Aazuria placed her teacup down violently. “I strongly recommend you do not return to work. Not yet.”
“I have to,” Trevain said. It had been a few days since Aazuria’s return, and he had been catching up on his messages and chatting with his shipmates. He had decided that it was time for a return to normalcy. “It’s been a while since we lost Callder and Leander, and the crew is getting restless. Everyone still has to live.”
“I command that you do not go back to work yet!” she said, leaning forward with both of her hands gripping the edge of the table.
He chuckled at her intense body-language. “Zuri, we’ve missed most of the fishing season. If my men all go off and join other crews then I won’t know what to do with myself in the years to come. The Fishin’ Magician will be blacklisted and no one will want to join my crew…”
“If you must go off to sea then you will allow me to join you,” she insisted. “You are short two men, and surely I can take over some of their duties.”
“Aazuria!” he said with a laugh. “It’s hard work. Dirty, wet, and exhausting.”
“Please,” she persisted. “I just want to make sure that you are safe.”
“And I want to make sure you are safe. You’ve never been on a crab fishing boat before, have you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I have been on many boats,” she answered, “so many kinds of boats that I cannot remember all of their names. You know that I am a strong swimmer as well.”
“It’s too dangerous for you,” he said inflexibly.
“Dammit, Trevain, that’s not fair! I want to be involved in your life.”
“Then agree to marry me,” he said with a grin as he sipped his tea.
“I will not agree if you do not either heed my warning, or take me aboard.”
“And you will if I do?”
She shut her lips tightly.
“Very clever, Zuri. Nice try.” Trevain smirked at her. “You’re already trying to use all the leverage you have over me to manipulate me into doing what you want. I think you’re going to make the perfect wife.”
The sound of an annoying car horn being honked multiple times interrupted them. “That’s Brynne, no doubt,” he said. “I’m going to carpool with her to the docks.”
“You are in grave danger,” Aazuria whispered, putting her face in her hands. “How can you not see this?”
“Look! Wifely concern,” Trevain teased, putting his hands on her shoulders, and kissing the top of her head. He gently massaged her shoulders to ease her tension. “Relax. As Brynne likes to say, it’s not my first rodeo. I know how to take care of myself.”
Brynne’s car horn impatiently sounded again, startling both of them.
“Crazy Brynne Ambrose,” he said, shaking his head. “I swear that woman will be the death of me!”
“Do not joke about the death of you!” Aazuria said harshly. “I have a very bad feeling about this. When you have a bad feeling you listen to it, and make your whole crew listen—will you not believe me this time? I am certain that there is a menace out there of which you cannot even conceive. I know these things, Trevain. I am being completely sincere; this is not paranoia.”
“I’ve been doing this my whole life. It’s a cinch,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile.
She was not reassured. She could see that he also was anxious, but he was trying to push past it and remain calm. She wanted to pull rank on him and tell him exactly what she had been doing her whole life, just how long that was, and how much she had seen. She wanted to tell him what had actually happened to the boats in the Bermuda Triangle, and to the boats in Japan’s Dragon’s Triangle, and how it was happening again now, right here. Instead she just shook her head. “I hope you know that I am deeply displeased. Nothing good can come of this, and one of us will surely suffer for your mistake.”
He reached out and squeezed her arm before kissing her on the temple. “I’ll see you in a few days, okay?”
With that, he left. She let out a huge sigh, returning her head to her hands. She sat there, wallowing in worry for several minutes before she heard her sisters entering the room. Elandria came and sat close to her.
“What’s wrong, Zuri?” Corallyn asked. “Still bummed about Trevain heading back to work?”
“I asked him not to go. I strongly recommended him not to go. I ordered him not to go! I demanded he let me come along!” she said angrily. “Why did he not listen to me? How dare he ignore me like this?” She wanted to smash something, but she had enough composure to restrain herself. She had learned to control her temper long ago, in her youth. It had taken three centuries, but she no longer acted on foolish impulse and whim. At least not when anyone was looking.
Corallyn smiled. “This is his jurisdiction. You can’t order him around here. Besides, he doesn’t know you’re a crown princess, and even if he did it would probably make no difference.”
“Atargatis is out there,” she said uneasily. “I threatened him that I would not marry him if he left, and he still left.”
“He must have known that was an idle threat,” Corallyn said with amusement. “Do you think you’re going to refuse him?”
“Yes! I cannot do this,” Aazuria said. “I cannot be his wife. He does not even consider my words significant.”
“You know that is not true,” Elandria said. “You must understand that he has obligations to his crew just as you have obligations to Adlivun.”
“Fine,” said Aazuria, standing up and slamming her fist on the table. “Then I will follow him. I will not sit idly by as he plunges himself into dangers unknown to him. The sun sets so early; the fishermen spend most of their time working in the dark.” She pointed to her eyes. “I have a tapetum lucidum, so I can see more clearly in the night than they can. I will be beneath the water, so I will also have a better angle of view.”
“Sio and Viso won’t be pleased about this,” Corallyn warned her.
“It is just a reconnaissance mission, really. You know that I am fast, and I will not be seen.”
“Then take the twins,” Corallyn urged sternly.
“Sionna is in the infirmary taking care of people who are close to death! Visola is busy pawning my jewels and buying illegal weapons on the black market. Both are busy; I do not wish to disturb them.”
“You promised Sionna you would stay here,” Corallyn reminded her. “This is your sanctuary for now.”
“Coral,” Aazuria said, looking at her sister with authority, “it might be the Clan of Zalcan out there. Do you know how much fun they have killing unsuspecting sailors and fishermen? It is their trademark. They sunk hundreds of boats in Japan. Hundreds. Do you know how many people died? Those people had nothing to do with the Ningyo—that was just ‘while we are in the neighborhood’ killing.”
“Yeah, exactly—so if they’re so dangerous do you really want to run into them without your warriors? Elandria and I would go with you, but if there is any trouble, how much can we really help?”
Elandria placed her hand on Aazuria’s arm to elicit her attention. She fixed her sister with a somber gaze. She opened her lips ever so slightly and murmured, “Take the twins.”
Aazuria turned to her sister in surprise. When Elandria used her voice to speak, it was always imperative. Aazuria often said that her silent sister was the wisest person she knew, and she would never take any action against her counsel.
“Fine. I will.”