A Queen of Ice (A Trial of Sorcerers #5)

Chapter 46

46

T he Isle of Frost was lit up brighter than the Yule night celebrations hosted in the Solaris capital. Bonfires dotted the slopes of the hills and mountains that curved protectively around the far side of the island. There was dancing on the docks and gaming in the streets.

This pirate’s paradise had truly come to life in a short time. Ships dotted the sheltered bay, all flying a top flag of black. But their smaller flags were a variety of different symbols that Eira had begun to learn. The White Kraken Crew was particularly warm to Adela. Gray Sharks were slightly less so, but if Crow was to be believed, they were aligned with anything that let them get their swords bloody and coffers full.

“And the Red Sparrow flags?” Cullen asked her. They sat on the edge of the festivities, perched on someone’s cargo, offloaded as tithing to Adela or temporary holdover.

“They’re friendly enough. Upstarts, so far as I’m able to tell by what Ducot has said. But eager to please, so they’re worth keeping around.”

He hummed in thought. “I know you were quite skeptical of how my upbringing would keep me from joining this world but, so far as I can tell, my knowledge is likely to be essential.”

“And why is that?”

“Because in less than an hour I’ve captured the lay of the land of pirate politics.”

“It’s not politics .” She scoffed. He only looked more smug.

“Isn’t it though?”

Eira rolled her eyes and took a sip from her heavy flagon. Nothing happened in moderation on the Isle of Frost, especially not the debauchery. The tankard was nearly as big as her head.

“How is it?” Cullen asked.

“Warm and mediocre at best.”

“Firstly, I wasn’t asking about the ale. But, secondly, couldn’t you just make it cooler if you wanted?”

She laughed lightly and did just that, taking another sip before saying, “I knew what you were asking.”

Cullen waited patiently as she set down her drink, curling and uncurling her frozen fingers. Some days, she wore gloves and long sleeves. On other days, like today, it was a sleeveless tunic, the mark of her survival and her power on display like a badge of honor.

“It’s easier some days than others.” Eira shrugged. “The magic is fine, that’s no problem. Sometimes I find, though, that I like it there, and other times I find that I want to be me, as I am now. Without the magic.”

He nodded. He’d seen as much in the nights and mornings they’d spent together. Sometimes she had the arm of ice, and sometimes she didn’t. But he’d never questioned why or suggested one or the other. There was a lot Cullen had allowed her space for when it came to sharing…or not.

He’d not flinched at the sight of the scars that were the only remnants of where her arm once was. He’d kissed her all the same. Touched her with even more zeal than he’d ever had before.

The only challenging part was navigating touching him, seeing that he didn’t have the same natural resistance to cold as she did. But there were times where a little bit of a chill touch wasn’t bad. It could be fun, even. And for all the other times, there were thick gloves.

Before he could say anything else, Crow approached.

“Her Frostiness desires a word.” Crow glanced between them, eyes settling on Eira. “Alone.”

Eira squeezed Cullen’s hand. “I’ll be back in a few.”

He nodded, unbothered. “Take your time.”

Crow took his words to heart, setting a leisurely pace through the Isle of Frost. Adela’s pirate stronghold was a stunning place—an island wrapped by a crescent of mountains on its outer edge, guarding the town in its valley and the bay the ships docked in. A river ran through the center of town, bridges of wood and stone crisscrossing it.

Adela’s personal manor was up toward the very back edge of town, away from the bay, nestled in the shade of the tallest ridge. But that wasn’t where Crow guided them. Instead, they turned right, into a section of town that Eira knew only in passing. While she couldn’t be sure where they were going, she was sure that asking would get her nowhere. So Eira settled for admiring the icicles that clung to the eaves, the frost that gathered at the corners of doorsteps, and soon the unblemished snow that covered the path into the mountains where she and Crow trekked.

“Can you do something about that?” Crow gestured to their footsteps in the snow.

Eira didn’t so much as move a finger. With a thought, the snow rose up to fill in where their boots had compressed it. But this did offer her the perfect opportunity to ask, “Where are we headed with such secrecy?”

“You’ll see.” Crow’s tone was stiff, even for the usually closed-off woman.

“Is all well?”

Crow glanced over her shoulder, hesitating only for a second. She looked much like her namesake in the moonlight, striking a dark outline against the vivid snow. Her eyes flashed like a warning. Eira lowered her chin in acknowledgement.

