Three days. Three days, and Avi had come up empty-handed. He'd climbed aboard the Loreley soaking wet and looking far more haggard than Celeste felt comfortable with. Even Vaerek had openly expressed his frustration when the selkie lord had relayed his information.
There was not a ship for miles, as though the vessels had truly vanished into thin air, and not a trace of magic remained to attempt to track them with.
Three days and they were no closer to finding their quarry than they'd been in Sandlock, meaning they'd likely lost an entire shipment of slaves. Disgust and frustration pooled in Celeste's stomach.
On top of it all, she was still short one useless, drunken first mate.
She'd half expected the fool to have at least appeared back aboard the Loreley by now, even if his winnowing abilities were still less than refined. It left a strange mix of concern and annoyance coursing through her.
On the one hand, if he were still stuck in Sandlock it certainly served him right, but on the other . . .
Half of her hoped he truly had just disappeared in a moment of idiocy and that he'd rightfully feared her wrath and had simply opted to return to Marchedor, but as the days crept on more and more doubt had filled her mind.
If someone had captured the invalid and gotten information out of him, or worse, harmed him . . . At the time, she'd been so furious with him she hadn't thought twice about leaving without searching further, but what if he truly had run into trouble? She had left him to his fate.
Celeste threw her blades down onto her bed. They were screwed, and practically shooting into the dark while they scrambled for any shred of information, any hint as to where the ships could have gone. And without Gandriel's weather magic, the shroud of fog that had masked the ships before had vanished, leaving them open for any spying eyes to see for miles.
If they missed this shipment . . . She snarled and slammed her hand down onto her mahogany desk. She refused to give up on them, refused to lose a single innocent life. Dropping into her chair, Celeste yelped in surprise when she felt a furry mass shift beneath her, meowing pathetically.
And then there was this asshole.
This damned feline, whom Eoin had affectionately and rather unimaginatively dubbed Pumpkin, had certainly done his part to contribute to her frayed nerves. According to Eoin, the fluffy and rather plump orange tom had appeared out of nowhere as he and Koda waited for Gandriel on the docks of Sandlock. Since then, the little bastard had been sneaking into Celeste's room at every available opportunity. She'd found him endearing at first, until she'd opened the door to her cabin on the first night and found papers scattered across the floor, every surface of her cabin covered in black pawprints, a nearly full inkwell pooling into the carpet. The chaos had only worsened in the days that followed: utter destruction of everything she owned, always accompanied by the most horrendous yowling she'd ever heard.
She'd never wanted to sincerely murder a ball of fluff more.
Losing her patience with the squashed orange hairball, she snatched him up harshly by the scruff of his neck and glared daggers into the creature's yellow-green eyes. His ears flattened and the tip of his tail twitched angrily as he stared back.
"Listen here, you little bag of dicks. Eoin might be fond of you but I will throw your fuzzy ass overboard, just try me."
He'd already ripped apart three of her shirts and seemed to have a particular fondness for maps, tearing apart every single one she'd managed to leave within his reach, scattering shreds of parchment across the room. The night before, he'd clawed his way up her back, crying so pitifully that Eoin had burst into the room worried she'd murdered the poor thing.
Without warning, Pumpkin took a vicious swipe at her nose, followed by an earsplitting yowl, his eyes wide as he dug his claws into her arms, clinging painfully as she carried him toward the door of her room.
He was inches from becoming fish food.
"Out with you!"
With no amount of gentleness Celeste tossed the cat out onto the deck, narrowly missing Anelisse. She couldn't help the quirk of her mouth as she heard the familiar sound of skidding paws as he slid across the wood and smacked into the railing.
Gesturing for Anelisse to hurry into the room she immediately slammed the door shut, keeping the furry demon out.
"There's no need to be so harsh with him," her sister chuckled.
"He hasn't shit-wrecked your room endlessly for the last few days. I told Eoin to keep him in his cabin."
"I believe the little devil keeps escaping."
"We need better locks." And better informants, more information, a miracle—
"You need a break."
Celeste stopped her pacing and caught the pointed look her sister levelled at her from her seat on the bed, patting the empty spot next to her. Celeste released a long sigh through her nose before flopping down, groaning loudly.
"Nothing's going to plan. If we lose these people—"
"We won't." A soft hand settled in her hair, smoothing back the stray strands of her braid. "But pacing and beating up on our newest crew member won't resolve this. Resting and clearing your mind will. Avi's gone out to search again, we're to meet with him and the others on his return. Why don't you rest in the meantime?"
