A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle (19 page)

She remembered settling in, tossing and
turning until her legs curved at the perfect angle. Moments later,
upon hearing a snore, Jinji had mistakenly looked over toward Rhen,
only to be greeted by the sight of his bare butt slipping free of
the sheets.

Her cheeks had grown hot and her limbs
stiff. With a groan, she had flipped on her side to stare instead
at the wooden knots on the wall. But out of sight did not mean out
of mind, and the awareness of a naked man in the same room with her
had left Jinji unnerved for the rest of the night.

Eight days later, she had gotten slightly
more used to it. Then again, she might have gotten better at just
closing her eyes, feigning sleep, and doing her best to ignore
it.

Despite all of this, Jinji had to admit that
a part of her was starting to have fun.

Not at first.

Not even at the middle.

But now, whatever part of her story it was,
a little bit of joy had nestled into her heart, finally warming a
place that had been cold for too long.

The journey from the forest had been heart
wrenching, the trek through the city surreal, the first days on the
boat sickening.
But now
, Jinji thought, staring at the waves
splashing against the ship,
now it feels a little
exciting
.

She had found her favorite part of the
ship—the front, or the bow she reminded herself. Right behind the
great wooden spike protruding from the deck, like an armless tree
sprouting from the wood, that was where she liked to stand. Right
in the center, the seam, where the water parted ways and glided
around them. There, the wind whipped past her face, the ocean
sprawled before her, and the entire world seemed to welcome her
with open arms.

At the front of the ship, where no one else
liked to stand, the spirits would dance just for her. Moving faster
than she had ever dreamed, the spirit strands spiraled into a
vortex of colors, clashing and crashing just for her eyes to see.
The yellows of the air laced with the blues of the sea, weaving
into a bright turquoise, a color as beautiful as any she had seen
before. When Rhen stood close by, the spirits danced around his
figure, as bright red as his skin, and it stood out like a beacon
of heat against the cool colors behind him.

None of the others on the ship were shrouded
with spirits as he was, no one in the city had been either, and
Jinji was starting to understand that there was something he was
hiding, a part of him that was special just like her.

And she ached to know what it was.

Ached for something to make her feel not
quite so alone. For someone she could share that part of herself
with, even if that someone seemed made to annoy her.

Constantly.

The man had turned the entire ship against
her. As soon as they realized how easy it was to make the small boy
Jin uncomfortable, all of the crew joined in the fun. Jinji had
never seen so much of the male anatomy before, and she hoped to
never see so much of it again.

"What are you thinking so hard on, Jin?" A
voice said, interrupting her ruminations.

Jinji turned, smiling when she realized that
it was Captain Pygott standing beside her, greeting her with a warm
smile barely visible through the coarse strands of his thick white
beard. His leathery skin crinkled around his eyes, blue just like
the ocean he lived on. The rest of his hair was secured in a tight
braid at the nape of his neck, hidden under the rim of his wide
black hat. It was topped with a great blooming feather like one she
had never seen before—soft and airy, not coarse and firm like the
ones they had used for arrows back home. That it never blew off his
head seemed like a magical feat to her, but no one else was so
amazed by it.

Unlike Rhen, the captain had a distinct
regard for clothing—colorful ones that popped against the sea. Deep
purples and bright oranges, all decorated with some sort of bauble
that sparkled in her eye. In the sun, he was almost too brilliant
to look at, but Jinji thought he might like it that way. He stood
out amongst the crew, the clear leader, and they all listened to
him.

During the second day on the ship, Rhen had
told her that the captain used to sail warships for the king and
then one day, out of the blue, he just left, taking this ship and
some of its crew with him. The king asked no questions, but
everyone else in the kingdom did. Rumors swirled that he had fallen
in the love with the queen and was banished from the royal court
when the king found out.

Rhen claimed he knew the truth—that the man
was old and alone and simply wanted an easier life, but there was
still a part of his story that seemed falsified.

