Erick shook his head in protest. “They’ll never agree.”
“You’ll make them agree. Tell them if they get bored, then they can always disturb the peace of my enemies. Now go, Erick, get me their oaths.”
He stood to leave, then hesitated and said, “Gregor wants to see you.”
“But I don’t want to see him.” Even the thought of it was nauseating.
“He said to remind you that despite his crimes, he did keep your princess safe and he thinks that’s worth a few minutes of your time.”
I closed my eyes to rest them and mumbled, “Very well, then.”
When Erick left, I looked over to Fink. “What do you want? Not to stay here, I’d guess.”
Fink thought for a moment, and then said, “Can I come with you?”
“I’m not sure. You’re pretty annoying.” Then I raised a corner of my mouth. “Yes, I want you to come to Drylliad with me. But you’ll have to give up your plans of being a thief and get a proper education.”
Fink wrinkled his nose. “Education?”
“Yes. And learn a few manners. I can’t decide which you need more. My friend Tobias will teach you, and if you give him any trouble, I’ll order him to be twice as boring as usual. Trust me, he can do it.”
“Can I bring my rat?”
“No.” He tilted his head, but I tightened my stare at him. “No.”
Reluctantly, Fink agreed; then, with heavy eyes, I looked at Roden. “Am I safe under your watch?”
“You’re safe,” Roden assured me as I drifted off.
I didn’t sleep as well after that. A new pain had formed in my leg and I lay half-awake and half-submerged in nightmares that kept the pain fresh. Still, I preferred that to being awoken some time later with the news that Erick had brought Gregor to see me.
Roden helped me into a sitting position, which made my head swim with dizziness. I knew I looked bad, but I refused to look like an invalid.
Erick escorted Gregor in, his hands tied behind him and his clothing stripped of decoration. He gave me a quick appraisal, then began, “Jaron —”
“You’ll address me by my title,” I said sharply. “And bow until your pointed chin scrapes the floor.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He didn’t quite make it to the floor, but did put in a fair effort.
“If you hope to convince me of your innocence, then you’re wasting my time.”
“No, Your Majesty. I ask only for the same mercy you extended to Master Conner. Please take me back to Drylliad with you. The pirates —”
“The pirates can’t be that bad. After all, you were happy to ask their help in killing me.”
Gregor’s teeth were gritted so tightly together I wondered if his jaw had stopped working. “I had my reasons.”
“Such as?”
For the first time since he entered, he looked directly at me. “You missed important meals, made jokes about the regents, and ignored your father’s future plans. I genuinely felt I’d do a better job as king. But now I confess that perhaps you were right. It seems there is a threat against Carthya after all.”
It wasn’t anywhere near as interesting an excuse as I’d expected. “Well, I’d bring you back, except it would require me to look at you during the ride and I’m already feeling sick enough. No, you’ll stay here and face whatever consequences the pirates intend for you.”
“You’re their king too.”
I nodded toward Erick. “But it’s his decision now. Use your poisonous tongue to beg mercy from him. Now go away.”
Erick stepped forward and lifted Gregor by his bound hands. “The night before you left, you asked if I thought you wanted to run.” Gregor’s tone was somewhere between panicked and furious now. “I did think that. I thought you were the worst of cowards and it justified my belief that I should be named steward.”
Despite the pain it caused, I leaned forward and in a soft whisper said, “There was something you failed to understand about me.” He tilted his head and in my strongest voice I added, “I never run!”
Gregor’s eyes widened, then his face paled as Erick dragged him away, handing him off to pirates who had been waiting outside.
“The oaths?” I asked Erick when he turned back to me.
“Nobody’s happy about it,” he said. “But I pointed out that we’d never get you to leave unless they made the oath. Besides, we figure if you stayed, there’s not a lot more that the pirates could do to you. The oath is secure. The pirates are officially at peace with Carthya.”
With relief, I said, “Very good.”
“It’s not all good,” Erick continued. “It won’t be long before the king of Avenia learns that you’ve stolen the pirates’ loyalty from him. He won’t be happy about this.”
“Well, I’m not happy with him either.” He had conspired with the pirates in trying to overthrow me. It was unlikely that he and I would sit down for tea together anytime soon. I used the last of my energy to say, “No matter what comes, you’ll see that the pirates keep their oath to me. If there is a fight, they will fight for me.”
“You are our king,” Erick said.
I nodded, then said to Roden, “It’s time to leave. I want to go home.”
The ride to Libeth was a study in the art of torture. Roden drove a cart led by his horse and mine, and I yelled more than once that I was certain he was deliberately driving into every bump or pothole. He said he was going as fast as he could, which wasn’t exactly a denial. I cursed back at him until Fink told me he was learning words even the pirates didn’t use. I told him to be quiet and let me try to rest. Before long I began shivering. Fink pushed blankets close around my body, but it didn’t do much good because the cold wasn’t outside. It was in me, like ice water had filled my veins. The nausea returned, and with it a sort of dizziness that only got worse when I closed my eyes. But sleep was impossible and with every mile I felt considerably worse. Eventually, Fink faded into the background, melting away like characters often did in my dreams.
It was late at night when the cart finally stopped. I was aware of Roden talking to me and pressing my neck for a pulse, but when I tried to explain what I wanted he just stared at me as if he didn’t understand.
A moment later, Harlowe’s face was leaning over mine. He barked orders at people I couldn’t see and then picked me up to carry me into his home. I tried to talk to him, but he told me to hush and that everything was going to be all right. I understood that already. Wasn’t that why I’d come to the pirates in the first place, to fix things? I was just so tired and nothing anyone did or said made any sense.
Harlowe laid me on a bed in a room I didn’t recognize and covered me in blankets. I kept pushing them off and fighting whoever was nearby until I got the item from my shirt that I wanted.
“Harlowe,” I mumbled. He appeared and said something about having already sent for a surgeon. That didn’t matter. I could hardly feel my leg anymore. All I wanted was to give him the pocket watch, which I pressed into his hand. “Forgive me,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure whether he understood me or not, but he brushed my sweat-dampened hair off my face and told me to go to sleep. This time, I obeyed.
