waited out on the deck, each of them straightening when we came out of the breezeway. Tru was at the bow, flicking a coin into the air and catching it.
I walked to the starboard railing and tossed the frock overboard. It fell through the air, green silk rippling before it landed in the slate-blue water.
West was right. Holland didn’t understand the Narrows. She thought that wealth and power could buy her way into Ceros, but she’d underestimated us. There was a lifeblood that connected the people who were born on those shores. The ones who sailed those waters. The people of the Narrows couldn’t be bought.
More than that, Holland had underestimated me.
I watched the dress sink, disappearing beneath the white foam.
It didn’t matter how much Holland tried to dress me up. I wasn’t my mother.
“You sure you don’t want us to come?” Paj asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of West and me going to the Trade Council meeting alone.
“I don’t want any of you anywhere near Holland,” he answered. “No matter what happens, be ready to set sail by nightfall. And let the kid go.” He tipped his head toward Tru.
I looked to Koy, then to the others. “Even if you have to leave without us, take him home.”
Hamish nodded, but Willa’s apprehension was plain on her face as she looked between us. West gave her a reassuring look, but it didn’t seem to help. She climbed the mast without a word.
“She’s fine,” Auster said. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”
West took the ladder first, and I climbed down after him. I looked back to the Marigold one more time as we made our way up and out of the harbor, saying my own kind of goodbye.
The Council District sat at the bottom of the same hill where Wolfe & Engel was perched. It was ensconced by bronze archways adorned with scrolling vines that held the seals of the five guilds: gem and rye merchants, sailmakers, smiths, and shipwrights. The most powerful people on the water and on the land.
The pier was built with thick beams of oiled mahogany, carved with the same seals that marked the archways. West stayed close to me as I stepped into the crowd of fine frocks, pinned curls, and tailored suits headed into the district. I could spot the merchants and traders from the Narrows easily, their sea-swept hair and clothes standing out among the crisp, clean colors. They all drifted toward the enormous open doors ahead.
Holland was waiting at the entrance, her gloved hands tucked into her fur stole. When she spotted us, she frowned.
She looked sourly at my clothes as we neared her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“No one was going to believe I was a dredger, much less a trader, in that ridiculous costume,” I muttered. “If you want to use me to bait the Narrows Trade Council, then I can’t look like a Saltblood.”
She sneered at me. She knew I was right, but she didn’t like it. “I’ll have that ship at the bottom of the sea by sundown if either of you get in the way of what I’m doing here.” Not even a hint of anger flashed in her silvery eyes. “Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I answered.
“About time.” A smooth voice spoke behind me, and I turned to see Henrik Roth standing over me. A plum-colored bowtie was tied around his neck, his face freshly shaved.
I tried to read him, desperately hoping that he wasn’t about to ruin everything.
“What are you doing here?” Holland growled.
Henrik hooked his thumbs into the suspenders beneath his jacket. “Thought I’d come and watch all the fun.”
There was something unsettling in his smile. As if at any moment, his lips would spread to reveal fangs.
“Can’t get in without a merchant’s ring or a trading license,” he said. “So I thought you’d invite me as your guest.”
I could see Holland weighing her options. She could refuse and risk a scene—one that could reveal her connection to Henrik—or she could agree and risk the same thing happening inside. Either way, she could lose.
She took a step toward him. “You try anything and you won’t make it out of the pier alive.”
“Fine by me.” He smiled.
Holland gave an exasperated sigh before she led us to the threshold of the pier.
“They’re with me,” she said smoothly as the man at the door studied her merchant’s ring.
He answered with a nod, eyeing Henrik. He recognized him, and he wouldn’t be the only one who would.