Page 48 of Daughter of the Dark Sea
“Of course not,” Blake scoffed.
Silence followed, as Erick peered at the gleaming wealth hidden in her satchel, and she contemplated telling him Jack’s claim that the Mist was controlled. That it’d been created by a male, who had the ability to allow ships to pass through.
A side-eyed glance from Blake and she clamped her lips shut. To speak ofit—to acknowledgeitsexistence, was defection from the Talmon Empire.
Sun rays pierced through the tall windows, bouncing off the moonstones garnishing the trinkets, and casting a dazzling aural display around them. Kora’s lips twitched, a lightness lifting her chest. Blake distastefully closed her satchel, his fingers flexing in revulsion.
“We may have instigated a war with the pirates after the death of Cannon.” She drooped her head. Two wars fought for freedom and unity, and she’d potentially unravelled it all on an unseen voice’s whim.
It all weighed on her shoulders, crushing her. She still wondered what Cannon knew—howhe knew about her secrets. He’d said this wasn’t meant to be her life. She internally laughed. Of course it wasn’t, but pirates had derailed her off fate’s course, wiping her future away.
But . . . Jack knew about her mysterious voice. She nibbled her lip. Did that mean Cannon also knew? Did the voice whisper to them too?
“Our war with pirates never ended. Not since the Galenite War. A death of one of their lords might work in our favour and weaken them finally.” Erick’s warmth settled her, as if he could see her worries splashed across her face.
“What did you want to tell us?” Kora asked, moving the subject along.
“The royal family of Azaria are sending a sentinel, to oversee the remaining expansion of the empire. You’re to personally escort him across Aldara. Both of you.” Erick’s pointed gaze flickered between them. “I’ve had reports of exiles in the desert attacking camps near Scarlet Bay and the Southern Oasis. We can’t risk anything happening to this sentinel. They will require protection at all costs. I cannot express the importance of this.”
By the gods, this was intense.
“Expansion?” Her brows squished together.
“They intend to acquire the remaining islands,” Blake spoke tensely, understanding fleeting across his face. “Our king is ready to become emperor.”
Shock jolted through her bones. Ever since the Devanian Conquest ended over fifty years ago, it’d been the three islands banded together under the reign of the Citadel, acting as an extension of the royal Staghart family hidden away in Azaria, with Talmon as the lead, resulting in the Talmon Empire.
A select group of leaders, known as the viceroys, governed Talmon, Otrovia, and Aldara from Mossfell Castle, located in the heart of the Citadel. The governors of each noble house oversaw their protected lands and territories, and would report back to the viceroys of the comings and goings, and all that political nonsense Kora never understood.
She never paid that much attention to it all. But now . . . the king was making a gallant attempt at seizing the remaining unclaimed islands—Peril Cove, Calypso Islands, and Galen. To become Emperor Staghart of Azaria.
One united nation.
One empire.
“Indeed.” Erick drew a breath. “The Aldara Council, and the Houses of Blackstone and Bellmoor have begun preparations for the final unification. We must protect the sentinel. And it’s time to start decimating the pirates entirely.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do—”
Erick waved a sharp hand, cold ice leaking into the edges of his tone and eyes. “No, Kora. They’ve decreed that we nowkillall pirates on sight. If any survive, they’ll be executed—including any rebel who associates with them or assists them. No more trials. No more courts.”
She blanched at his words. Jack had been lucky.
“They’re walking dead men,” Blake hissed at the mention of rebels.
“Or women,” she added. Both males blinked at her. “What? A woman can’t rebel and strive to topple a nation? How unkempt of her.” She fluttered her neck drastically and Erick rolled his eyes, whilst Blake subtly hid a smirk, rubbing his mouth to prevent the curve surfacing.
It was no secret that not everyone agreed to the empire’s rule on these islands. Resistance had increased over the past decade. The Azarian Islands had a tear down the middle of it, and Kora stood on the Talmon Empire’s side,againstthe pirates. Intrepid unease unfurled in her core, as the threat of slaughter loomed on the horizon.
21
They had two days before they had to trek across Aldara to Whitestone Bay to meet the royal sentinel. The journey was five days by horseback, and five days back. Enough time before Kora could return to her cherishedHell’s Serpent.Erick’s sardonic tone had made her suspect her ship wasn’t being repaired for two weeks, but he’d used it as a means to ground her to escort the sentinel. Otherwise, she’d have set sail this morning, fleeing to waters that greeted her with open arms, and soothed her scarred soul.
Blake pulled her into one of the shadowy alcoves of the many hallways of the manor. He shifted a metal plant stand that was overflowing with fern leaves, shielding them both from prying eyes. She tugged him into her embrace, their lips clashing, and a shudder vibrated through him beneath her touch.
Kora clung to his body, her hands sweeping across his shoulders and down his arms, entwining with his fingers.Yes.His thumb brushed along her knuckles, clasping her hands to his chest as he planted kisses along her jaw and down her neck.
She needed this. Neededhim. After so much death and despair from their latest voyage, she needed that spark of life that sizzled between them. Needed his kisses to imbue her with his strength.