"But—" She had no time to rest, there was so much to be done, maps to pore over, plans to be laid-
"No buts." Celeste felt a gentle shove as Anelisse scooted closer, the sweet scent of vanilla and lavender encompassing her. "You'd be wise to listen to your sister for once in your stubborn, immortal existence."
"Easy for you to say when there aren't innumerable lives depending on you."
"All the more reason you should take care of yourself." The mattress shifted as Anelisse stood up began to tug at her boots. "Who's going to defend us if you pass out again? Certainly not Eoin or his new little friend, nor our dear, dear missing Gandriel."
Celeste flinched at the tone. She certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of the lecture the male was going to get when Anelisse got her hands on him. There was a good chance she still wouldn't have a first mate by the time her sister was done with him.
Unfortunately, Anelisse was right.
Her dreams had been torturous lately, filled with flitting images and an impending sense of wrongness that had chased her from sleep without fail. Perhaps a nap might give her the mental clarity she'd been lacking, if sleep would come.
Celeste grumbled and pulled back the covers, welcoming the soft embrace of the mattress. She almost sighed in relief when Anelisse joined her, her soft, petite hands taking her own.
"Let's rest together." Anelisse snuggled close, their fingers intertwined, the same way they'd slept when the dreams had chased Celeste from slumber in their youth. "You've looked unwell lately."
"It's just the dreams," she muttered halfheartedly, surprised as she felt sleep already slipping in to claim her. "You know how they are."
"I do." She felt her sister pull the covers up around her. "I remember how many nights you'd sit shaking by the fire from one of them, always afraid something was waiting in the shadows to take you."
"I was always certain there was . . ." But if they thought her dead, if she could just keep her head down and identity concealed . . . They'd never find her again.
"Not anymore," Anelisse pressed a kiss to her hair before settling, silver eyes bright, "not while I'm here."
As if Celeste would ever let them get close enough to her to even touch her—the reality of who her sister had likely seen in the market slid through her like oil. So incredibly lucky that they'd hadn't scented her or recognized the painting, so lucky they hadn't harmed Anelisse—
She was dead and she would remain that way. Even if the thought of their proximity to Prythian had set her on edge since their departure from Marchedor.
A familiar ache bloomed in her mind.
For now, she needed sleep and a clear head if she were to successfully track the ships. Snuggling down into the blankets, Celeste felt her eyelids grow heavy as she slipped off into a doze, when a familiar yowl sounded at the door, followed by scratching and banging.
Her eyes snapped open.
"Anelisse?"
"Hmm?"
"How would you feel about a new rug?"
Celeste would never know how that purple monstrosity of Fallon's never seemed to get dirty, the oversized feather still as jaunty as ever.
The captain smirked as she propped her feet up on the desk, staring out the window at the deck, watching Celeste's crew flit about as Vaerek settled on her right.
Avi was due back any minute.
"You know," Fallon quipped, her plump lips turning up at the corners, "dear Pumpkin's going to be sick all over your bed if that boy of yours keeps feeding him fish."
The little devil had survived their earlier scuffle, barely. Once Celeste had caught him she'd personally marched him back to his caretaker, making sure they both understood that if she caught him in her room again she'd kill him and roast him for dinner.
Eoin had been keeping a close eye on the cat since.
"He can clean it up if he does, it's not my problem."
Fallon chuckled, tossing an apple she'd swiped from the center of the table.
"I also see your wayward first mate hasn't returned," she bit into the fruit, "I'm surprised he hasn't used his little disappearing act to make his way back." The captain sucked on the juices. "Though if he were wise he'd have headed the opposite direction, considering the look of murder that just came across Anelisse's face."
"I'm not upset," the blonde replied delicately, running her hands down the front of her dress. "Whatever do you mean?"
Fallon smiled knowingly.
"You know, there is always the possibility that the barkeep was lying," Vaerek interjected coolly, his tanned arms crossed over his chest. "It could be time to entertain the idea that someone may have gotten their hands on Gandriel, especially if he actually managed to get the information we needed."
"I've considered it," Celeste admitted, looking at the empty chair on her left where her missing first mate usually sat, considering the possibility she had abandoned him to a harsh fate. "But it's also not unlikely that he would pull such a stunt and simply refuse to face us in the hopes we'd be less angry later."
Unfortunately, with Gandriel it was impossible to tell.
"True, but it seems awfully convenient to me, especially with his feelings for Anelisse." Vaerek nodded to the blonde. "The behavior and story seem . . . off to me."
"Then do we go back and look for him?" Fallon inquired, sitting forward and tossing her apple core into the rubbish bin. "On the off chance he's actually been taken? We'll be wasting precious time if we find him curled up drunk beneath a barrel somewhere."
