was making now.
Blake stilled, his eyes pointedly roaming her body, taking in her slender frame that was packed with muscle from working on ships. Not that she could feel the benefit. Her limbs were ready to give way any moment. Years of working on ships under the hot sun had imbued her freckled skin with a golden kiss, and his eyes skimmed across her rounded face, finally settling on her pouted mouth. Kora’s toes curled in her boots from his piercing stare.
Gods-damn it with that stare. It undid her every time.
He cleared his throat. “I’d say—”
“Captain!”
She whipped her gaze northwards, to the top of the foremast, as a sailor frantically pointed ahead. Her eyes refocused on the horizon. Red sails peaked in the distance.
Thank the gods.
They’d found the pirates.
2
You were saying?” Kora asked Blake with a smug grin. Adrenaline coursed through her, strengthening her weak legs, and he rolled his eyes.
“Just don’t get too close to the Mist. I’ll get the crew ready.” He sauntered to the main deck with that annoying prowl in his gait. Kora hesitated, a strangeness tugging at her from the shimmering, grey expanse drifting on the rolling waves.
The short war that had raged between Galen and the remaining islands ten years ago left a scorched mark upon the islands. Countless lives lost from of the brutality of Galenbecause they believed they should’ve been the rightful rulers instead of Talmon.
Endless epic tales, spoken in hushed tones to her over the years, caused shivers to snake down her spine. Tales of the mountainous piles of bodies Galen left in their wake as they cleaved through the young empire, jealous of the unity they had achieved after the two-hundred-year war with pirates and rebelsdevoted to theold ways. Galenites had showed no mercy to innocents, wives, and children.
Before the Mist, Galenites were infamous for stringing up their victims and staking them on the shores of their island for ships to witness. The victim’s backs were split open, and their lungs strung out behind their corpses like a colony of blood eagles.
