Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

T he intensity of Mother’s and Father’s arms tightening around me was almost smothering, but I didn’t want them to stop and kept my eyes squeezed shut during the embrace. Though I never would have admitted it out loud, I wanted to cling to those final few moments of feeling safe before I had to board the Falada , the ship that would make the voyage to Haven Harbor.

“I wish I could go with you,” Father whispered into my hair as Mother kissed my forehead. “I hate that you have to do this alone.”

I lifted my chin, determined to prove that I was just as strong as they were. “You’re needed here.”

It was true. Father was the current leader of the rebellion, and no matter how much he loved me, we both knew that he was the one positioned closest to King Raquel. He had the best chance of killing him when the time came and couldn’t afford to run off to some foreign land to play babysitter to me. “And Declan will be along in a few weeks. You can pass any information along then.”

Haven Harbor being so far away meant that any possible news of our mutiny would be slow to reach anyone, which was a benefit, but the double-sided drawback was that I would be cut off from knowing what was going on here. Ideally, I’d win Prince Korth over by the time Declan brought word that Ebora was in trouble. Would it be enough to make him willing to send his army to aid our rebellion? Granted, he would be under the impression that he was helping the royal family. If we were found out…well, I always knew my life would end at the bottom of a hangman’s noose anyway. Such was the fate of anyone who wanted to initiate change and was willing to sacrifice. Everyone in my family knew it.

“Stay safe,” Mother said, tears welling in her eyes and choking off the end of the word. Safety was hardly an option in my future. “I love you so much. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

“I love you, too.”

“This is what you were born to do,” Father whispered. “And I know you’ll succeed.”

“Dahlia!” Odette called to me. “Hurry up.” She stood on the boardwalk with crossed arms and her lower lip childishly stuck out. “It doesn’t matter if we’re in Ebora or on a ship; I’m still your mistress and you will obey me.”

“Good luck,” Father whispered in farewell. “We’re all rooting for you.”

Mother bit her lip. Even though she knew that she had raised me to help overthrow the king, now that the time had come for this first phase and any misstep on my part could lead to my demise, she balked.

I had the opportunity to make a difference for the people of Ebora, and I was going to take it. I’d never be able to sleep at night if I knew there was a way I could have slowed or stopped the king’s power grab and yet did nothing. Besides, there were more crewmen on my side than Odette’s during this voyage.

I gave Mother a reassuring smile, then picked up my small carpetbag and made my way over to Odette as she was helped up the gangplank by one of her personal bodyguards. Curdy, one of those selected to accompany Odette on her voyage, leaned casually on the ship’s railing and winked at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Arrange my things,” Odette ordered the instant I was aboard. “The captain is going to show me my rooms, and the quartermaster is tasked with punishing anyone who disturbs me.”

Just like everything else in her life, her accommodations were lavish and yet she found thing after thing to complain about. The bed was bolted to the wall in a way that made her climb in on the side she didn’t like, and she didn’t care for the room’s furnishings. She whined about how drafty the cabin was and claimed that everything smelled of salt and fish, and she found the stairs to climb down to her quarters cumbersome.

“I’m sure to develop a headache every day,” she moaned, dramatically pressing the back of her hand against her forehead.

“I think you’re far more likely to develop a stomachache once we set sail, Your Highness,” I quipped, hiding my smile.

Odette flung herself onto the bed. “Another travesty! Woe is me!”

It wasn’t just Odette who developed a stomachache. Everyone who wasn’t a seasoned sailor spent time leaned over the bulwarks for the first day, myself included, which made tending to Odette even more difficult than normal. Once we finally got our “sea legs” as the captain called it, we managed to fare better, all except Odette, who continued to wail the loudest about every minor inconvenience.

The voyage to Haven Harbor was nearly a week long, and everyone in the rebellion was growing antsier by the day, eager to get the revolt over with. The captain and his crew were on our side, as were a handful of the guards, but all held themselves back, eagerly waiting for my signal to mutiny against the dozen men whose allegiance still lay with Odette.

Halfway between Ebora and Haven Harbor, the spot we’d designated rose on the far distant horizon. A tiny island dubbed Marooner’s Island broke up the line where the sky met the sea. Only a few more hours until it was time for action.

Curdy and I exchanged smug, knowing expressions as Princess Odette stared at the island beyond the ship’s prow. She had no way of knowing that the arranged marriage she was sailing toward would never happen.

“Troubled about your upcoming wedding, Your Highness?” I trilled, leaning on the railing beside her. “I’m sure Prince Korth is a fine-looking man, if I may be so bold. It’s fortunate the siren issue has been dealt with so that your betrothal could proceed without further delay.”

She waved her slim hand as if shooing away a pesky mosquito. “That isn’t my concern. It’s simply”—she released a long, heavy breath—“I don’t want to be treated as a bargaining chip in my father’s politics. It’s almost akin to being sold. I’m a princess, not a common slave, and shouldn’t be treated as such. I deserve better.”

“Of course.” My jaw grew rigid, but I kept my head bowed in deference so she didn’t see the anger flashing across my face. How dare she compare her pampered position to the demeaned status of those she’d sold into servitude. She benefitted daily from slaves who cooked for her, cleaned for her, even dressed her and styled her hair. She had no idea what it was like to wonder when the next meal would come and had never spent a single night shivering on the streets, warding off rats. She deserved exactly what was coming to her.

Odette placed her chin in her hand, still staring at the horizon. “I haven’t seen Prince Korth since we were small children. I don’t know what he’s like now, but from my few recollections, he was dreadfully dull.”

“There have been many letters these past months,” I pointed out. I should know; I had penned all her responses.

“They contained nothing substantial.”

