Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(105)

It might have been lucky, then, that I had Tom’s fifty-gold job that night to distract me. I had no social engagements at all (though Jasper had told me he could arrange a visit to the Chambers house anytime), so I was able to sneak out earlier than usual once darkness fell.

I rendezvoused with Tom’s men in the same spot as last time. There were a lot more people present this time—but not Tom himself.

Elijah smiled warmly at me as he leaned against a tree. “Don’t worry, he’ll be here.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah. He had to go oversee something in person. We’ve got a regular who buys a lot of our fancy stuff, but he was trying to change the price at the last minute. So, Tom went to see him and our, ah, sales associate.”

“Do you mean fence?” I teased.

“Hey, I’m trying to be genteel for you.” His smile faded as he stared off over the bay. Even at night, the heat was still oppressive. The air stood perfectly still, with no hint of a breeze, and everyone’s clothes were sticky with sweat. I wished Lady Aviel’s image didn’t require so many itchy and heavy accoutrements.

Tom came trotting up soon, with Lesser Tom at his side. “Glad to see you didn’t leave without me,” Tom called, earning a few chuckles from the men milling around. “But we’d best get on with it.”

Elijah straightened up from his lounging position. “I don’t think we should do it.”

“Why not?” asked Tom. His tone was light, but I knew he didn’t like being questioned in public. Or ever.

“This weather, for one thing. It’s going to turn on us.”

Tom shrugged. “I’m aware, and that’s what we’d hoped for. Those eastern clouds will help us.”

Elijah looked skeptical. “Well, that’s not all. I saw two naval ships in port when I was in town.”

That drew everyone’s attention, but Tom’s expression didn’t change. “Yes, I already know that too, but we have no reason to cross paths. They’ve just arrived and will restock before moving on to patrol the coast. It’ll be dark. We’ll get to the Sun’s Promise without being seen and make sure no one raises an alarm. Now. Let’s not waste any more time.”

A few men looked uneasy, and I couldn’t blame them. Facing armed sailors defending their ship was risky enough. But detection by the royal navy? Their entire purpose was to hunt down pirates and any hostile ships from other countries. We were exactly the kind of group they wanted to seize.

“My lady.” Tom tipped his hat upon noticing me. “Come ride in my boat. I need someone cheerful to counteract Elijah’s doom and gloom.”

Elijah made no comment, but once our group set out on the water, I couldn’t help glancing over at his skiff. His face was still dark and troubled.

Tom noticed my stare. “It really will be fine,” he told me. “Elijah is making a big deal out of nothing. I’ve had much closer calls with the navy, and I wouldn’t lead any of my people into something that was stupidly dangerous. No matter the profit at stake, I always look out for my own. I value those who follow me more than any agenda.”

As our party approached the harbor, I admired the way Cape Triumph’s lights hugged the coast. The port was full of ships of all sizes, now that the crossing from Evaria and Osfrid was safer.

“I see the Sun’s Promise,” a man in our boat said. I’d never met him. Tom had hired a lot of additional help for this.

Tom nodded in approval. “Bring us in then.”

The skiffs glided forward, dark shapes on dark water. A few strands of hair tickled my cheek, and I brushed them aside. “Finally, some breeze.”

The temperature had dropped abruptly since we’d left, and I suddenly found myself thinking of the day the storm had hit aboard the Good Hope. I’d been studying Grant’s hair then, how still it had been when we first stepped outside, and before I knew it, it had been back to its unruly state as the wind rapidly picked up.

I turned back to Elijah. His head was tipped up as he studied the sky. I looked up as well and saw the dark clouds Tom had mentioned earlier—the ones that would help give us cover. There were more of them now, stretching almost entirely across the sky. Ariniel’s star was gone. All the stars were.

The Sun’s Promise was bigger than the Queen’s Grace—but not the biggest ship I’d ever seen. That honor went to the two naval ships farther down the harbor, which loomed over the smaller boats like sentinels. I could just barely make out the lines of gun holes, whose lids concealed cannons. As I watched, both of them began to trim their sails. Above us, the Sun’s Promise started to as well.

“Excellent,” said Tom. “They’re all going to be busy with ballast and bringing in sail.”

Elijah’s boat floated right next to ours. “Of course they’re bringing in sail!” he exclaimed. “Every bloody ship out here is—”

“Enough.” I’d never heard Tom speak so fiercely to Elijah. “If you don’t want to do this, then swim back. You lot—get up there.”

Five men made the short swim to the hull. Our cluster of skiffs wasn’t up against the side this time. We held position farther away, at an angle to the stern that made us harder to see. Tom’s men were skilled swimmers and moved swiftly through the choppy water. They climbed up the ship’s side and slipped in through a small round window about midway up the hull. Then we waited as our own boats began to bob more violently on the water.