Storm was gone when I woke up. I stood and stretched. Last night had been perfect. I wanted more of those with Storm. To learn more about his people, his gods and beliefs, his magic.

No sounds came from the bed. Still, I checked on the queen mother. She wasn’t sweating anymore or shivering, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Athol had said things would get worse today. Gwyn was asleep on the lounge beside her bed.

I pulled on the gown from yesterday and left the cabin. The captains were on the deck above the cabin with Kheelan at the helm. My cheeks grew warm when my eyes met Nerissa. She’d heard me last night. Possibly seen quite a bit.

She waved, and I had no choice but to join them.

Storm watched me with hooded eyes, a sexy smile on his lips. The impossible man was sharing his feelings with me again through our link, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy knowing how he felt. My body reacted.

When I stepped on the deck, he left the others and came to meet me. Without missing a beat, he lifted me up for a morning kiss that went on forever. When he stopped, my head was spinning and the others were laughing.

“I told you last night to use my cabin,” Nerissa said. “You two would still be at it instead of entertaining us.”

“I told her the same thing last night, but she turned me down,” was Storm’s naughty answer. “She insisted the stars were better on the deck.”

Laughter came from the other captains. Even Levi cracked a smile.

My face grew warm. I couldn’t believe he was discussing last night with his captains. I pinched his ear.

“Put me down, you scoundrel.”

He lowered me to the deck but kept his arms around me. “Now you’re mad at me.”

“I’m getting there.” I reached up and kissed him to show him I wasn’t really angry. The islanders had zero filters when it came to sensual matters. I’d have to get used to it. I turned to face the others and leaned against his chest. He lowered his head and nuzzled my neck, sending a delicious heat through me.

“I was telling them why we can’t use our cabin,” Storm explained.

“My cabin,” Nerissa corrected. “I’m taking over this ship since they burned the other one.”

Storm ignored her. “Like me, they’d heard stories about the king’s consort, his son’s woman. We assumed they meant my mother, not the oracle. I explained the lie, why she’s sick, and how you rescued her.”

“May I suggest something?” Kheelan asked.

“No,” Levi, Zale, and Nerissa said in unison.

Storm glanced at Kheelan and cocked his eyebrow.

“If she’s not awake by tomorrow, can I see if someone messed with her mind.”

“No-ooo!” the others chorused again. Zale even shuddered.

“I’m going for a swim,” Levi said. “When he starts talking about invading minds, I get the chills.”

“And the creeps,” Zale added.

“It is like a rape of the mind,” Nerissa chimed in.

Kheelan gave them an easy smile then sharply turned the wheel, and the ship swerved. Since they weren’t holding on to anything, they lost their balance and cursed him. He turned it the other way.

“Juvenile,” Nerissa said, hanging on to a rail she’d caught.

Levi and Zale gave him the finger. On the lower deck, the crew griped as they glanced at the helm. Only Storm, leaning against the deck rim with his arms around me, didn’t appear bothered. The others disappeared below, leaving the three of us alone.

“What made you think of mind control, Kheelan?” Storm asked.

“We do it to Tuh’rens all the time when we knock them out,” Kheelan said. “And they can stay out for hours. A powerful person could do the same to our people. An exceptionally gifted person could make anyone sleep for days.”

“Powerful like you?”

“Yes. Though I’d have to be evil to do that to another person.”

Something Nereus had said about the oracle flitted in my head. He hadn’t wanted her in his head because she was rumored to read minds or do worse. What if…? No, if I voiced that, Storm might make it his mission in life to hunt down the woman.

“Okay. If she’s not awake by the time we reach home, you can do the mind thing.”

Kheelan saluted him. “Aye, Captain.”

“And I agree with the others. What you do with that mind of yours is creepy,” Storm added.

Kheelan chuckled. “I know. It’s a gift and a curse.”

“Do you want me to take over the helm?” Storm asked him.

“Nope. I’m good.”

A splash came from behind us, and we turned to see Levi disappear under the rippling surface of the water.

“Do you want to go for a swim, muh’Lexi? The weather is perfect.”

I might have teased him last night about swimming, but I wasn’t ready to jump into the ocean naked with the captains and the crew around.

“No, I’m hungry.”

“I’ll feed you.” He picked me up and grinned when my stomach grumbled.

Banan had taken over kitchen duty, since the Mac Lir’s cook had stayed with the ship. Someone must have gone for an early swim and caught fish because he was baking some and boiling more.

After eating a hearty meal of fish and washing it down with honeyed tea from Lord Conyngham’s stash, Storm watched as Gwyn and I fed the queen mother the elixir from Athol, then broth made from boiling fish bones.

Storm didn’t say anything. He just took my hand and started a tour of the ship, explaining different parts and how they worked. From the steering mechanism, including the wheel and the rudder to different sails. The different decks, from the highest poop deck, which had nothing to do with pooping, but was used to raise a flag and signal other ships, plus it was our special spot after last night, to the bottom one, the hold, where they kept the food, drinks, spare ropes, sails, and ship repair things. Then there were masts, the rigging, and the ratlines used to climb up the masts to fix the sails. Along the way we found nice uses for the nooks on each deck.