I couldn’t argue with that. His letters had been dull and dry. They spoke of their mutual obligation to their positions and invited her to stay in Haven Harbor for the two months leading up to their wedding to become acquainted with their customs.

I refocused my attention. “Perhaps you’ll be able to build a more meaningful relationship once you are in closer physical proximity.”

Curdy, mending a fishnet nearby, caught my eye and waggled his eyebrows while grinning lazily. He’d been at the drink more often than I thought prudent; alcohol had the unfortunate side effect of loosening the tongue of anyone who drank it, but at least Curdy had never spilled any secrets so far. He was simply more flirtatious. Obnoxious, but not harmful. I cocked an eyebrow at him but dared not do anything else in the princess’s presence. Our exchange hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Slaves are allowed to fall in love,” Odette sighed, shooing me away with the same motion she’d used before. “Such a luxury is out of reach for me. My father wants me to be married off simply to secure his power for longer. Servants don’t ever have to worry about such things. Don’t let my melancholy spoil your own joyful romance.”

She’d meant it sarcastically, but Curdy took her at her word. “As Your Highness wishes,” he said, winking at me before snatching my hand and pulling me away from the bow of the ship and down the stairs before I could correct Odette’s assumption.

I followed along, paying careful attention to each crewmember’s face as I played the role of simpering handmaiden. The crewmen watched me, waiting for the signal they knew would come any minute. I shook my head slightly, and each man returned to his assigned tasks, mouth tightened into the same expression of forced patience that had been clawing at me for years.

My gaze traveled to the other soldiers, the ones whose faces I wasn’t familiar with from the secret rebellion meetings held in the dead of night. These were the guards still faithful to the king.

Curdy, after tugging me down another set of stairs below deck, led me behind a long line of abandoned hammocks and attempted to pull me into an embrace, trailing his nose up my neck, but I resisted and pushed him away.

“Stop teasing,” I said irritably. “She didn’t follow us. Why would you make her think that we have some romance going on?”

“What else am I supposed to do to stay occupied, then? This voyage has been dragging on for days, and who cares what she thinks?”

“Keep your head on straight. Besides, if all goes well, I’ll be a married woman soon.”

Curdy rolled his eyes. “Like any royal marriage is real.” He adopted a drawling, stuffy voice. “It’s our obligation to join our nations, for the good of those we oppress…”

I sniggered.

“I could help you practice kissing so you are prepared to meet this Prince Korth,” Curdy offered, trying to pull me back in.

“You’ve been drinking,” I said, shoving him away again and holding my breath.

“You could do with a few drinks to lighten up. You’d be more fun.”

“How can you even think about something like kissing right now? If you need to, go practice with Odette.” I laughed, turning my head away.

“She isn’t as pretty as you are.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that or you’ll get beheaded.”

“It’s true, though.” Curdy moodily kicked at a barrel. “And I’m bored.”

I exhaled through my nose. All my patience was used up each day maintaining my cover; I had none left for anyone else.

“Marooner’s Island is within swimming distance,” Garrik’s low voice rasped as he came plodding down the stairs. “Are you ready?”

I straightened and nodded, heart pumping frantically within my chest, Curdy instantly forgotten. “Tell the men to prepare. Let’s do this with as little bloodshed as we can. A princess showing up with injured guards would just look suspicious.”

Garrik flashed a yellow grin that revealed several missing teeth and headed back up to the deck. I left Curdy looking mildly disappointed and followed Garrik out, watching as he began to move about the ship, discreetly whispering to each rebel before moving on. For such a large man, he could move with surprising stealth when he wanted to.

Odette didn’t give any indication she’d noticed me as I sidled up to her. “See that island?” I said, pointing toward the lone outcropping of palm trees.

“I see it,” Odette muttered as she fidgeted with her scrap of cloth, picking at a loose thread until it came loose and she let it float on the breeze until it fluttered down to be lost to the salty waves lapping at the ship’s hull. “There’s nothing else to see.”

“There is a story about that island that servants tell,” I informed her. “Before the siren plague, when we sailed the seven seas, this was the place where any undesired crewmen would be abandoned. Those who didn’t starve or die of dehydration would often take their own lives, overcome with madness as the burning sun stripped them of their senses.”

“That’s a terrible story,” sniffed Princess Odette. “Tell another.”

“No, you need to hear this one,” I told her, stepping closer than my station permitted. She stiffened, and her hand clutched at the scrap of fabric in her hand. “Did you know that most of the crewmen who were abandoned were slaves?”

I expected the princess to cower in fear, but she didn’t. She froze, clutching her scrap of fabric and staring with petrified eyes as I lowered my voice so as not to alert any of her loyal guards.

“They were,” I told her, my voice barely more than a whisper. “They were cast off and forgotten, just as your subjects have been mistreated and abused by you and your father for years. Would you like to see the island? They say that skeletons are scattered through the sand and the ghosts still roam the beaches at night, determined to take revenge on their oppressors. I think it’s a fitting place for people like you.”

“Guards,” Princess Odette called quietly, trying to back away from me but still meeting my eye.

Curdy and Garrik leapt to attention, coming to my side and barely concealing the eager expressions that spread over their faces. “Your Highness?”

Odette pointed a shaking finger at me. “Arrest her.”

“On what grounds?” I asked, advancing another step. I heard the low rumble of voices cease from the crew below as Curdy and Garrik drew their swords from their sheaths with a slithering, scraping noise befitting our treasonous actions. “Afraid of facing punishment for your crimes?”

A gurgle escaped the princess’s lips as her pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Why are you acting this way?” she hissed.

“I’ve been acting my entire life,” I retorted. “What you see now is the real me.”

“Dahlia, what are you doing?” one of the guards below called out. I heard the tension that laced his voice. “Step away from the princess!”

I turned to face the crew and raised my arms.

“I am the princess now.”