Page 118 of An Heir of Frost
Eira took a moment with the words, allowing the meaning to settle on her. Adela thought Eira would have some amount of sway with Vi. Enough to broker some kind of understanding, if the princess lived. But what her heart really settled on was the implication that Adelawouldgo back to Meru again.
That she was looking after Eira.
“You’ll return to Meru?”
“We’ll see what happens.” Adela glanced at her from the corners of her eyes. Slightly amused, but also cautioning not to pry too far into the hidden meanings of her words. “But, at the very least, I think there are some Pillar ships in the western waters that I can enjoy sending beneath the waves. And, you still need my help to draw out these echoes in the way you intend.”
“What do you want in return for your continued aid?” Eira knew Adela too well to think anything was charity. Little was done purely out of the goodness of Adela’s heart.
Adela exhaled the confident front she always wore, her shoulders sagging for a rare second of what almost looked like vulnerability. She stared back out the windows of theStormfrost. But just as quickly, she looked inward, motioning to her cabin.
“As I said…power is not immortality. I cannot deny the ache in my bones. Or the wavering of my magic. Even a slip of a girl like you has felt it. While I think there are a good many years ahead of me, eventually, Death will come. And then what happens to all this? All I’ve built? My crew?” In tone alone, Eira knew the last one was the one Adela worried about most. “Was it all for naught? Will it fade into the sea? Will my crew squabble over my riches? Will one day the rumors of the Pirate Queen Adela stop living on the tongues of men? Will a dawn come where people do not tremble at the idea of my curse?”
“I doubt that could ever be the case in Oparium,” Eira offered hopefully.
Adela shook her head. “All legends die, without magnificent and terrible deeds to offer new moments worth talking about.”
The pirate queen shifted, crossing one icy leg over the other and looking pointedly at Eira. She leaned against one armrest, toward Eira. Her stare was pure intensity.
“So, what I ask for my continued aid is this: Once your battle on Meru is over, come back to the sea for good. Cast off your landbound tethers, board my ship, and take the Lagmir name.”
“What?” Eira breathed softly.
“You still have much to learn, but there is time for me to teach you.”
“You…want to give me theStormfrost? The Lagmir name?” Eira whispered. Her whole body tingled with a rush of apprehension. With excitement.
“Should you continue to prove yourself worthy.” Adela gave a slight nod. “You have exceeded my every test thus far. You would be a suitable heir, so long as you don’t disappoint me.”
“But I’m not your daughter.” No matter how much time had passed, how long Eira’d had to accept the fact as truth, it stillhurt to say. It still brought out the small part of her that was frightened. That was searching for a place to belong, desperate to find one beyond herself.
“You are not my blood. But that does not mean you cannot be my heir. Were I to have ever had a daughter, I would’ve hoped for her to be much like you.” Adela continued to stare at her with the same intensity. The same ferocity. “Well, Eira, what say you? Will you continue to learn all I have to teach? Do you cast in your lot with this icy, salt-crusted pirate from here to eternity?”
Eira took in a slow breath and let the offer settle on her. Doing this would change her life forever. It would put her in charge of more people—more risks like Noelle. It would make her responsible for all of them. Their happiness. Their sorrows. She would have to grow, constantly, stronger than ever before. She would learn magic beyond her wildest imaginations.
And, when she thought there was nothing more in her, she would have to find more to give.
Eira exhaled with a nod and a single word. “Yes.”