"We should see what Avi has to say first," Anelisse added, looking uncomfortable at the thought. "Let's not make plans until we have all our information first."
"Solid point," Fallon leaned back in her chair, smirking, "and right on time. He's here."
Sure enough, a moment later the cabin door opened and a stonefaced Avi entered, dark eyes hard as he stepped inside. Vaerek sat forward.
"I don't like that look."
"You shouldn't." The selkie lord wrung out his hair, his sharply handsome face twisted in frustration, at odds with his usually sunny disposition. "There's nothing out there but an energy sink spanning from Prythian to the continent; it's like they've somehow completely wiped any magical remnants. I can't find them, we're wasting time at this point."
"How?" Fallon snarled. "How did they completely slip past us like this? We've never had a bad kernel of information in all of the years that we've been chasing these slimy bastards—"
"There's a first for everything, pup," Avi's eyes softened as he slumped into a chair next to his daughter. "We've done everything we can."
"Hog shit. There must be something else we can do."
"They must have taken him." Vaerek scratched at his chin, glancing between the table's occupants. "I'm willing to bet gold the barkeep was paid off, which means Gandriel must have gotten the information."
"So we go back to Sandlock then?" Fallon rubbed at her face. "We're three days' sail away now, meaning we're sure to miss any chance of seeing the ships."
"We're not going to find them anyway." Celeste hated the sinking feeling that bloomed in her stomach, they had lost three ships' worth of people, and she was now faced with the real possibility that she might lose Gandriel, all because she'd let her anger get the better of her. "If we turn back and head that way now—"
The door to the cabin flew open as an orange blur raced in, followed closely by Eoin begging his charge to behave himself. His pleas fell on deaf ears as Pumpkin leapt onto the table, back arched and yowling loudly, as though daring any of them to stop him.
Celeste's temper snapped. She was absolutely done with the little bastard's shit, he was going overboard come hell or high water. With the speed of an adder she dove for the cat, trapping him easily beneath her grasp.
"So help me, you fat, mangy, ungrateful, tuna-filled little prick bag—" Celeste wrangled the cat before she brought him to eye level, keeping her gaze locked on his defiant little stare—this was why she had always preferred dogs.
Eoin stood by, looking helpless as how to help his new furry companion.
Of all of the things they absolutely had no time to deal with—
Avi chuckled, raising an eyebrow.
"So, when were you going to tell me that Gandriel is a shapeshifter?"
Everyone froze and stared at the selkie, amusement twinkling in his dark eyes. He nodded at the dangling tabby in Celeste's hands.
"No." Celeste gaped, the gears in her mind slowly clicking into place. She turned her attention back to the cat now hanging limply in her grasp, no longer fighting her. All his destructive behavior, his insistence on always being under her feet—
"I swear to the Mother . . ." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Gandriel, if it's you, meow twice."
Pumpkin complied with the saddest little meows Celeste had ever heard.
Anelisse stared slack-jawed at the dangling feline as Fallon promptly burst into raucous laughter. Vaerek's eyebrows shot up and Eoin simply glanced confusedly between them all.
Celeste sniffed tentatively at the feline, familiarity flaring to life in her mind. She'd never even thought to check its scent, and it hadn't stood out, since Gandriel's faint floral aroma was on practically every surface of the ship.
"What in the Mother's name have you done?"
Pumpkin - no, Gandriel - cried softly as he went limp in her hands, looking increasingly guilty. A mix of emotions flickered in Celeste as she stared at her first mate before setting him down on the table, her hands shaking.
How had he even managed this? Then again, only a few months ago he hadn't realized he could winnow. If the full extent of his powers was just now manifesting . . . Idiot, he was such an idiot, but he hadn't abandoned them, and if he'd gotten the information-
"One meow for yes, two for no, do you understand?"
Gandriel mewed once.
"Did they find you out?"
A single meow.
"Do you know where the ships are?"
One more.
Of course. He'd been tearing up the maps, scratching at the same spot on each.
"Show us."
Gandriel quickly complied, bounding across the table to the large map Celeste had spread out for the meeting. He searched for a moment before sitting down, delicately placing a paw directly over the same spot he'd pulled out of the other maps.
"You're certain?" Celeste studied the location, due north of where they'd originally been searching.
Another meow.
Their information had indeed been incorrect then, they'd been scouring the wrong area.
"Can you change back?"
Two forlorn meows.
Of course not. Celeste swiped up Gandriel and deposited her first mate in her sister's arms, where he promptly began to purr. She rolled her eyes.
"See if there's a way to get him to write out the information; we need to head north. I'll get the crew ready to leave."