Starsinger

Secrets

It was late afternoon when they cut the lines between the Drake and the brig. Katrina shouted at her crew to unfurl the sails and they caught the wind with a snap. Slowly they pulled away from the brig, now silent as her entire crew sat tied to her main mast, staring after the departing schooner. In a few hours they'd wriggle out of their bonds and head for shore – though with the mass of cargo the Drake had carried over, they might not have enough coin left for the docking tax. Aaron couldn't bring himself to be concerned. He leaned over the stern of the ship, watching as the brig slowly shrank until it was just a dot on the watery horizon.

"First battle?"

Aaron jumped as Matty came up behind him. The big man smiled apologetically. "I know you Conservatory guards are well-trained, but I imagine you don't see much action defending scholars."

Right. At Aaron's age a Conservatory watchdog might well be unblooded, but he was too tired to make a convincing show of the lie.

"First at sea," he hedged. That was true enough.

Matty nodded. "Handled yourselves well. I was glad to hear Doc said your Mistress Robin made out okay too, in the end. Any word on when Delia might recover? I know mage burnout is an uncertain thing, but Neal's fair worried about her, and he doesn't seem too comfortable visiting while your man is keeping watch."

Aaron was saved from having to untangle that particular rat's nest when Katrina barked for her first mate. Curious, Aaron followed Matty belowdecks.

Bumps and curses echoed from the cargo hold as the crew maneuvered the heavy crates of treasures they'd taken from their attackers. Katrina stood in the middle of it all, directing the tides of human and trade.

"Mattox, good. The fellows at the fore need a nursemaid. They thought they'd found a chest of copper bars that turned out to be filled to bursting with copper wire, and now the spools are rolling everywhere. Go teach the children how not to make a mess of my things."

"Aye, captain."

He started off, but Katrina pulled him back and planted a kiss on his bearded mouth. "There," she said with a roguish wink. "Now you're dismissed."

Aaron watched Matty amble to the fore of the cargo hold, grinning impishly.

"Is Matty short for Matthias?" he asked. "Or Mattox, or whatever else you've called him?"

"Nope. His mother named him plain old Matty, which if you ask me shows a real lack of imagination." She pointed two free crewmembers towards another chest. "I've been trying to make up for it ever since."

"How generous," said Raelyn.

Aaron turned to see the princess in her cot, propped carefully against a stack of crates with Jace at her side.

"She insisted she'd die of boredom if I kept her in her room," Jace explained. "This is our compromise."

"Generous. Now there's a word I don't hear often. Not to describe me, in any case." Katrina leaned close to Raelyn. "How are you feeling, mistress?"

"Sore. You really do spoil your passengers. A woman in my line of work isn't used to so much excitement."

Katrina grinned. "Don't forget the stellar accomodations."

"Captain!"

Zak and two sailors Aaron hadn't met were dragging over a thickly insulated crate. "It's from the brig. We don't know what to do with it."

"Exactly what I've been telling you to do – check the contents, mark it and store it for weight balance."

"Trouble is, captain, we're not sure what the contents are."