They continued on silently.

Through a cave and out to the back side of the ridge, a narrow walkway was carved into the steep cliffs that switched back to a pebbled beach at the water’s edge. There on the shore was a small skiff, tied up. A larger vessel—though nothing in comparison to the Stormfrost —was anchored just offshore.

Adela stood by the skiff, adjusting a few parcels inside. It struck Eira that the pirate queen was alone. The entire time Eira had known her, Adela had been surrounded by her crew. Right now she seemed…small. Adela had always been a legend, larger than life, surrounded by the mighty Stormfrost and a crew ready to kill and die for her. Now, she looked like a woman, as regular and as mortal as any other. Even her clothes were simpler: gone were her mighty coats with oversized cuffs and collars. In their place was a fitted pair of trousers and a sleeveless vest, not unlike what Eira wore.

“If you wanted to ship me off, you could’ve just asked,” Eira said dryly as her boots met the smooth rock of the beach where Adela was making her preparations.

Adela snorted softly. “Girl, you have been a thorn stuck to my side since the first moment I heard of you. If I told you to go, I doubt you’d leave much farther than the quarterdeck of whatever vessel I’m on.”

Eira chuckled softly. Crow held back as Eira continued crossing to Adela.

“Therefore, I’m the one who must leave.” Adela finished securing one of the parcels to the skiff and straightened, meeting Eira’s eyes. Eira came to an immediate halt.

For a breath, there was nothing but the brisk wind and waves. The sea foam churning around their boots. Surprise wasn’t the first emotion that bubbled up within Eira. Rather…disappointment. She’d known what Adela had been planning for longer than the walk Crow had taken her on. If Eira were honest with herself, she’d known for months in the same way she knew a storm was in the distance.

But there was one question she didn’t know…

“When will you be back?”

“Never, I suspect.”

Every muscle in Eira’s body tensed, making it hard to breathe for a moment. Making it hard to swallow down the brief wash of panic and grief that surrounded her.

“This poison that has wrought its decay throughout my body can no longer be ignored.”

“We can find a cure.”

“I fully intend to.” Adela nodded. “But I will not wither away before their eyes as I make that attempt. And, should it come to pass, I will not die for them to see.”

The notion of Adela dying was as foreign as a language Eira had never heard before. It glided right over her mind, not sticking. Not comprehensible.

“You can’t die.” The words slipped out. They twisted in her gut like a venomous snake. She’d just found something like a family, a home …

“I know.” Adela wore a knowing smile. As if she could stare straight through Eira to all of those worries and fears that she kept concealed. The pain she barely knew. “That is why I must leave. And why you must carry on my legacy.”

“But I?—”

Adela’s hand landed on her shoulder, as heavy as the weight of the responsibility she was bestowing. “Fate has brought you to me. Molded you for me—for yourself, for your own destiny. The time for doubt is well past. It no longer suits you.”

Eira finally managed a breath. The tension left her, as if by Adela’s command. She nodded.

“Don’t weep for me, girl. I’m not dead yet, and there’s much more out there for this old pirate.” Adela smirked, looking as invincible as every myth that had ever been spoken about her. “And your legend is only just beginning.”

“I won’t let you down,” Eira vowed with all she was. With all she would become.

“You’d better not. You’ve yet to disappoint me, so I’ll let you live a few more days. But the moment I hear otherwise…”

Eira laughed softly and shook her head. Even though she knew Adela wasn’t one for sentimentality, she couldn’t stop herself. Her words were a whisper on the wind. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’ve only yourself to thank, and only yourself to let down.” A pause. “Are you ready?”

Eira only suspected what Adela was truly asking. But even being unsure, she nodded. Whatever it was, she’d be ready.

Magic surged around the pirate queen. It swelled, overwhelming. Eira was drowning in the power such that she was left struggling to remember to breathe.

Adela’s eyes shone with intensity and Eira maintained her focus. Endless currents were propelled out from the pirate queen. They swirled around the Isle of Frost, cradled the Stormfrost , and stretched farther and farther into lands unknown. Places Eira could now sense, but had no cognition of what they looked like or what the power was doing in these distant places.

