Nights of Salt and Shadow (Skyelorn Chronicles #4)

Chapter 6

A Royal Risk

Ash could hardly bear to look Kierran in the face as the day wore on, though he could feel the old man's worry in the air like a wave of heat as he attempted to busy himself around the shop.

Ash already knew that there was no possible way the Magiran could be paid the outrageous sum he'd demanded from Kierran, and dread slowly pooled in the pit of his stomach.

What would become of the shop — of Ash — when he failed to provide the money and everybody learned the secret of where the infamous Scourge of the Sea resided? He could see it now in his mind, thousands of Magirans disembarking from their ships and flooding towards the Shellside Emporium, tearing apart the very rafters to take back their stolen goods.

Tearing apart the rafters that Kierran had spent his entire life building. Tearing apart the only home that the two of them had ever known.

Suddenly, Ash felt as if his throat were too small to take in the air he needed.

"I'm going outside," he gasped, earning only a somber nod from Kierran in reply. He barreled through the front door and into the street, which was unusually busy with afternoon shoppers. He danced around a few slow-moving tourists and secluded himself beside a rubbish can behind the Emporium, pressing his palms flat against the wall as he just—tried—to—breathe. He caught sight of his face in a puddle of discolored mystery liquid, and realized that — somehow — he looked even worse than he had the night before.

Pull yourself together, he thought, looking into his reflection. His own eyes stared back at him like a challenge.

He was Asher Flough, one of the best boat captains in the kingdom of Karvoth. He was yearned after by every young woman with a working pair of eyes. He survived impossible odds and always came out on the other side victorious.

So why did he feel like an entirely different man? Like the cursed thing in his brain was finally catching up to him, forcing him to pay for his years of evading the ugly truth, the truth that he was utterly alone.

His parents had left him. Even Lane had left him, and Kierran...well, he probably wasn't far behind.

Sick of his own thoughts, Ash pushed away from the wall and started to walk briskly, venturing further into the oldest sector of Anchorstead. Here, the buildings looked far more permanent, like they'd been around since the dawn of time. Most were stout and brick, with fine white trims and manicured gardens that were more reminiscent of wooded forests than the beach. The people that milled around here looked rich as well, but in a different manner than the gluttonous Magirans.

This was the part of the city where Karvothian nobility lived. Most of them had traveled away from the capitol of Pathos following the war, eager to partake in the bustling new Sea trade. Ash almost despised them as much as he despised the Magirans. It was evident from their antiquated dress and the dated trinkets that decorated their windows that they had been well-off far before the Battle of Magira. Meaning the majority of them had earned their wealth supporting Harlan Winship. Even here, all the way from the street, Ash spied small flags in their windows that displayed the outdated royal crest. It might as well have said, "We're all bigots here! We still live in the past and nothing you say can yank us out of it!"

Whenever Ash complained about people who still displayed the crest, Lane would shrug and say, "The way I see it, I like seeing the flags. It helps me figure out who to avoid." Lane had always been so proud of her magic and fearless when it came to those who hated her for it. It was one of the things Ash admired the most about her. And now he felt the urge, once again, to go to her house and beg for her to stay.

But it would have been selfish to ask her to stick around in the mess that he'd made, especially when she'd tried to warn him about how tricky Magiran nobles could be. Lane deserved better than someone who never heeded her, and maybe she would find more Mages like her near the capitol.