Page 121 of The Queens and the Kings
Britt lurched with the ship, holding onto the gunwale, as water boiled between them.
“You find me!” Henrik commanded from where he stood in the rowboat. “You find me, Britt, or I will find you. This is not goodbye.”
Her heart flopped in her throat. She nodded.
Pedr aimed Rosenvatten toward the wyvern who vanished into the clouds. Instinct told her that they headed toward an equally dangerous foe. Henrik faded, lost to wind and waves as she committed herself to her island again.
Denerfen nibbled on her ear. She stroked his scales.
“You and me, Den,” she murmured. “We’ll tell Henrik all about our adventures when he’s defeated His Glory.”
Chapter Thirty Four
PEDR
Britt spentmost of her life countering Pedr in back-and-forth negotiations that would have frightened a lesser person. After their parents died, Pedr had been Britt’s main go-to point for anything stupid and dangerous, while Malcolm bore the brunt of responsibility and reasonable assertion.
Pedr didn’t mind—for the most part. Malcolm had his own rungs he needed knocking down from here and there. All the same, Pedr rarely withheld anything from Britt. Certainly not dangerous opportunities. When feasible, he’d let her participate and gain more experience.
Today?
Not.
Happening.
“Just hear me out, Pedr.”
“No.”
He loped toward the wheel, secured on their heading by commanding the arcane instead of the sails. A current rose and sloshed around the ship. He loathed using so much arcane for his own purposes—new currents wreaked havoc on marine life and general ocean flow. He didn’t like to interrupt the naturalcourse if he could avoid it. Then again, if the Siren Queens had their way, there might not be marine life left to destroy.
“Pedr!” Britt cried. “Listen to me.”
“I’m listening. I’m also sayingnoin response. Your plan is terrible.”
Britt rolled her eyes, swirled around, and forced him to face her. “We’ve approached a ship of the line before!”
“You want to go into the ship and spy!”
“Well, don’t we need the information? The wings weren’t that bad. The problem was the storm. And the sailors. And the wind. And rain,” she tacked on, brow high. “I could land far more safely today. And, if you make me invisible, I can sneak around. Last time we didn’t even learn where they went!”
“Correction,” he snapped, “youflewto a ship, almost died, made it back only because the wyvern chose to bring you, and I swore I’d never let you do it again. I’m not going back on my word.”
She tossed her hands. “Details! The point is we’ve already done it. I know how to work the wings, and I made it work underthosecircumstances. So we could more easily do it under these. The weather is pristine.”
She kissed her fingertips.
He glared.
“No.”
He turned to touch several ropes, changing the sails to better support the current. Based on the horizon, they approached the area the wyvern had been flying. He saw nothing of a ship, but eyed a distant and suspicious wisp of cloud in the west.
Didn’t like that.
“Fine,” she called to his back. “I’ll go without you.”
He scoffed without stress. How would she exit Rosenvatten aside from jumping out? It would waste time for her to throwherself overboard in a fit of madness. He’d fish her out of the water and it would all be for nothing.