From one hand to the next—one essence to the next—it was transferred. One by one, Adela relaxed her control with a sigh. Eira was right there to push her power through the currents and channels, strengthening the voids left behind. There was nary a drop of the permafrost thawing around them. Not a whisper of warmer winds blustering over the Isle of Frost.

Adela released her and stepped back. She exhaled softly and rolled her shoulders back, as if feeling relief for the first time in years. The drain on Eira’s power was instant and immense. But she found it surprisingly manageable. Easier by the minute. Second nature, even.

The wind picked up, pushing the waves and sea foam between them.

“Good luck, Pirate Queen,” Adela said.

“Good luck, no one,” Eira replied.

A wicked smile, unbridled, crossed Adela’s lips. As if the idea of being “no one” was both a liberation and a challenge. As much of an invitation into the vast unknown as what Adela had given her.

She stepped into the skiff and the water swelled, carrying it out to sea. Eira remained still. Watching as the mightiest woman she’d ever known went alone to a vessel that would otherwise require a crew of ten to twenty, at least, to man. But Adela would do it on her own.

Eira watched as the skiff rose to the side of the vessel. As the currents carried it farther out to sea. As the first pirate queen disappeared over the horizon.

There was an immediate vacancy left in the wake of that ship. One Eira knew she had to fill. For the crew that now counted on her, for the legacy of a woman who had put tremendous faith in her, and for herself.

Pebbles crunched under her boots as she ascended the beach back to where Crow remained perched at the foot of the path that led back up the cliffs.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with her,” Eira said after a long stretch of silence.

Crow met her eyes and held them. “My place is with the Stormfrost , and the Pirate Queen Adela.”

A smirk curled the corners of Eira’s lips. The twinges of sorrow were giving way to excitement. To all the potential that now lay before her.

“Good. We have work to do.”

“Cast off!”

“Dog hatches!”

“Sails, now!”

The crew was a chorus, preparing the Stormfrost for departure from the Isle of Frost. She’d stayed long enough to ensure the other pirate leaders had properly kissed her frosty knuckles. To ensure they knew of the new missives from their pirate queen.

A few had to die, unfortunately. But wasn’t that always the way when it came to transitions of power? All things considered, she was pleased with the relative lack of bloodshed.

Behind her, Crow was perched. Eira stood at the bow, magic swelling with the tide to help glide the Stormfrost away from its mooring in the bay of the Isle of Frost and out to sea. Despite the shouts of the crew, the creaking of ropes, and the snap of the sails as the wind filled them, Eira could hear the familiar footsteps approaching on the deck and knew who was approaching without needing to turn around.

“Where are we off to, Captain?” Ducot came to a stop at her left-hand side.

“I think that Solaris has been quiet for far too long.”

“Are you sure it is wise to return there?” Crow chimed in, taking a small step forward. Her tone was informative rather than questioning. “There was a sort of fragile peace that was being honored.”

“There was .” She placed emphasis on the past tense. “But every peace eventually runs its course. And I think Solaris has felt a little too comfortable uttering the name Adela Lagmir of late.”

“The Senate will have something to say about this.” Cullen took his perch at her right hand, looking rather amused. The sun and sea loved him. They tousled his hair and tugged at the loose ties of his sleeveless shirt. He’d hammered muscles into his body that she’d never seen before from laboring on the deck. A physique she appreciated more by the day.

“Oh, I certainly hope so.” She flashed him a wild smile. “I recently learned of a passage through the mountains of Solarin—one that goes straight into the castle proper. We’ll give them something to talk about.”

Perhaps Cullen would find his father again along the way. Perhaps he wouldn’t bother. She’d give him the opportunity, and what he did with it would ultimately be up to him.

“Your heading, Captain?” Crow dutifully asked.

“Norin first. We’ve matters to attend to there.” She glanced in Ducot’s direction; in his hand was a worn pouch. Pirates weren’t often known for returning jewels. But there was a debt to the dead to be paid before anything else. “Then, to Oparium.” The closest port to the capital of Solaris, where her parents lived.

“And after that?” Cullen murmured. But what she heard was, What awaits us when every matter is settled in the life we once knew?

“After that…everything.” She turned, walking to the back railing that overlooked the main deck. The Pirate Queen known as Adela Lagmir addressed her crew. “ Stormfrost !” All eyes turned to her. “Let us catch the wind and the currents. Let us chase gold and glory. The world is ours for the taking!”