with satisfaction, Ferrick nods and steps aside so I can access the stairs leading below deck. I take them quickly, and with a ship this small, it doesn’t take long to find who I’m looking for.
He’s fastened to a post, bound tightly at the waist and hands. Though I know it’s him, his face isn’t one I recognize upon first glance. He’s aged significantly since we last met, his skin wrinkled and sun damaged. His once smooth, clean-shaven face is now covered with a thick gray beard that stretches down the length of his stout neck. But as different as he looks, I recognize his jaded green eyes, the burnt skin of his throat, and his missing left finger—wounds left over from our fight last summer.
Blarthe.
A man directly responsible for illegally time trading on over a hundred counts. One responsible for poaching a mermaid, the most endangered, protected species in our kingdom. He destroyed the lives of dozens and took advantage of their suffering in a time of need, and subjected Vataea to years of atrocity.
This is a man who deserves every bit of what he got, and more. He’s one whose execution I would not hesitate to sentence. He deserves to burn before all of Kerost for the damage he’s caused.
“Hello, Princess.” Blarthe flashes teeth that are no longer pearly white, but blackened with rot and decay. Several are missing from where I burned them away.
“You’ll address me as queen, now.” I crouch before the time trader, taking in how poorly he’s aged. “Is this what you really look like? Gods, no wonder you took to time trading. Someone should have put you out to sea ages ago.”
He spits at my feet, but I don’t flinch. With all the blood that stains them now, I’d planned to have these boots burned. But Blarthe needs to remember who’s in charge.
In one fluid motion I have Rukan out of its sheath and against his throat. His focus narrows on the strange navy blade as he tries to retract from the tiny iridescent specks that move within it.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Lusca? I took this from it as a parting gift.” I press the hooked blade forward enough to scare him, but am careful enough not to break skin. The last thing I want is to poison him when I still need him alive. He’s not only a gift for Vataea, after all. His capture is how I’ll win back Kerost’s trust.
Spite darkens his eyes. “I’ve heard the rumors about you, you know. They say the new queen refuses to use her magic.”
“Look at the blood I wear on my clothes and skin and you’ll see those are nothing more than rumors.” I tease the tip of Rukan against the knob of his throat, heat boiling within me. But it’s not enough to make him shut up.
“You forget I was there when Kaven tried to take Kerost. Unlike so many, I saw what his magic could do. I know he had the ability to curse away magic.”
I sheathe Rukan before I’m tempted to poison Blarthe and be done with it. “Say another word and I’ll take your tongue.”
Blarthe doesn’t falter, though there’s a tremor in his words that he fights to conceal. “Anyone who knows Kaven’s magic will be able to figure it out, girl. Take my tongue if you must, but know this—silence me, and you’ll never get your magic back. I can help you.”
The laugh that rips through me is practically a bark. “Do you take me for a fool?”
“I take you for someone who knows that not all myths are fake.” His eyes flicker to Rukan’s hilt, and I clench the blade tighter. “Aren’t you curious what I was searching for when your soldiers found me?”
“Not particularly. I brought you here to be tried for your crimes, and because there’s a mermaid who I’m sure would love to have a say in your punishment. I’ve no interest in whatever you were searching for.” But that last part’s a lie. The edge in his voice has admittedly made my blasted curiosity flare more than I care to admit.
“I was searching for an artifact the legends say was left behind by the gods themselves.” Blarthe’s focus doesn’t waver as he presses on with the desperation of a man fighting for his life. “It’s one that has the power to enhance magic more than you could ever believe. It’s said that, with it, a person could wield the power of