Jinji didn’t push to know the truth, because
no matter what, she liked this captain. He was a kind man and a
breath of fresh air. And she loved the way he told her stories, how
he helped her escape.

"I'm thinking that perhaps sailing is not so
bad as I thought," Jinji said, looking back out at the water.

"I told you those sea legs would come
eventually." He moved next to her, leaning on the front banister
with his forearms. "Look at that, wide open water with not a cloud
in the sky. It's the perfect day to be a sailor, Jin, the perfect
day. A hundred little boys in the kingdom are looking out of market
stalls, enviously daydreaming that they were where we stand.
Remember that."

"I will," she said softly. He had a way of
making every moment feel special.

"I was one of those boys once, did you know
that?"

She shook her head, looking at his profile
while his eyes glittered with reflections of the sun. There was
still a spark in him, one that came out mostly when he was spinning
tales. A weaver of sorts, almost like with her illusions, but his
were webs of words that ensnared her mind in wonder. Over the past
few days, he'd told her all about the kings of old—Whyl the
Conqueror, the kings before and after him. Stories of knights and
princesses, of love and loss, of honor. But never anything
personal.

Until now.

"Yes, I was one of those boys, working for a
butcher but dreaming of the sea. Day after day, always the same.
Yelling over the other vendors, shouting our goods out to the
crowd, fighting for the smallest penny. And the smell, the smell
was so thick I swore it had seeped into my bones to haunt me for
the rest of my life. Until one day, everything changed." He paused
dramatically, drumming his fingers on the wood, as though the
humming air would tell his story for him.

"What happened?" Jinji asked, losing
patience.

The older man grinned.

"One day, I saw a little boy playing in the
streets, running through the crowds, looking behind his back every
couple of steps—a little boy in a bright red shirt. I knew exactly
who he was, so I snatched him up, holding him tightly despite his
protests, and waited for the guards to come. That little boy was a
prince at the time, but he is the king now, and he was trying to
run away. But I stopped him, and the old king granted me one wish.
Do you know what I wished for?"

"A ship?" Jinji asked. He laughed.

"No, nothing so grand. A job cleaning the
decks, but eventually it turned into a ship of my own."

Jinji looked back out at the water. It was a
wonderful story, but it seemed too perfect—too happy to be real.
"Is that true?"

"Stories are hardly ever true, but they do
sound nice." He shrugged, nudging her shoulder. "Would you prefer
the truth?"

Jinji leaned forward, looking out toward the
horizon. The truth was hard. It was dirty and painful and it left
scars. But it was real—it was human. And sometimes, just sometimes,
it could be the best thing in the world.

She nodded.

"The truth is that my father was a captain,
and his father, and his father's father, and all the fathers in my
family, probably from the beginning of time, were sailors. It's in
my blood. People are born to this world with their destiny already
laid out before them, with a future already set—they only get to
fill in the details. That's the truth, Jin.

"But that little boy was real, it just
wasn't the king, it was Whylrhen. He used to love playing on my
ship when I worked for the crown, and I caught him trying to run
away too many times. Because Whylrhen is like those little boys in
their stalls daydreaming of ships, thinking the world is a far more
magical place than it truly is. Who are you, Jin?"

The spirits were silent, though she half
expected them to suddenly jump into her vision. She was the
spirits, that was her path now, that was her destiny. But she
couldn’t say that—she didn’t want to tell that truth. So instead,
she simply answered, "I don't know."

"And that might be painful now, but in time
you might find it a gift. To not know. To be free. To get to
choose. Your future is as vast as this sea before us." He shrugged.
"But who am I? Just an old man spinning stories of youth while my
crew tries to sail us round in circles."

He turned, cupping his hands before his
mouth, "Back to work! What do you think this is, social hour? We
have royalty aboard." He looked at Jinji, winked, and then whipped
his head in Rhen's direction. "Prince Whylrhen, why don't you show
our little friend the crow's nest?"

