Page 172 of Sword & Sacrifice

“Sit down, all of you,” Moira ordered. “I hate nothing more than people hovering over me.”

The captain’s quarters had several soft chairs to sit in. No wonder the ‘valuable guest’ hid himself away in here, Emmaline thought as she tucked a pillow into her lap, squeezing it tightly for emotional support.

Cal and the other man sat down as well, forming a small, intimate circle around the captain’s desk.

“Go on then,” Moira said, gesturing to Emmaline. “Pay your fare.”

Emmaline took a deep breath and launched into the story, right from the beginning. This time, she held nothing back—not even her tears as she told them about her mother sending her away or being falsely imprisoned in Sparrow Hill. Captain Moira showed no emotion during the whole story, not even reacting to Echo’s role in Emmaline’s kidnapping. When she finally reached the meeting between her father and Varro, the captain’s eyes sharpened, and she sat up a little straighter in her chair.

“That’s all you heard?” she demanded.

“Is it … is it not enough?” Emmaline asked, her voice rough from tears and speaking for too long. She desperately needed passage to Litus, but if the captain didn’t accept her information as payment, she had nothing else to offer.

Moira’s noise wrinkled in distaste. “Oh gods, she’s leaking again. Echo, could you?”

Echo passed Emmaline an embroidered handkerchief. She accepted it gladly and clutched it to her face as she tried to get her own tears under control. “It’s all right, Em,” they whispered, rubbing her shoulder. “I’ll take it from here.”

Echo stood up, hands behind their back, eyes locked somewhere above the captain’s head. When they spoke next, Everett Shaw’s voice escaped their lips. “Where is my wife?”

“You know as well as I do how difficult it is to contain a mage.” This time, they’d exactly copied Varro’s deep, irritated voice. “Alistair is taking care of her. Once you fulfill your part of the bargain, she’s all yours.”

The conversation progressed like that, with Echo taking on both roles simultaneously. “Fine. What are your terms?”

“We’re happy to trade the witch and guarantee legitimate trade routes between Bellacosta and our allied kingdoms. In exchange, you will take your ships—all seven of them, Everett, don’t think we’ll be satisfied with half-assed efforts—to Bellacosta’s shores, carrying me and my men. We’ll attack together, take out that idiotic boy-king, and establish proper order in the kingdom again. I trust we have your support?”

Before Echo could finish, the other man jumped to his feet. “They’re planning to kill Silas? Moira, we have to—”

“Sit down, Braden,” Moira ordered.

He hesitated, then slowly lowered himself back into his seat.

“Of course I won’t take this new alliance lightly,” Moira continued. “Though I was under the impression Alistair was out of the picture.” Her harsh eyes cut accusingly to Cal.

He raised his hands to defend himself. “You know as much as I do. I left Bellacosta at the beginning of the war. Last any of us heard, Alistair and Varro were both imprisoned after their coup failed. Since no one even knows where I am, of course I’m not going to hear anything more about their escape.”

“One mage is no small matter,” Moira continued, “but three? My crew isn’t prepared for that kind of firepower.”

“It’s not going to be three mages,” Echo said. “Not in Bellacosta, at least. Varro was clear on that: it’s his men and Everett’s who will attack Litus. Everyone else is off doing something else.”

Moira crossed her arms as she looked between Echo and Emmaline. “Are you trying to be a knight in shining armor for your princess?”

Echo grinned. “I’m a lot of things, Captain, but I’ve never been motivated by anything as altruistic as love. Picture this: we can eliminate one of our biggest rivals and a traitor with one decisive canon blast. King Silas is so satisfied with our performance that he offers us exclusive contracts for the Bellacostan sea trade routes.”

“And Arnsveldian,” Cal added quietly. “If all the rumors are true, new trade routes will be opening between the two kingdoms.”

“Arnsveld doesn’t have port cities,” Moira grunted.

“No, but they’ll want supplies delivered before winter, and right now, your ships are the fastest route.”

Moira tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the desk.

Emmaline watched all of this without saying anything. Finally, she took a deep breath and focused on the captain. “I understand if you don’t want to risk your people, but someone needs to warn them of the impending attack. If you simply deliver me safely to Litus, I will speak to both King Archer and King Silas on your behalf.”

Temptation flashed in the captain’s eyes. “So I’ll gain the trade routes without risking any of my people?”

“If that’s what you choose,” Emmaline said solemnly.

Braden opened his mouth as if to argue, but Moira held up a hand, cutting him off. “A fine deal, Miss Emmaline, but I have to decline.”