his soft black hair tickling his skin. His hair was getting long. “The woes of parenthood?”
“It’s absurd. She’s bigger than Arrow! And probably stronger, too.”
Hearing his name, Arrow came to them, pressing his head against Kalai’s chest for a hug.
Kalai wrapped his arms around Arrow’s head and rubbed his chin. “Remember to pace yourself,” Kalai told him. “She’s not as fast as you, and you’ll tire out quicker.”
Arrow grumbled out a huff as if he understood.
Tauran stayed where he was as Kalai scaled a nearby hill with the dragons in tow. Kalai spoke to Arrow and pointed. Then Arrow stretched his wings and took to the air. Leyra looked over her shoulder at Tauran, then followed, clumsier and slower, but she quickly caught up, Arrow circling around her before setting the course west, north-west.
And then they were alone.
Tauran mounted the mare, offering Kalai a hand to join him. They rode the last miles along the shore to Salas, the small fishing village on Kykaros’ western coast, where ironwood gangways stretched into the water, boats anchored alongside ready to ferry traders and travelers between Kykaros and Sharoani.
They weren’t the majestic ships Tauran had envisioned, but hardly larger than ordinary fishing boats. Two were docked, rocking gently on the waves, and while Tauran knew little about boats, it was obvious even to him that there wouldn’t be much room to stand upright below deck.
Kalai looked less surprised as they dismounted Isku and tied her to a hitching post by the fishing huts. Tauran supposed Kalai would have come to Kykaros by boat, too.
Kalai had been unusually subdued, lately. Tauran didn’t have to guess why. He was struggling with the pills, and while Tauran tried his hardest to lend his support he could tell how determined Kalai was to handle it alone. It worried Tauran. He’d watched him take the pills, one at morning and one at night, and a part of him had hoped Kalai would have been further along by now, but he didn’t want Kalai to feel pressured by his concern, so he kept quiet. Maybe it was a bad decision, but there was little Tauran wouldn’t do to make Kalai happy. Besides, he trusted Kalai, and if Kalai said he could handle it, Tauran would take his word for it.
The harbor was as empty as the beach had been. The people ferrying across must be mostly traders. Even after sharing these lands for hundreds of years, the Kykarosi and the Sharoani rarely mingled.
The overseer was a hardened older gentleman who accepted none of Tauran’s attempts at haggling. Ferrying a horse across the Inner Sea wasn’t cheap, since they apparently also had to pay insurance in case the horse spooked and broke something on board. In the end, Tauran cashed out. It wasn’t as if they’d had much else to spend their money on since leaving Valreus.
In the meantime, Kalai found a vendor nearby and purchased fresh supplies, which, to Tauran’s bitter disappointment, consisted mostly of various types of dried and salted fish. Kalai apologized, swearing it was all they had. And while Tauran would have preferred to sink his teeth into potatoes or silverhorn steak, it was at least better than travel rations and unseasoned game.
The skies were blue and the breeze strong when they boarded their hired ride, The Grasshopper.
There was only one problem.
Tauran hadn’t accounted for the possibility that being on the water would make him sicker than he’d ever been in his life.
* * *
Tauran spent the following two days, and a good portion of the nights, either bent over the side of the boat, or stretched out and moaning on one of the tiny cots below, and not in any desirable way. Rather, in the worst way he could imagine.
Turned out, he wouldn’t have to eat a single bite of the dried, salted fish, because even the smell of it sent him heaving, forcing both Kalai and the captain to take breakfast, lunch and dinner on deck.
The lower deck was cramped, over half the space reserved for supplies. Tauran was certain the cots were built for children. Laying flat on his back, his shoulder extended a good ten inches over the side, and his legs were permanently bent, feet curled into the corner of the cot which did nothing good for his left leg.
Kalai spent most of his time with Tauran, endlessly patient, ensuring he was comfortable and had enough to drink. Kalai never lost his temper when Tauran snapped and then quickly apologized. He