"Ay, ay, Captain," Rhen said with a salute,
and a rather mocking one at that. Captain Pygott shook his head,
pretending to smack Rhen when they crossed paths. For his part,
Rhen didn't try to dodge the blow, but Jinji saw the captain pull
back at the last second, careful not to lay a hand on the prince.
His old eyes twinkled, sparkled with affection, almost like those
of a father.

"How long have you known Captain Pygott?"
She asked when Rhen came closer.

He turned to look over his shoulder, as if
the question had spurred a memory, and replied, "My whole life. I
used to run away from the castle all the time, and the only place
the guards gave me any peace was on his ship. They deemed it safe,
I deemed it a sanctuary."

"And how often do you sail together
now?"

Rhen's head shifted quickly, his eyes
narrowing on Jinji. But then they softened and he shrugged.
"Whenever convenient. But no matter, to the crow's nest with
you."

Jinji locked the memory in the back of her
mind, the anxious vein in his gaze. There was something in their
relationship Rhen did not want her know, maybe something to do with
the fire spirits constantly circling his body. Or maybe not.

"What's the crow's nest?" Jinji asked
instead. She would dig into his reaction later.

Rather than answer, Rhen just pointed high
up overhead. Jinji gulped, following his finger until she saw the
small basket hanging from the center mast of the ship.

She gulped again.

"Why would we go up there?"

"For the view." Rhen pushed his elbow into
her side, goading. "Are you afraid to climb it?"

"No," she responded instantly.

"Then follow me."

He didn’t wait for a reply, but instead
walked confidently forward, toward the ropes on the right side of
the ship, ropes that were tied to the outer edge of the wood, on
the ocean side of the banister. Jinji raised her brows, confused as
to what they were doing, until Rhen grabbed hold and pulled himself
on top of the railing.

"It's all about balance," he said, reaching
higher up on the ropes, lifting his foot off the wood as he began
to climb.

Does he want me to follow?
There was
a reason the Arpapajo lived in the woods—they liked their feet
firmly planted on the ground. Even climbing trees had never been
particularly fun to her. She preferred the solid cushion of a patch
of grass or the weightless buoyancy of a pond.

Only birds were meant for the sky.

"Come on, Jin!" Rhen yelled, letting go with
one hand as his body sprung wildly out toward the sea, waving her
up.

The man was insane.

But she refused to give him any more reasons
to make fun of her. If she didn’t climb, it would mean endless
taunts for the rest of the day.

Taking a deep breath, Jinji grabbed hold of
the roughly bound rope, not caring as it itched her palm. She only
strengthened her grasp. Pulling with both hands, she lifted her
body onto the rail.

The boat lurched.

One foot slipped free of the wood.

Instantly, the image of falling down into
the crystal waters below flashed before her, the icy cool prickle,
the pain of the crash. She winced, pulling with all her strength,
hugging the rope to her until both feet were once again
planted.

One breath.

Two breaths.

She kept her eyes closed, steadying her
heart until she felt one with the boat. Slowly, Jinji opened her
eyes, meeting the concerned faces of the crew. Instead of speaking,
she just smiled. They released their gazes, relieved, and returned
to their tasks. Gripping the ropes, she reluctantly returned to
hers.

Just go one step at a time
, she
thought.

Up one with her right arm, up one with her
right leg, steady with her left arm and then safe again with her
left leg settled in.

Making the same movements again and again,
Jinji crawled slowly upward, amazed at how naturally the other men
on the boat moved across it, like spiders. She never appreciated
the skill it took, but now, refusing to look down and locking her
eyes only on the small figure of Rhen above her, she
understood.

When she neared the cage, Rhen grasped her
arms, lifting her free of the rope and pulling her safely into the
wooden basket. She panted for a moment, regained her depleted
strength, and took in the view.

Blue.

For miles and miles in every direction, a
stark and sparkling blue.

She tried to stand, but the rocking of the
ship was magnified with their height, and it seemed to tip almost
sideways with every other breath. Her legs wobbled, and then she
dropped back to the floor.