decreed Petition Day at an end. The few remaining petitioners exuded a low grumble of disappointment as they filed out, but knew better than to make any overt protestations. To Vaelin’s surprise, Ellese remained in her seat as the chamber cleared, a rare contemplative frown on her brow.
“Something wrong?” he asked her.
“The man with the scroll,” she said. “He had a scar.”
“Yes, I saw. You did well to spot it. He’s a warrior of some kind, or more likely a spy. The Merchant Kings are well known for their fondness for espionage. Don’t worry, we have our own spies. Lord Orven ensured they’ve been closely watched since their arrival.”
“It wasn’t just the scar . . .” She trailed off, shaking her head and rising from her chair. “It seems I can never escape my suspicious nature. Mother’s influence. I’ll forgo dinner, if you don’t mind, Uncle. Delightful as I find your company, I really should check on Scrapper. She’s still a youngster, gets jittery if she’s on her own for too long.”
Scrapper was Ellese’s horse, which meant she intended to visit the stables where Sehmon, the outlaw turned indentured servant, would be bedding down for the night. The urge to order her to her room was strong, as was the desire to nail it shut for the next few years, but Vaelin knew such tactics had failed before. The tighter I bind the leash, Reva’s letter had said, the more delight she takes in breaking it.
He was tempted to remind Ellese of her words to Olna but stopped his tongue. In all likelihood she had already sought out a wise woman with the requisite herbs. Instead, he said, “Be back before the changing of the midnight watch.”
“I will.” She stepped close to peck a kiss to his cheek before hurrying off. “Love you, Uncle. Thanks for taking me hunting.”
CHAPTER FOUR
This one.” Alum’s finger tapped at the symbol depicted in the ledger, a shield enclosing two crossed sabres beneath a cracked and bleeding heart. “The ships all bore this flag.”
“The Forlorn Blades,” Kerran said, peering at the recently penned script alongside the symbol. “A fairly troublesome lot, to be sure. Until recently that is. This is the first report we’ve had of them for some months.” She pointed to a red X inscribed below the symbol. “This indicates the Merchants’ Guild believes this particular group to have been wiped out. A not uncommon occurrence these days.” She waved a hand at the other entries on the page, Vaelin counting another ten Xs below the various pirate motifs.
“They’re feuding again,” he concluded. “Piracy has dropped off recently, but I assumed it was due to the increased number of warships escorting the convoys.”
“Some kind of power struggle seems to be playing itself out,” Kerran agreed. “We keep hearing rumours of a new pirate alliance far to the south in the Opal Isles. However, firm intelligence eludes us. Pirates are ever a secretive lot and surprisingly loyal.”
“The Opal Isles?” Alum asked.
Kerran reached for a map and unfurled it on her desk. It was a sailor’s chart, inscribed with numerous lines and notations beyond Vaelin’s understanding, but he did recognise the long, varied coastline of the southernmost regions of the continent that Realm Folk referred to as the Far West.
“Here,” Kerran said, pointing to an archipelago of numerous islands stretching across the lower Arathean Ocean that stretched between the Far West and the western extremity of the Alpiran Empire. “It’s a mostly lawless region, despite repeated attempts by both the Merchant Kings and successive Alpiran Emperors to bring it to heel. The plentiful channels and inlets make for excellent hiding places. The isles are dotted with pirate settlements, some quite large and well populated.”
“So these Forlorn Blades could have sailed there?” Vaelin asked.
“Possibly,” Kerran said, “but if they had slaves to sell, it’s more likely they’d head for one of the ports in the Enlightened Kingdom.” Kerran’s finger tracked to the mainland north of the Opal Isles. “The Merchant King dynasty here has a long-standing tolerance for the slave trade not shared with their brother kings in the north. It’s thanks to this that the queen forbade Realm merchants from trading with the Enlightened Kingdom three years ago.”
“I remember,” Vaelin said, recalling an unusually tense meeting with an ambassador from the court of the Enlightened Kingdom. Unlike Ambassador Kohn, the man hadn’t known a word of Realm Tongue, and his clumsy attempts to have his interpreter translate an offered bribe had been an embarrassment to