I’d kissed guys before, but they had nothing on Storm. Kissing him involved all senses. Every time he stopped, I felt bereft, like my entire body was being deprived of the very thing it needed to survive.

After what seemed like hours, we took over the helm from Kheelan, so I could have experience steering the ship. He taught what expression to use when directing the crew or turning the ship left or right, needing the sails up and out or tied up, and when sailing into the wind.

Storm settled behind me and showed me how to turn the ship left and right, or the port and starboard of the ship. While I tried it, he found ways to distract me. He lifted my hair out of the way and rubbed his nose up and down my neck, inhaling. He kissed three different spots.

“Did you know you have three beauty marks at the base of your neck?”

“Uh, no.”

He nipped at them, and I forgot I was in control of the wheel. It swung free, and the ship started to turn. A few crew members on the crow’s nest almost fell.

“You forgot to warn them, lass,” Storm teased. “Helm’s-a-lee is the expression.”

“Too late for that.” I righted the wheel I’d released while trying to ignore the looks thrown our way. I nodded to a few and received brief smiles.

“Behave,” I warned Storm.

He settled on the other end of the wheel and studied me with a tiny smile.

“What?” I asked.

“Will you be okay if I leave you in charge?” he asked.

“In charge of what?”

“The helm.”

“What? Now?”

He fought a grin. “I’m going inside to check on Mother, and I know you can do this.”

At least he was now referring to her as “Mother.” “What if…?”

“What if what?”

What if I fucked up? No, he was trusting me with the ship. “What if I want to listen to you talk to her?”

“Not a good idea. You’ll start to cry, and I’d feel like a kraken’s breath for being responsible. Yesterday was enough. I learned I don’t like to see you cry or make you unhappy.”

“Are you still focusing on the earlier parts of your life?”

He nodded. “I’m catching her up on what she missed. That’s what you said I should do.”

He was so adorable and clueless. His mother might not want to wake up because all she’d heard was how much she’d fucked up his life by leaving.

“When are you going to get to the good parts?”

“There are no good parts, she’lahn.”

Like I said, adorable and clueless. “There’re always good parts, he’lahn. You know, how much you love her and miss her.”

Storm scowled. “I don’t know her well enough to tell her I love her, and I can’t miss what I never had.”

Oh, brother. “How about this? Tell her you can’t wait for her to wake up so you two can get to know each other again.”

He considered that for a moment then nodded. “Okay.”

“And how you can’t wait to show her your island and how much she’ll love it there.”

“I don’t know if she’ll love it. She might want to go back to Tully.”

“Tully is a tool. He’d said that only to piss you off or make you jealous. Don’t forget the castle. Tell her how you plan to build her one.”

“I’d only said that to piss Tully off or make him jealous.”

I narrowed my eyes when he grinned. “Now, you’re being difficult.”

He ran a finger down my nose to my lips, pressed on the lower lip. I knew what he was doing. Deliberately trying to sidetrack me from our conversation. He leaned forward, ran his tongue along my bottom lip, caught it between his teeth, and nipped the sensitive flesh.

I squealed. “That hurt.”

“You taste good.” He leaned in. “Let me soothe it.”

He did, laving it with his tongue before sucking on it.

I got lost in the moment and, once again, forgot about the helm.

Someone yelled something from the main deck, and Storm laughed. I missed what the person had said because I had blood rushing to my head and drowning out everything else.

What had we been discussing? Building a castle for his mother.

“So you’re not going to build her a castle?”

“Maybe later. Right now, the jewels will go toward building the homes of the islanders first, furnishing them, and replacing whatever they lost.”

When he said things like that, it only reinforced my love for him. I didn’t know how to explain it was better to focus on the positive instead of dredging up the ugly past. I knew he needed to let it all out and heal, but hearing about his past was heartbreaking. I’d only listened to a part of it, and I hadn’t handled it well.

“After my father died, I’d visit his grave when things were really bad and talk to him. Sometimes, I’d be in tears over something my stepmother had done or said, but most often I was just frustrated by her. Nothing I did ever pleased her. Yet, whenever I’d reach his grave, I’d end up talking about all the great things happening in my life. Tommy and Sienna, and my blog. When I was done, I’d feel like a million bucks.”

“So, you hid the truth from your father?”

“No. That’s not… Okay, in a way, yes.” Argh, this was hard to explain, and he took everything so damn literally. “Talking to him was about me and how I felt afterward, not about him for the obvious reasons.”

“And what’s that?”

“He was dead and he couldn’t hear me, but I heard myself, and sharing my happy memories made me feel better. You and your mother are both alive.”

“Are you saying I should censor what I tell her?”

I studied his expression. Poor guy. He looked confused. I was doing a crappy job of explaining myself, and it was making things worse.

