Tamar picked up the swords and handed them over to Tolya, who served as the ship’s Master of Arms. “Not particularly. He lets us sail, and he lets us fight. ”
“And he doesn’t make us dress up in red silk and play lapdog,” said Tolya, unlocking the rack with the key he wore around his thick neck.
“A sorry lapdog you’d make. ” Tamar laughed.
“Anything’s better than following orders from some puffed-up cully in black,” Tolya grumbled.
“You follow Sturmhond’s orders,” I pointed out.
“Only when he feels like it. ”
I jumped. Sturmhond was standing right behind me.
“You try telling that ox what to do and see what happens,” the privateer said.
Tamar snorted, and she and Tolya began stowing the rest of the weapons.
Sturmhond leaned in and murmured, “If you want to know something about me, lovely, all you need to do is ask. ”
“I was just wondering where you’re from,” I said defensively. “That’s all. ”
“Where are you from?”
“Keramzin. You know that. ”
“But where are you from?”
A few dim memories flashed through my mind. A shallow dish of cooked beets, the slippery feel of them between my fingers as they stained my hands red. The smell of egg porridge. Riding on someone’s shoulders—maybe my father’s—down a dusty road. At Keramzin, even mentioning our parents had been considered a betrayal of the Duke’s kindness and a sign of ingratitude. We’d been taught never to speak of our lives before we arrived at the estate, and eventually most of the memories just disappeared.
“Nowhere,” I said. “The village I was born in was too small to be worth a name. Now, what about you, Sturmhond? Where did you come from?”
The privateer grinned. Again I was struck by the thought that there was something off about his features.
“My mother was an oyster,” he said with a wink. “And I’m the pearl. ”
He strolled away, whistling an off-key tune.
* * *
TWO NIGHTS LATER, I woke to find Tamar looming over me, shaking my good shoulder.
“Time to go,” she said.
“Now?” I asked blearily. “What time is it?”
“Coming on three bells. ”
“In the morning?” I yawned and threw my legs over the side of my hammock. “Where are we?”
“Fifteen miles off the coast of West Ravka. Come on, Sturmhond is waiting. ” She was dressed and had her canvas ditty bag slung over her shoulder.
I had no belongings to gather, so I pulled on my boots, patted the inner pocket of my coat to make sure I had the red book, and followed her out the door.
On deck, Mal stood by the ship’s starboard rail with a small group of crewmen. I had a moment of confusion when I realized Privyet was wearing Sturmhond’s garish teal frock coat. I wouldn’t have recognized Sturmhond himself if he hadn’t been giving orders. He was swaddled in a voluminous greatcoat, the collar turned up, a wool hat pulled low over his ears.
A cold wind was blowing. The stars were bright in the sky, and a sickle moon sat low on the horizon. I peered across the moonlit waves, listening to the steady sigh of the sea. If land was nearby, I couldn’t see it.
Mal tried to rub some warmth into my arms.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“We’re going ashore. ” I could hear the wariness in his voice.
“In the middle of the night?”
“The Volkvolny will raise my colors near the Fjerdan coast,” said Sturmhond. “The Darkling doesn’t need to know that you’re back on Ravkan soil just yet. ”
As Sturmhond bent his head in conversation with Privyet, Mal drew me over to the portside rail. “Are you sure about this?”
“Not at all,” I admitted.
He rested his hands on my shoulders and said, “There’s a good chance I’ll be arrested if we’re found, Alina. You may be the Sun Summoner, but I’m just a soldier who defied orders. ”
“The Darkling’s orders. ”
“That may not matter. ”
“I’ll make it matter. Besides, we’re not going to be found. We’re going to get into West Ravka, meet Sturmhond’s client, and decide what we want to do. ”
Mal pulled me closer. “Were you always this much trouble?”
“I like to think of myself as delightfully complex. ”
As he bent to kiss me, Sturmhond’s voice cut through the dark. “Can we get to the cuddling later? I want us ashore before dawn. ”
Mal sighed. “Eventually, I’m going to punch him. ”
“I will support you in that endeavor. ”
He took my hand, and we returned to the group.
Sturmhond gave Privyet an envelope sealed with a blob of pale blue wax, then clapped him on the back. Maybe it was the moonlight, but the first mate looked like he might cry. Tolya and Tamar slipped over the railing, holding tight to the weighted ladder secured to the schooner.
I peered over the side. I’d expected to see an ordinary longboat, so I was surprised at the little craft I saw bobbing alongside the Volkvolny. It was like no boat I’d ever seen. Its two hulls looked like a pair of hollowed-out shoes, and they were held together by a deck with a giant hole in its center.