Corvus (Stars and Sails, Book 1)

Thirty-four (Part 1 of 2)

Jade paced back and forth in her quarters. She hadn't opened the box yet. She didn't even know if there was a way to open it. Pacing in the small space had already given her a headache, but she refused to stop. Sitting idle never gave her any good ideas. She'd already tried the obvious methods. She'd slammed the box against a wall and slid her dagger under the lid and across the locking mechanism. When she thought it might unlock, it never did, which explained why the bloody box was still sitting on the floor. There had better be something good inside.

What she needed was a key. There was a key in one of the storerooms, but that was for a different box that had nothing inside. There was also that key that was tied under the desk. It seemed a little obvious, but it was worth a shot. She untied it from the string and inserted it into the box. Then she spun it and heard the lock turn. The top popped open. Her heart jolted. She sighed, but she couldn't tell if it was relief or exasperation that made her do it. Her father, despite all his good traits was a bit of a git. There was a blank envelope inside the box. After pocketing the key, she opened the envelope and withdrew a letter. It was from her father. Her throat constricted at the sight of his handwriting. She traced his signature with her finger over and over again.

The letter was addressed to Isa as a way to jog her memory after it was wiped. He wrote about their first meeting. He confirmed that she was Minkar. The letter detailed their voyages together, all of their adventures and finally their encounter with Helios. Helios had kidnapped Isa—her return priced at the discovery of Alchiba.

After years of searching, he received a letter from a woman that he had a careless tryst with years prior. Their child, Jade, was eleven years old at the time, and would either go to him or the orphanage.

Jade's eyes stung when she read the letter. All Jade remembered of Dunswick was her mother resigning from motherhood. Her memory of the age eleven was stepping out of her house in a summer yellow dress and meeting a man she had only heard terrible stories of. Her mother had been wrong. Her father was none of the monster that she claimed him to be.

Her father said other things in the letter, like hearing about Isa's whereabouts somewhere in the Tranan Desert. Jade could feel the sadness in her father's crooked and shaky handwriting. Even the paper felt sad and cold. Despite it all, she felt a little fuller knowing what had happened to him. She couldn't believe he had never told her about this part of his life, but it wasn't all the closure she'd wanted yet. She wanted to finish what he had started, if that meant finding Isa or Alchiba for him and ending Helios' war.

Her father said he'd found a map for the lighthouse in Aydesreve in the Tranan Desert. It might have something to do with Isa. She'd exhausted her search of her father's room, so she slipped out of the cabin. The mess hall was empty. She could hear Sabik in the infirmary researching the antidote. Suzaku was in his cabin writing at the desk.

If Silas Noble was still sailing according to plan they were expected to arrive anytime now. For the first time, Jade thought she might be glad to have some more diverse company. It was starting to feel stale with her current companions.

Down the stairs was the cargo hold. The setup was similar to the gun deck, except that instead of cannons, the deck was filled with cargo and hammocks for the rest of the crew to sleep on. Not too long ago, Jade had sold off the leftover tobacco they had from trade. She didn't make much money, but it was something.

The bow of the cargo hold was identical to the bow of the gun deck. There was a mess hall and quarters for more of the crew. Most of Bahko's officers from the Durantan Navy were staying down there. On the right was the navigational room. She opened the door and stepped inside. The table was dusty and the legs were uneven. It shivered every time the ship swayed in the harbor. At the far of the room was a map chest. One of the drawers was locked. She took the key from her pocket and slid it into the drawer. The lock released and the drawer opened. There was a blueprint inside for the Raven's Perch Light in Aydesreve. "Minkar" was written at the top of the blueprint. So Isa did have something to do with this lighthouse. Jade closed the drawer and locked it. She had a decision to make and she was in no mood.

A few months ago she was so sure that her idea of honoring her father was to kill Zelley herself, but now that she was drowning in the unfinished pieces of her father's life, and she wasn't sure what would honor him best. Revenge wasn't about killing Zelley so much as it felt like relief. Like an easy way to erase all of the grief she felt. Saying it like that made it sound just as selfish as it was. Maybe closure wasn't about revenge. Maybe it was about solving the mystery he couldn't.

She left the room and headed upstairs. Suzaku waited on the gun deck as if he had been expecting her.

"Harris." he bowed. "The Princess of Aydesreve is docking."