"Looking a bit green around your ears, Gandriel, have a bit too much in the tavern last night?" The sound of Eoin's amused voice echoed against the walls of Gandriel's mind, causing the dull pounding there to intensify. He didn't bother with pleasantries, settling instead for throwing the young sailor a vulgar gesture as he strolled down the Loreley's gangplank looking far too perky for the early hour.
"You're chipper this morning," he grumbled, squinting his eyes against the glare off the ocean—why was the sun so bright? Had it always been like that?
"This morning?" Eoin laughed as he started to undo the array of bags tied to Beau's saddle, bags that had taken precedence over Gandriel on their trip down to Portmouth, forcing him walk the whole way instead. "It's nearly two."
Gandriel glanced at the lofty clock tower that rose over the small port city and noted that, indeed, the hands were just shy of the hour. Fine, he was far too perky for this early in the afternoon.
"Besides, aren't you usually the cheery one? I don't think I've ever seen you look so dour."
Normally he was, but he was still recovering from Madam Terra's freshly homebrewed mead that she'd invited him to try at the Hen. He'd indulged himself on it to a bit of an excess the night before . . . and he'd puked, a lot. He also didn't remember most of the night, though he vaguely recalled Celeste's lecturing and her giving him a bucket, but after . . . well, not much.
"I don't remember you looking too pleased after our last outing at the Herring," Gandriel reminded Eoin, vividly recalling his drunken, impromptu dance number on the table tops and shot contest with Celeste that had ended with him praying for death while sprawled across the porch of the inn. "Lest you forget."
Eoin laughed unashamedly and flipped his mop of brown hair out of his eyes. "Yes, but I didn't piss off the captain in the process."
Gandriel flinched. Celeste had been pricklier than usual that morning when she'd ripped his blankets from him and told him to get up, no doubt livid about having to check after Isabelle on her on own, especially after the courtesan had nearly died from an assassin's attack. He'd felt terrible about it but Anelisse had only shook her head, warning him to keep his mouth shut.
He groaned, willing the memories to return.
Rarely did he drink to such an excess that he blacked out, in fact he was rather impressed he'd somehow managed to find his way home as he had absolutely no recollection of the night before.
Nothing up until he'd heard his friend sneak into the apartment late in the night, her features wan and looking prime to collapse at any moment. She hadn't looked any better that morning, barely speaking her greetings before they'd set off into the faint light of dawn.
Had he not been so ill he'd have asked after her but decided that slurring his concerns would only get him an ass kicking. So, he'd focused on sobering up and watched her from a distance, alarmed by her subdued aura.
Maybe she was still pissed off about his late-night partying . . . he grimaced at the thought. A few hours still remained before their departure, he still had time to slink back into town and grab her a box or two of the truffles he'd spied in the window of the confectioner's shop. One could never go wrong with candy as an apology gift.
He'd grab something for Anelisse too, likely some of the hard fruit candies she'd voiced an interest in. He couldn't let her go without either.
Yawning, Gandriel stretched his arms above his head as he watched Eoin heft up their freed bags and began lugging them onto the ship. He really should help, he noted as the young man shouted to the crew, but he was tired and wanted to nap . . .
"There you are." He jumped as Celeste materialized beside him in that terrifying way of hers, her features covered in the dark cowl she always wore in public. She peered up at him in amusement, violet eyes twinkling. "How's the hangover?"
"Horrible, but I'll be fine." She quirked her head at him and grinned, some of the color having returned to her face. Well, she didn't seem that pissed. "Eoin's loading our supplies now, I should take Beau down to the stables for boarding."
Gandriel had arranged for the stableboys to have extra sugar cubes and apples in supply for the gelding while they were gone, hoping the array of treats would serve as an apology for the numerous fiascos he'd put him through.
"Later, we need to debrief with Fallon and Vaerek. Apparently Avi was able to glean some additional information while out in the cove, they're all waiting for us at the dock."
He blinked, taken aback that Avi was with them-he'd never had the honor of meeting the lady before. At least, not up close and in her fae form.
