29. A Heartfelt Apology

"Do you think this will fool them?" Wilder asks, lounging in a chair at Davyn's table in the captain's quarters.

We stand in a circle, surrounding our fake mage's tome. It's a book we pulled off Davyn's shelf with a similar cover and weight. Like the tome, it's a journal also, only a touch larger, with bronze corner brackets that almost look like the mage's tome's gold ones.

But this journal was written by a sea captain from Dres Lor Forain. If Carlos can read Dresnian, he'll immediately realize it's a fake. But if he can't…

We're just going to hope he can't.

"They've probably locked the mage's tome away somewhere and don't plan to look at it again until we reach Shalada," Davyn says.

"Where do you think they're keeping it?" Felicity asks.

"Carlos's cabin, most likely."

She nods, nibbling on the corner of her thumb as she studies the imposter journal, deep in thought.

"Are you ready?" Davyn asks me.

I nod, nervous about our mission.

"Be careful." Lukas catches my hand like he's reluctant to let me go.

"I will be," I promise.

With a determined nod, Davyn picks up the journal and heads for the door. "Let's get this over with."

"Makesure you stay hidden until we're aboard the ship," Davyn instructs Felicity as he rows our dinghy toward the Sea Rose.

She's under a canvas tarp that we heaped between the seats. Already, rain pools on top of the heavy fabric—you can't even tell she's under there. "I know what I'm doing, Davyn," her muffled voice replies. "It's not like this is the first time I've snuck aboard a ship."

He presses his lips together, not liking the plan even though it was his idea. "How are you, Soleil?"

"Fine. I just hope we're enough of a distraction."

Both the Serpent and the Sea Rose are preparing to set sail. The day dawned with red skies and a cool breeze, yesterday's storm moving toward the east. We'll chase it on our way back to Shalada, but I'm confident it will outrun us.

The Sea Rose's crew announces our arrival, and several minutes later, Carlos appears at the rail.

"I don't believe we have any further business, Captain Greybrow," Carlos calls down to us.

"We wish to apologize for yesterday's incident, Captain Avila," Davyn says, purposely using the title to soften him, as the ship's boys so often do with Lukas. "And we would like to explain our side of it as well."

"I saw your side with my own eyes. You're fortunate I have a forgiving nature."

"We are most grateful," Davyn manages to say with a straight face. "But my conscience will not allow this to pass without an apology. Surely you won't deprive me of the opportunity to make peace with you? I am certain you are a far more gracious captain than Alvaro or Tiago."

Carlos is silent for several seconds, looking like he's contemplating Davyn's prepared speech. "It seems, perhaps, you have seen the error of your ways. I assume your good judgment was clouded by Tiago's treachery." Finally, he says, "All right. You may come up. We'll have tea before we depart."

That man and his tea.

Davyn and I exchange a look as he secures the dinghy to the rope ladder. When he's finished, he nods, and I begin climbing. He follows me, leaving Felicity alone.

If all goes as planned, she'll slip away while we distract Carlos, locate the mage's tome, and be back in the dinghy before we return.

Carlos reaches for me when I get to the top, helping me over the rail.

"Thank you," I say, though I'd rather slap his hand away.

"My pleasure, Miss Eldemyer."

When Davyn joins us, Carlos gestures for us to follow him into the captain's quarters, where it looks like he's made himself quite at home.

"This has been an eventful trip for the Sea Rose," I whisper to Davyn as Carlos blathers about who-knows-what ahead of us. "It's seen three captains in a week's time."

"Poor management," Davyn responds under his breath, hiding a smile.

We enter the cabin. Unlike when Lukas and I came here with Tiago, the drapes are open. I take a moment to look around. The space is quite opulent, with art on the walls, deep red velvet upholstery, golden candelabras, and a crystal chandelier.

"Your cabin could be this fancy," I rib Davyn while Carlos is still distracted. "If you'd do something with it."

He gives me a droll look and then turns his eyes to the navigation desk. Or, more likely, on the brown leather mage's tome on top of it.

Carlos sits in the upholstered chair behind the desk, resting his arms on the armrests and sitting back like a king. The journal lies in front of him like a trophy. "You may commence with your apology, Captain Greybrow."

This is a role for which only Davyn and his placid expression could play. Lukas's inevitable eye roll would give us away, alerting Carlos our sniveling isn't genuine.

"First, I would like to apologize to you and the rest of the officers of the Sea Rose. We had no idea Tiago was a man whose morals were in question," Davyn begins. "It appears, to us at least, he was hoping to collect the journal for himself and therefore made us doubt your good King Marcelo's upstanding nature and good intentions."

