Live to Venture (#0)

13 | The Target of Adventure

Novari threw the knife at the target. It landed on the bullseye.

"Hell of a throw," Keira commented from the bed. She flipped through the book she was reading.

"You weren't looking," Novari said, tugging her knife from the wall.

"I've never seen you not make a bullseye, so I don't really need to look."

Novari spun around. "Have you spoken to Edward?" she asked.

Keira shook her head. "I'm surprised you give a shit."

Novari threw the knife again. "He'll blame me. I told them to put Bardarian back in the cells."

Keira looked up. "Sam getting shot was his own stupidity. Edward's lucky he lived."

Novari pulled out the knife again. "I shot one of his crew members for it."

Keira shrugged. "Seems fair."

There was a knock on the door, so she headed over and pushed it open. There was an older man in front of the door, one of Seira's faithfuls.

"There's a royal ship approaching," the man said, his voice shaking. "We'd like you up there."

Keira sat up quickly. "A royal ship?"

Novari spun her knife and pushed passed the man. She jogged down the hallway, up the stairs and out of the building, the frosty air coating the morning. Fog drifted in from the sea.

"Novari!"

She turned at the sound of her mother's voice, finding her off to the right with a group of the leaders.

"Royal fleet approaching," her mother said, lowering her voice and stepping away from the crowd.

"For me?"

"I'd guess."

Novari searched her eyes, then shook her head. "There's no way for him to know."

Seira sighed, but Novari saw the fear in her, clear as ever. "If they're coming from the Kingsland, they've known for a while. Somebody saw you in port, perhaps. It was bound to happen."

Novari glanced out at the fleet. That was a lot of ships; the King had pulled out his best cards for this.

Novari glanced over at the Avourienne, drifting silently, unmanned, then looked to her mother. "We can run," she said. "Take the Avourienne. It's almost dark. We'll be invisible."

Seira shook her head again, her yellow eyes blazing with that sparkling fear. "We can't sail that ship far on our own. Or with any of these useless people."

"The best captain in the sea is in our possession," Novari insisted. "He'll sail it for us."

Seira glanced down at her. "I won't run. Not from the King."

"You don't have a choice," Novari insisted. Her veins swarmed with that unfamiliar lack of control. Her mother almost always trusted her word, but when her pride got involved, nothing was for sure.

Seira turned to someone else and ordered the Sirens to attack.

Novari pursed her lips, finally fazed. It could work, but it probably wouldn't. Sirens were efficient and deadly, but these ships had to be familiar with what they were sailing into and know how to protect themselves.

Somehow, it appeared they didn't. They hardly put up a fight, and Novari watched as the Sirens sunk one after the other. Screams and cannons, but nothing else. Sparkling tails disappeared into the navy water behind sharp nails and teeth.