Page 83 of Saint
“A ship.” Those two words were like quick strikes of lightning.
My pulse raced, making my head feel light. The platform beneath my feet suddenly seemed to be tilting.
There wasn’t a single sound in the room now. That was the last thing anyone could have expected him to say.
“There’s a pier in Dern, where a newly constructed schooner is anchored and waiting to set sail,” Saint continued. “This is the deed.”
The master of the Sailmakers Guild rose to her feet, leaning on the table with both hands. “A ship,” she repeated. “For a dredger?”
Saint stared at her, letting his silence answer for him. He wasn’t just careful with his words. He didn’t like repeating them either.
Across the room, no one looked more shocked than Zola. He shifted on his feet, his reddened face darkening by the minute.
“Saint,” I tried again, keeping my voice low.
I reached for the sleeve of his jacket, but he ignored me, stepping off the platform and making his way to the Council’s table. He handed the deed to the master of the Sailmakers Guild and she stared at him for a long moment before she opened it and read the words inked onto the page. When she was finished, her eyes flickered up to Edgar.
“It seems to be genuine,” she said.
“This can’t be…” Zola flung a hand at Saint. “I can’t imagine you would allow such a ridiculous—”
“Are you telling us you don’t think the worth of a ship covers the cost of a one-year contract with a dredger?” The woman cut him off.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” He spoke through gritted teeth.
“I want to be sure you understand the charge, sir,” she began again, looking to Saint. “You’ve been accused of poaching a fellow trader’s contracted dredger, the restitution for which is a fine of eight hundred coppers and the return of the dredger to the ship she’s contracted to.”
“I understand.”
“But you want to purchase the contract instead? With an entire ship?”
“I think it’s a fair offer.”
“A bit more than fair, I’d say,” she said, looking to Zola. “With theLuna,theAsteris the makings of a fleet. Is there any reason you find this offer deficient?”
“No,” he growled.
“Then we have a deal.” Saint turned to Zola, who appearedas if he were going to fall off the platform. He extended his hand.
Arguing further would only make the Council wonder what made me so valuable, and Zola wouldn’t risk that. I hoped.
He swallowed hard before he stepped down to the floor and took Saint’s hand, shaking. The crowd of merchants was already breaking up when the doors at the back of the room opened, and the Trade Council stood, gathering their books and papers.
I stood there, still frozen in place as Saint walked toward us, and then his hand was at my back, guiding me through the room. My breaths were coming too deep now. Too fast. The air was too hot.
It wasn’t until the sunlight hit my face that I felt like I could begin putting together what exactly had just happened. “What the hell are you doing?” I whispered. “Go back and tell them you changed your mind. That you’re not giving him theAster.”
“No” was his only reply.
I looked to Clove, expecting him to agree. But there was a shadow of a smirk on his lips now as he looked between us. He understood something here that I didn’t.
“Did you mean it when you said you wanted to build something that’s not theirs?” Saint asked, keeping his voice low. He met my eyes, waiting.
I let out a heavy breath. “Yes.”
“So did I.”
This time when I looked to Clove, he only shrugged. “He’s the helmsman.” That twinkle lit in his eye again.
