A princess in search of her past. A boy driven by money. A crew that is loyal to the end.
Princess Ria is adopted, and she has lived with the acceptance that she will never know her real parents. But when she learns of the existence of her adoption...
Ria's rifle popped and through the iron sight, she saw the head of her target snap and the man dropped in an instant. Reynar shot his rifle after hers and the other guard in the watchtower went down. Two shots fired from the Opal.
Her breath came out in heavy huffs and an exhilarating wave took over her whole body--an energy that she was so used to feeling everytime she pulled the trigger. But this time, she wasn't hunting. This time, a person was at the receiving end.
Reynar laughed. "Looks like you're a good shot after all."
She pulled her eyes from the iron sight and watched as he grinned, stretching the small scar of his right cheek.
"They're not dead, are they?" She had to ask even though she knew they were using sleeping bullets.
Reynar laughed again. "No, but they're going to get nasty headaches and ugly bruises when they wake up."
Ria heard whispered cheers from below. She looked down over the railing from the crow's nest but it was too dark to see whose shadows were moving about on the deck.
"Pay up," Juli's voice came.
Ria realized that they'd made bets on whether she would shoot or not, and it boosted her confidence to know that Juli placed a wager on her.
Though her chest still ached from the hard beating of her heart, her hands had steadied. She had done it--the first step to get her closer to that document.
"We're coming up on the next islet," Reynar said, going back into position, rifle in hand.
A blink of firelight appeared on the horizon, and the dark silhouette of the islet formed against the starry background.
"I'll shoot first then you," Reynar said. "I got eyes on two men in the watchtower. The third one must be on the ground."
Ria scanned the beach through the iron sight but she couldn't see the third guard.
"Tell me you got eyes on the third one, lady," Reynar said.
She huffed out breaths as if she was running, sweeping from one end of the islet to another. Nothing but bushes appeared through the iron sight.
"Talk to me, lady," Reynar ordered.
She did another sweep until she noticed the movement of a shadow coming toward the bonfire on the beach.
"I got him," she said, aiming.
She heard Reynar's gun pop and she pulled the trigger. The sound of the muzzled rifle came unusual, the gun quaking in her hands as the bullet exploded out of the barrel. Surprisingly, it was easier to shoot this time. The guard on the beach dropped. Another pop came from Reynar's rifle. Three shots fired from the Opal.
"Yeah!" Sam's voice rose from below. "Pay up, Juli."
Ria shook her head, smirking out an awkward laugh. They had placed bets for the second round too. She was disappointed in Juli but she thought it funny and typical for the crew to turn this into a game.
She turned to Reynar. "So, did you win?" She asked without needing to elaborate.
"Both rounds." Reynar grinned. "Ten pridas." His blue eyes shone bright in the darkness.
A short laugh trembled her throat, growing more assured that this job was going to be easy. But she didn't want to be too confident. Taking out the guards on the first two islets was the easy part. Things would get more difficult once they land on the main island of the Belona isles.
The soft sound of the Opal's engine died and the ship slowed, only its momentum kept it moving.
Ria looked down at the deck below and she could make out Juli and Sam's shadow leaning over the railing at the front of the ship. Migal would likely be right under the main mast. The captain and Rodri would be at the helm and the rest of the crew would be working the boiler room. Gin was nowhere to be seen but he should be in the water by now, swimming to Mavita to take out the guards on the ground.
"Here we go," Reynar said, peeking into the iron sight of his rifle.
Ria did the same and saw the island grew large covering the dark horizon until it was all that she could see in the distance.
They came close enough to see the beach when the Opal stopped.
"Why did we stop?" Ria asked, keeping her eyes on the island.
Reynar shushed her. "I got eyes on Gin."
Frantically, she searched the beach. Why hadn't she found Gin first? She swept from right to left until she saw him running toward the treeline.
Gin came up behind the first guard. It was too dark to see what he did but the man fell on the ground.
Reynar's rifle popped beside her and she almost pulled her trigger too, but she was aiming at nothing. She scanned Gin's surroundings until she saw movement coming out from the treeline. As soon as she had a clear shot, she didn't stop to think, she let the bullet explode from her gun.
"His back!" Reynar barked. "Watch his back!"
Ria swept her rifle lower and found two guards on the shore running toward Gin. One of them had a gun pointed at him.
She aimed.
Pop!
Pop!
Both guards went down.
Reynar gave out a hysterical laugh. "Wet ocean, you're good! I should have bet fifty pridas on you."
Ria answered him with her own laughter. "I told you I can shoot."
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