Save the Sea (Saved by Pirates #3)(24)
“What was the message?” I ask carefully.
“The king has an army ready, armed with three hundred ships. He is coming to the mountains in one month's time, when the councils have been ordered to send him more fighters. He will come in, riding his dragon, and destroy this place. He knows you are here, Cassandra. Someone in the mountains must have betrayed us,” Master Pirate growls out. “I will find out who and have their head for the betrayal, but the mountains are no longer safe for you.”
“That’s why you think I need to leave?” I ask, but the question pretty much answers itself.
“Do you think the sea god only tells you things? Whispers only to you? We know of the map and the crown that lies with the mermaids. You must learn to trust us, Cassandra. In time, I hope that happens,” Master Light chides and stands up. He walks over to me, sitting on my desk, and placing a hand on my shoulder.
“The deal must be completed, and I know you can see this through. We will ride across the storm sea in three weeks. You have three weeks to travel to the mermaids, and get that crown,” he tells me. Master Pirate locks eyes with me.
“Cassandra, the crown will make your power rival his. For all the pain and death he has caused, make sure he dies for it. Do not second guess yourself. I believe in you,” he tells me, and I smile.
“Didn’t know you could be so nice, Master Pirate,” I say.
“Not nice, I just don’t want to die, and you are the only way to secure my survival for the foreseeable future," he tells me. His cold, aloof expression is back, but I think it’s only a way to hide that he can be nice when he wants. “I have found five men to travel with your pirates and help run the ship. They are all very trustworthy and brilliant fighters, which you may need.”
“Thank you. I best go and tell my chosen the plan,” I say, sliding out of my seat.
“Make sure the girl goes with you,” Master Light’s demand stops me before I can walk out of the door.
“What girl?” I inquire.
“The future queen,” Master Light says, and I give him a confused look. He shakes his head and looks at Master Pirate who chuckles. “She hasn’t told you yet? Have you not guessed?”
“Who?” I ask, but I know; deep down, I think I've always known the identity of the true heir.
“Everleigh,” Master Light says, and I turn around, walking out the cave as shock rolls through me.
“Everly?” I ask, opening the door to her rooms. I’m surprised when Tyrion walks out of a doorway to the left of the entry. He stops/pauses when he sees me, and the basket of clothes he was carrying drops to the floor. Tyrion hasn’t changed much since when he was with the king’s guards. He is still as handsome as I remember, with wavy brown hair and bright-blue eyes. He still looks and carries himself like a guard. That hasn’t changed, but I know his loyalty has changed. Maybe he knows who Everly is, and that’s why he is here. He guards her. Maybe he always knew, even when she was just another prisoner in the king’s games.
“Cassandra, it is good to see you again,” he says, but I’m in no mood for pleasantries. I need to talk to my best friend and find out some answers. It’s like everything is clicking into place, everything that I ignored for so long when I shouldn’t have.
“Did I come to the wrong room? I’m looking for Everly?” I ask, but I’m pretty sure I have the right rooms.
“No, I share a place with her,” he tells me, yet another thing Everly hasn’t told me about. Is she with Tyrion? “Everly is in that room.” Tyrion points to a room opposite the one he left.
“Thank you,” I say, walking to the door. I don’t knock, just walk in, and Everly looks up from where she sits, brushing her hair in the mirror. She puts the brush down as I shut the door, and smiles at me.
“I’m so happy you came to see me . . .” She drifts off when I cross my arms and glare at her.
“You are the future queen? The heir of land and sea? How could you not tell me?” I demand. She appears shocked for a second, before a cold look crosses over her face. She starts to say something, but I hold my hand up, cutting her off. “I would have protected you, never judged you! I thought we were best friends, sisters! And you have been lying to me!”
“I don’t have to tell you anything, Cassy, but I did try. Your pirates just never gave me an opportunity. Don’t be mad at me for something I can barely admit to myself, for something I do not want to be,” she says, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence and she walks over to the bed. She sits down, dropping her face to her hands and starts to cry. Not a little cry, but a heart-wrenching cry, full of fear and anger. I recognise those kind of tears, the tears you can’t stop. All the anger and shock I feel fades away as quickly as it came. I walk over, sit next to her, and pull her into my arms. I guess I didn’t think about what it must be like for her, and my anger seems nothing in comparison to what kind of future she is meant to have. She was tortured in that castle, lost her mother there, and now she is supposed to rule the very world that has been so cruel to her. Who would want that?
“Tell me everything,” I whisper, as she calms down some time later. She shakily nods, pulling back and wiping her eyes. I reach across the bed, and get some tissues from the side, handing them to her. She wipes her eyes and blows her nose as I wait for her to explain everything to me. I look her over, examining her beautiful features, and it finally hits me. Her blonde hair is so very unlike the dark hair of the royals we know, but her blue eyes, they are family. They look like Ryland’s, and that's why they always looked familiar to me.