Carlos frowns in thought. "I'm afraid that does sound like Tiago. Please, go on."

"As you know, we want nothing more than to free my dear cousin and would never intentionally impede upon her release. It was only with the greatest of qualms that we hesitated, listening to your previous leader's dire warnings."

Carlos nods as if he is now able to look at the situation in a clear light. "I fear you have been deceived, Captain Greybrow, though it appears to me it was through no fault of your own."

The man is an idiot.

Davyn bows his head, the picture of remorse. "We appreciate your understanding."

"I do have a question, Davyn," Carlos says and then pauses. "May I call you Davyn?"

"Of course." Davyn laughs good-naturedly. "But only if I may call you Carlos."

"You may, certainly." He frowns as if vexed and presses his hand to his chest before he begins again. "Davyn, your brother made some truly outlandish accusations about me. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was quite appalled."

I'm not sure if the man is guilty of conspiring against Captain D'vain, though I suspect he's too dim to lead that sort of coup. He's happy to reap the rewards, however.

"Lukas," Davyn says his brother's name with a sigh, shaking his head. "We are twins. Are you aware?"

"I am, yes."

"We possess a twin gift, but I'm afraid his has left him quite addled." With great sorrow, Davyn adds quietly, "He's not right in the head."

I draw in a sharp breath through my nose, pursing my lips as if quite upset, when actually, I'm trying to trap in a surprised snort. If I so much as look at Davyn, I'll lose my composure.

"Oh," Carlos says, as if it suddenly makes sense. "Yes, I can see that now. How difficult that must be for you."

Davyn nods. "Though I love my brother, I often find him trying. Is it too cruel to admit even this short parting is a respite? I appreciate your hospitality."

I'm not going to make it much longer. I bring my hands to my face, coughing into them as if I'm going to cry, hiding the grin I can no longer contain.

"Oh dear, Miss Eldemyer. You seem quite distraught." Carlos gestures to the table, rising. "Gentle creature, please, let us sit and speak of happier things. The tea will be ready shortly."

I sit across from Davyn, careful not to meet his eyes. As we find our places, there's a knock at the door, and moments later, a tea cart is wheeled into the captain's cabin.

I glance at the journal, wondering how quickly we can get Carlos out of here.

"I'm afraid we have another somber subject to broach," Davyn says after the galley boy pours the tea and leaves us, sounding more like himself.

Carlos stirs sugar crystals into his tea. "Go on."

"Our Brechalan conch was destroyed. Since we'll be traveling through Brinhelga's territory once more, I was hoping we could trespass upon your hospitality and sail close to the Sea Rose."

The usurper captain lifts his eyebrows as if he cannot fathom why that would be a problem. "Of course. But what happened to your shell?"

"Our dragon ate it," I say with a bite to my voice, still a touch angry at Flink when I think about it.

"The large munchkin? The awkward, copper-colored one?"

"That's him."

"That's not something you should have let him snack upon, Miss Eldemyer."

I give him a tight smile. "If only I'd consulted with you first."

Picking up on the sarcasm, his gaze sharpens.

Immediately, I soften my features, giving him a vacant smile. "We're so grateful you're a better custodian of your shell than we were."

"Yes." Mollified, he takes a sip of his tea. "Well, have no fear. We will offer our protection to the Serpent."

"Thank you, Carlos," Davyn says. "That's a relief."

This time, I can tell his words are genuine.

A knock at the door draws our attention.

"What is it?" Carlos calls.

An officer enters the cabin, his expression tight. He glances at Davyn and me before answering. "We have a situation, Captain."

A shot of fear courses through my system. Did they catch Felicity already?

"A situation?" Carlos sits straighter. "What is it?"

"I was preparing the cage for the conch shell, but when I fetched it, it was missing."

"Missing?" Carlos demands.

"Several of our crewmen, in an attempt to mollify the creature, tossed it into his cell during their watch."

"Creature?" Davyn asks.

Carlos stares at the officer with a heavy dose of incredulous disbelief. "The Brechalan conch only works on sea beasts, not cavern monsters."

"I am aware, Captain. These men, however, were not."

"What happened to it?"

"The monster ate it."

I watch Davyn's eyes widen with shock as he realizes we're not short one Brechalan conch, but two.

"Oh dear," I breathe. Unable to help myself, I turn to Carlos, press my hand to my chest, and say in a velvet voice, "That's really not something you should have let him snack upon."