A True Prince

Chapter Three

Aslynn watched, holding her breath with her heart in her mouth, as Sebastian made his way to the boat. She fell to counting each time he bobbed atop the crest of a wave.

He was nearing the boat, but it would be a close call. Sebastian would need the incoming tide to get the boat—and himself—back to shore. From what she could see, the mast was broken, making sailing impossible, but at least it was small enough to row.

Her horse shifted beneath her, and she absently soothed him, stroking his neck and humming a little song her nursemaid had always used to comfort her.

She didn't breathe properly again until she saw Sebastian haul himself aboard. Waving to show he was safe, he then turned around—no doubt looking for survivors or a way to bring the boat to shore.

It was bigger than it appeared, Aslynn decided. He was not going to be able to row it in against the tide.

Just then, something on the shore spooked the horses. At the same time Sebastian's horse pulled loose from her grip on its reins and trotted a few lengths down the beach, her horse snorted and danced beneath her. His gelding was too well-trained to go any further, and hers responded to the pressure of her knees telling him to stay while she searched in surprise for the cause of their fright.

Artemis nosed around some rocks sitting right at the tidemark, and she frowned, wondering what the dog was after. Then, one of those "rocks" moved. Puzzled, Aslynn dismounted and went to have a closer look. When the "rock" groaned, she realized what it was.

Artemis had discovered a survivor of the storm, probably from the boat Sebastian just boarded.

As she drew closer, she could make out the shredded clothing, gray-white skin, and head, all covered in seaweed. That they had not noticed the body before was not surprising. It looked like something rooted in the sand, part of the beach.

Aslynn checked on Sebastian. He was still on the boat, trying to rig up a sail.

The man on the beach groaned again, and she moved quickly to his side. "Get back, Artemis." She put out her hand, and the dog obediently backed off and sat down. Kneeling in the sand beside the stranger, she gently pulled seaweed away from his face.

"Hello," she said. "It must be your lucky day."

The man coughed up some seawater, and Aslynn helped him sit up. "Funny," he rasped, "I don't feel lucky."

Aslynn pulled off some more seaweed, wondering where he was from. His accent was like none she had ever heard.

"My boat?" he asked, his voice sounding more like a croak.

"Sebastian is trying to bring it in. See?" She pointed out over the waves, and saw Sebastian was in trouble. The boat drifted further out to sea, the tide turning before he had a chance to bring it in. He was moving frantically about the boat, trying to paddle it toward shore. She stood abruptly. "Sebastian!"

***

Sebastian pulled hard on the makeshift paddle, but it had no effect against the out-flowing tide. He looked over his shoulder at the Devil's Jaw and saw he was moving out fast, closing in on the water frothing over the jagged stones. He was going to have to swim for it.

Dropping the useless paddle, he made a quick search of the boat for anything unusual. There was nothing on deck—everything not tied down had washed overboard. Below, in the small berth and even smaller galley, personal effects lay scattered all about: clothing, dishes, chess pieces, a sea chest.

Sebastian tried to open the sea chest, but it was locked. The whole thing was too large to try to swim to shore with. He searched for something to break the lock.