Dipping his chin, he motioned for Celeste to lead the way. He'd heard numerous stories about the selkie spy who served as Fallon's main source of information, and who, apparently, was also Vaerek's lover. Upon finding out he'd tried to tease his fellow first mate about it but had promptly closed his mouth when the stern man had cut him a look.
Fine, he could keep his selkie maiden and her secrets to himself then. And given what the first mate's tastes were like he imagined she was likely the loveliest of her kind.
His mother had told him many stories of the elusive selkie maidens as a child, of their extraordinary beauty and fabled coats that would turn you into a seal if you could acquire one. He'd thereafter proclaimed in his childlike innocence that he'd find himself a selkie lover and would become the lord of the seals. His mother had laughed at his theatrics.
And while his mother had assured him that selkie coats weren't real she'd said their beauty was no myth. Not that he'd ever seen it, he noted a bit sadly, having only seen Avi in her seal form as she, Vaerek and Fallon had argued back and forth on the docks months ago, the latter barking her displeasure.
Avi had been running intel on slaving routes elsewhere when Fallon and Vaerek had intercepted Gandriel and Celeste in the Red Maiden so many months prior and had run off without informing her where they'd disappeared to. She'd apparently been furious and had chewed them out thoroughly.
Gandriel and Anelisse had nearly laughed themselves silly at the sight of the fearsome duo arguing with the whiskered, round sea dog. It seemed she'd won the argument easily though, Fallon and Vaerek walking off with soured faces as they'd boarded the boat.
He was still uncertain as to how the sea captain and her first mate understood what the female said while in her seal form. Was seal a learnable language? Maybe he'd ask Avi to teach him after they met, it'd certainly be a useful skill.
"Hello," Celeste was snapping her fingers in front of his face, shattering his inner musing, "anybody awake in there? We've a meeting we need to start."
"Right, sorry." He needed tea, and food too, he noted as his stomach grumbled its agreement. Celeste rolled her eyes as she strolled down the long dock toward an agitated Vaerek who was glaring at a pleased-looking Avi, her tail flicking up and down.
Gandriel was willing to bet she was tall and curvy, with wavy hair that was dark as night. If he'd had anyone to gamble with he would have put coin on it.
"I had to find my lost ass." Celeste jabbed a finger over her shoulder towards Gandriel as she came to a stop. Vaerek flicked his gaze up and lifted a hand in greeting, Avi swung her head around and winked one of her large, liquid eyes. "Where's Fallon?"
"Supposed to be here," Vaerek grumbled, glaring out across the bay. Avi nudged his leg with her head and barked at him; the man blushed up to his ears. "Must you?"
If it was possible for a seal to give a look of seduction that was what Avi sent Vaerek, wiggling her sleek body. Gandriel couldn't contain the snicker. Sensing his attention, she turned back to him and barked before rolling over onto her back.
Vaerek rubbed at his eyes. "You're just being shameless now, would you please just shift back?"
The seal snorted in annoyance before righting herself and dissolving into a flash of bright white. Gandriel had prepared numerous compliments for the lovely female that died on his lips as he choked back his surprise as the selkie's fae form materialized. He spluttered.
Where a seal had sat moments before now stood the most stunning male he had ever seen. The selkie's rich, dark brown hair pulled away from his angled face in a low ponytail and his large, dark eyes twinkled as he straightened his deep teal jacket, broad shoulders tapering into a lean waist, the sun glinting off exquisite blades strapped all over his body.
"DAD!" The vibration of footfalls thudded on the dock as Fallon rushed down its length and threw herself at Avi who easily caught her. She kicked her legs in the air as he spun her around.
"Hello, pup." He placed a quick kiss against her cheek as he squeezed her and set her down. "Wreaking havoc in town, I hope?"
"Of course." Fallon flipped her hair over a shoulder and adjusted her ridiculous hat, her hands immediately settling on her hips. "Did you bring me anything? Oh, I hope it's a pretty necklace."
"Like you need more jewelry," Vaerek muttered, his arms crossed over his chest, even as his lips curled into a small smile. Avi paid him no attention.
"Of course," he fished around in a pocket and procured a beautiful green pearl on a golden chain, eliciting a squeal from Fallon as he clipped it gently around her neck. The male winked at Vaerek. "Don't worry, I have something for you, too."
