Snake Heart (Chains of Honor #2) -Lindsay Buroker Page 0,60
son you haven’t seen in eighteen years? Do you really care one way or another about him? You’ve never indicated your family mattered to you.”
Yanko couldn’t be surprised at the statement—or that she did not refute it—but it stung, nonetheless. How could a woman not care at all about the children she had birthed?
“I didn’t think I did,” she finally said, “but it’s been interesting meeting him. And he has a lot of potential as a mage, especially if he hasn’t had any formal schooling. I could train him, and it wouldn’t take long for him to become very powerful.”
“Train him? You get annoyed when you have to teach cabin boys to tie anchor hitches. You’re not known for your patience in dealing with neophytes.”
“Not when they’re idiots, no.”
Gramon snorted. “You don’t think he’s an idiot? He’s eighteen. All eighteen-year-old boys are idiots.”
“A rousing endorsement for your gender.”
“I’m a realist. What are you going to get out of training the boy? He’ll escape at the first chance. He’s loyal to Nuria.”
“Maybe, maybe not. If he could be convinced to join us, another powerful mage would be a great asset.”
This time, Gramon paused. Stunned to silence?
“So long as you don’t give him my job,” he finally grumbled.
“Your job is to keep my toes warm at night. They frown on that kind of relationship between mothers and sons in Nuria.”
Gramon grumbled something indecipherable and walked away.
A soft scrape sounded at Yanko’s door, and he skittered back, afraid she was coming back in.
We’ll talk later, Yanko, Pey Lu spoke into his mind as she walked away.
Yanko scooted back to the bed, feeling uneasy as he realized she had probably known he was listening to everything. Maybe he should have felt bolstered that she didn’t want to torture him. Somehow, the idea of her wanting him as an apprentice was more alarming than having her as an enemy. It disturbed him even more to think of the crimes he had perpetrated on his way to this place. However inadvertent they had been, he was now wanted in Nuria and Kyatt. Only by getting the lodestone, returning home with it, and handing it to Zirabo could he hope to have his name cleared and his honor returned. Any other path would be unacceptable. To even be seen on this ship with his mother could make it all the more difficult for the Great Chief to trust him in the future.
He sank down to the floor and dropped his face into his hands.
Chapter 14
Sawing and hammering came from the deck above, someone repairing the hole over the captain’s cabin, Yanko’s senses told him. He couldn’t go look with his eyes. It had been several hours since Pey Lu’s visit, and a guard had since been placed outside his door, a rangy Kendorian man with two red braids that dangled down to his butt and no fewer than six pistols hanging about his body. The pirate said nothing if Yanko stuck his head out, but escorted him if he went anywhere and blocked the way if he tried to head to the top deck. So far, only visits to the head seemed to be encouraged. It was just as well. All of the pirates he crossed gave him dark looks and many arranged to bump against his shoulder as they passed.
Pey Lu might be willing to forgive him for boarding and killing people while they had been fighting with another ship, but nobody else seemed inclined. He couldn’t imagine any of them would be pleased if she announced he would be staying aboard as her new apprentice.
A knock sounded at the door, and once again, it opened before he could check who was out there or decide if he wanted to invite the person to enter. Pey Lu walked in, alone this time. She carried the red warrior mage robe under her arm, the garment cleaned, dried, and folded. She set it on the desk, shooed Kei off his perch on the back of the chair, and sat down.
“Puntak, puntak,” Kei announced indignantly as he flew about, seeking another perch. There weren’t many places for talons in the small cabin, and Yanko wasn’t surprised when the parrot landed on his shoulder.
“At least he doesn’t call me a pirate bastard,” Pey Lu said.
Yanko wished Kei would. Using the slurs for Nurians did not seem appropriate, not when his mother cared nothing for the country into which she had been born.