Kings and Thieves

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The ship was a comforting sight at the end of the day. After all the excitement, all Lyla wanted to do was peel off her slippers and not have to think about all of the subjects that plagued her mind.

She was a wanted criminal now, she supposed. At least until she rescued Tristran and cleared her name.

The thought was intriguing, at least. She didn't feel any different.

Either way, it was good to be home, Lyla thought cheerfully as she arranged her bounteous skirts before flopping onto her favorite wooden bench on the deck, apple in hand.

The thought made her freeze, suddenly, and she nearly dropped her fruit.

Did she think of Ari's ship as home?

Aveline called her to help tow the anchor in before Lyla could begin to decipher what her slip of words really meant in the grand scheme of things, and she didn't have time to entertain the subject further. But it was the last thing that popped into her head before she fell asleep on the dock, as her friends danced to the tragic sound of a violin under the careful watch of the ocean and the sky.

Home.

--

The next morning, Aveline and Ari took them to the bottom deck, followed dutifully by Inez and Henry.

"So, assuming that we undergo this rescue successfully, there are some things that we need to discuss." Ari's voice echoed down the hallway, bouncing off the old wooden walls.

"Like what?" Eli inquired.

"Like confidentiality," Aveline chimed in. "A lot of the things we keep on the ship are dangerous."
"And illegal," Henry muttered. Ari shot him a hard glance and he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

Understatement of the century, Lyla thought idly, stifling a giggle.

"Like Silver?" She found herself prompting, though she already knew the answer— they had stopped in front of the marine room.

Aveline answered by fiddling with the padlock for a moment before opening the door.

Lyla had been in this room a lot of times, but it always gave her an eerie feeling; surrounded by tanks and fish with sharp teeth. Silver was lying at the bottom of the tank, her enormous body curled into a pointed spiral. She looked less evil to Lyla now that she'd seen her enough times, but she still had a wild glint in her eye.

Lyla had somehow forgotten that Eli and Jamie had never seen her before and steeled herself for their reactions, but they were both only silent for a moment, taking the creature in. Meanwhile Inez, who seemed perfectly unruffled despite the events of the night before, settled herself against the tank and set on studiously cleaning her fingernails with a dagger.

Finally Eli cleared his throat.

"So, you've been keeping this monster right below where we sleep this whole time?"

"Yes," replied Ari, sounding pleased with himself. Shameless. "She's the fastest creature in the seas. Bulletproof. Am I missing anything else, Inez? Henry?"

Henry eagerly drew himself up. "She's aggressive when threatened. Over two hundred teeth. She can bite through-"
"Yes, thank you; she's an enormous weapon, is the bottom line," Aveline finished hastily.

"Uh, so why do you have here onboard?"

Eli's question was valid enough, but it was also one that Lyla felt quite sure would be ignored.