Quicker than Gandriel could track, Avi had swept Vaerek up in his arms, dipping the sailor as he kissed him deeply. Vaerek spluttered, his face turning the color of a tomato as he shoved at Avi, trying to dislodge him. The selkie took his time before righting the man, smiling as he reached to smooth Vaerek's windswept hair away from his face.
Celeste let out an amused grunt from beside him.
"Better?" Avi purred.
The first mate slapped his hand away.
"Averett!" Gandriel hadn't thought it was possible for a human to turn such a color of scarlet. "Could you . . . just . . . not?" Vaerek hissed as he rubbed at his red face. "There goes what little's left of my reputation!"
"Don't worry, there wasn't much," Fallon piped up, admiring the pearl around her neck. Avi threw his head back, a deep booming laugh slipping past his lips.
Averett, that was a boy's name. Not a girl's. Gandriel's shell-shocked mind finally kicked back in, questions flowing from his lips.
Definitely not a selkie maid.
"You're male!"
Avi stopped laughing as he looked at Gandriel, horror washing over his sharp features.
"I am?" He pulled the front of his pants forward, peering into their depths. He whipped his head to Vaerek, his deep, smooth voice full of disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me? I've been living a lie all this time—"
"Give it a rest," Vaerek grumbled, face still cherry, as he gave Avi a long-suffering look. Gandriel was dumbfounded, staring in disbelief at the male before him.
"You seriously didn't know?" Celeste looked at him with disdain before snorting. "Of course not. Why am I not surprised?"
"But . . . but you said Avi was a girl—" Though now that he thought on it, had they ever actually specified Avi was a female? He'd just always assumed. And all the stories his mother had told him . . . "I thought you were all females," he gaped at the tall male, "I mean, all of the legends—the stories—"
Avi cut in easily, talking like a parent to a young, naïve child. "Well you see, when a daddy seal loves a mommy seal very much-"
"—they do this thing called copulation and make all sorts of little spawn—" Fallon jumped in.
Avi wrapped his arms around the captain and squeezed as she giggled. "—like this thing. Brave of Vaerek to go through the trial of bringing her into the world—"
"Don't finish that sentence," Vaerek growled, turning red once more, "that's enough out of both of you."
"But it's Dad's favorite story!" Fallon quipped, tapping her lips with a slim finger. "You know how much he loves the gory bits."
"Yes, love, your inspiring story of perseverance and resilience—"
"Wait, is Avi your real father?" Gandriel peered at the tall lord, searching for resemblance between him and the seductive sea Captain. "And does that mean you're actually Vaerek's lover—"
"Is that a problem?" An icy tone had slipped into Vaerek's voice as he glared at Gandriel, eyes narrowing.
Gandriel immediately backpeddled. "I don't mean—it's not like that, it's just—he, you—" he looked at Avi, "You were a girl, a beautiful selkie maiden and now you're a male, and . . . uh . . ."
"Gandriel's going to need to see a healer to get his foot removed from his mouth," Celeste added with a chuckle, casting him a look from beneath her hood. "I'd shut up if I were you."
He blushed up to his ears. He'd meant no offense, he just hadn't expected Avi to be male. Had been fully expecting to finally meet a beautiful selkie maiden. Maybe he shouldn't have drank so much, he noted as his mind and vision wobbled, he wasn't thinking clearly.
Fallon gave a bright, trilling laugh.
"No, Gandriel, Avi's not my real father and neither is Vaerek." Avi looked primed to revolt, to inform her that she was most certainly his real child. "They took me in when I very small."
"And loud," Vaerek said with a shake of his head, his skin turning from a blotchy red back to its usual even tan. He found a very interesting piece of lint on his shoulder.
"And perfect." Avi gave a soft smile as he pulled Fallon's hat up so he could ruffle her dark tresses before settling it gently back into place and rearranging a loose strand. His voice lost its playful tone. "As fun as this has been, pup, we do have some problems we need to address."
"Problems?" Fallon turned to face her father. "I thought you said you had intel on the newest ships?"
"I do," he leaned against the post of the dock, looking out over the glistening bay, "and it's not good."
Celeste tried to keep her grinning to a minimum as she listened as Avi's recollected the information he'd managed to collect from the carrier vessels. Gandriel was still in shock, his cheeks a rosy pink as he kept his lips tightly sealed.
She knew he'd meant no harm, but it didn't make the situation any less hilarious.
Anelisse was going to lose her damn mind once she told her sister about his little mistake. How had he somehow missed that Avi was male? She'd thought it was fairly obvious.
Honestly, she found herself grateful for his idiocy for once . . . it'd helped distract her from the thoughts of them, from the never ending pain that rushed through her head when she dwelled on it.
Avi's voice picked up in tempo as he repeated the details he'd managed to gather, and Celeste's lips downturned as she processed the information. Two large ships with minimal guards and warded to hell. Neither he nor any of his men had managed to get past the magic barriers, stronger, he claimed, than faebane.
"I don't like you going out after these." Avi sent a soft look towards Fallon as he rolled his shoulders, before flicking his attention to Celeste and Gandriel. "Any of you. Something is off, it's making me uneasy."
"We can handle it," Fallon dusted off her pants, the new green pearl around her neck glinting in the sunlight. "We've no choice but to go, but the information is helpful, Dad, thank you."
He stepped forward to stop her, grabbing her hand. "I mean it, pup, I don't think you should be going against this alone, even with your storm wielder." A glance towards Gandriel. "Give me a few more days, just a little longer to see if I can find a way around those wards and see what the hell they're doing."
Celeste had an odd feeling she could get past them, a hunch that she could unravel such a spell, that she'd spent some time in her forgotten youth doing just that.
Fallon shook her head. "We don't have the time. They're going to make it to port if we don't intercept them now. We can't afford to lose anyone on board those ships." Her tone left no room for argument as she looked up at her father, squeezing his hand tightly. "Besides, if you haven't gotten any information yet, a few more days isn't going to make a difference."
"Did you get a count on the captives?" Celeste inquired, her mind turning through what was different about this shipment. The whole thing was fishy. "A solid count on the arms they might have?"
"No," Avi didn't let his daughter's hand go as he spoke, instead pulling her under an arm. "The wards are making it impossible to even eavesdrop when they pull into port. You're going in completely blind."
"Fallon's right, we'll manage." Celeste nodded at Fallon and was pleased when her fellow captain returned the gesture, slipping out of her father's hold. With Gandriel's power and the other array of magic wielders they had among their crews they could handle it. "We need to take off soon, we've only a week to catch them. We can plan on the way."
Avi grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Vaerek put a supportive hand on his arm.
"We've been through worse, I'm certain we can handle this." Avi patted his lover's hand.
"I'm aware, but it doesn't bring me any comfort. Fallon, is that male of yours joining?"
She crowed a laugh. "Absolutely not, I sent him to Marchedor to move an informant to a safehouse. I can't have him distracting me from work. He's to meet us when we return."
Avi gave her an amused look, as though he read into something that everyone else missed. He rolled his neck experimentally.
"Then I'll go with you, an extra set of hands can't hurt."
"Don't you have more work to do? We can't just shut down the network because you're afraid we're going to get hurt. I've never failed and don't intend to start doing so now." Fallon smirked, tilting her chin arrogantly.
"It's not up for discussion, pup," Avi smiled brightly at Celeste, offering her out a calloused hand, well accustomed to blades. "By the way, it's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face." He sent an amused look at Gandriel, who was blatantly avoiding making eye contact. "Both of you."
Celeste shook his hand in return. "Same to you, Avi."
Releasing his hold, the selkie glanced toward the Siren and Loreley docked side by side. "I need to let my men know I'm leaving. I'll join you before you set off." He turned back to them with a smirk. "And you, storm wielder," Gandriel grudgingly flicked his attention to Avi, "make sure we get out of this in one piece and I'll introduce to as many selkie females as you'd like."
Gandriel puffed his cheeks, as he sheepishly muttered, "I don't need selkie females, I have Anelisse."
"I'm certain she'd be thrilled to meet some of the males though," Celeste nudged Gandriel playfully in the ribs, knowing full well that her sister who was now loaded on the Loreley would be thrilled to have more painting subjects, "now come on, we've work to do before we set off."