“No, he’lahn. I’m saying you have a lifetime to talk and go over what she missed out on when you were growing up. But right now, you want her to wake up so you can start a new relationship.”

“Ah, you want us to move forward, not look backward.”

“For now.”

He closed the gap between us, cupped my face, and leaned down to give me another slow kiss. “You are wise beyond your years, mo stór.”

“No, I’m not. I just want you to be happy.”

Storm grinned. “How can you doubt that I am?”

I went on my toes and kissed him. “Go.”

Instead of leaving, I got a kiss that made my toes curl and heat pool low in my stomach. Anymore of those and I was going to drag him below to any one of the officers’ cabins.

“How about that cabin? It’s empty now,” he said. There was no hiding anything from him.

I laughed and pushed him away. “It’s not happening.”

“You are a mean lass.”

My face grew hot when I realized we had an audience. How long had Nerissa been standing on the steps?

I ignored him and nodded at Nerissa. “Hey.”

“Are you trying to tilt the ship, little sister? My cabin is still empty.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”

These people… No, my people were shameless. “It’s okay. I can wait.”

“No, you can’t.” Storm jumped back when I tried to kick him. “As for you, I’m going to buy you a bell,” he said to Nerissa as he walked past her.

She chuckled and continued up the stairs to where I stood at the helm. “He’s been threatening to put a cow bell on my neck for as long as I can remember.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m very good at sneaking and eavesdropping. I used to do it to him, Ryun, and Deck when we were little. They hated it. I didn’t get it. All they ever talked about was sailing the seas, and I wanted to do the same thing.”

“Maybe they talked about other things when you weren’t around. Like girls.”

“No, this was their girls-are-gross stage.”

“Did you sneak up on him when he was in his tree, too?”

The smile disappeared from her face. “He told you about his tree?”

I nodded.

“I tried a few times, and he got so angry. Even Ryun and Deck weren’t allowed in that tree after his mother left. He took an ax to it right after his grandparents died.” She sighed. “You’re good for him, Lexi. Possibly the best thing to ever happen to him.”

A loud splash came from the sea, and Nerissa walked to see the cause. It was Levi. Zale appeared on the main deck, naked as a newborn baby. Nice ass. No tan lines. He yahooed and jumped in. Other crew members joined them, all stripping before jumping in.

Okay, I’d seen enough asses to last me a while. The tattooed one that interested me was not one of them. Life was so unfair.

Storm came for me before lunch, and once again, we ate in the captain’s cabin. Afterward, I asked him if he wanted to go for a swim. I promised to watch him from the deck.

“Only if you join me,” was his answer.

Since that wasn’t happening, I gave up on a possible drool moment. When he gave me a chance to pick a book from Lord Conyngham’s collection, I went for one about their gods and goddesses. Most of the books were in ancient languages, except for a few titles in English. Since I planned to master his beautiful language, the book I chose was in Gaelic Irish.

We brought the lounge closer to his mother’s bed. The queen mother had had a rough morning but was finally asleep.

“We’ll take over while you rest or stretch your legs. The crew is swimming and shifting if you want to join them.”

“I’d probably drown,” Gwyn whispered, her expression bemused. “I haven’t shifted in years. Neither has your mother.”

“You’ll get plenty of time and space when we get home,” Storm said, and Gwyn’s eyes grew misty. She quickly left the room.

A bewildered expression settled on Storm’s face. “Was it something I said? I swear she looked ready to cry.”

“Those are happy tears. Home for them has been the tower. Anything else was never a possibility, until you. You’re giving them a second chance at happiness.”

His lips tightened, his gaze going to his mother. Without saying another word, he pulled me closer, and we spooned while he read and explained in English. His gods and goddesses were fascinating, and whether he read in Gaelic or explained in English, his accent was sexy as hell.

“Do you remember the words you said to me before Captain Ren’s people pushed you overboard?” I asked when he closed the book.

“Tá tú mo chroí, m'anam, mo gach rud,” he said.

“What do they mean?”

“You are my heart, my soul, my everything,” he said.

They described exactly what he meant to me.

“Tá tú mo chroí, m'anam, mo gach rud,” I said, hugging his arm and burrowing into his chest.

He chuckled and pressed a kiss on my temple. When he said new words, I wanted to know what they meant.

“I’ll teach you more, but not around my mother, lass. You wanted to climb the ratlines to see the world from the crow’s nest. The view is breathtaking.”

We left the cabin.

That night, we went back to the poop deck. I couldn’t say that name without wincing. I settled between his legs with our feet dangling over the side of the boat and watched the stars while he explained various Gaelic words he often used when we were making out. Some were sweet, and others were naughty. I repeated them to him while he laughed at my pronunciation. I elbowed him.

“Look! A shooting star. Make a wish,” I said.

“Don’t need to. Mine already came true.” He nuzzled my cheek. “What would you wish for?”

Nothing. I smiled. “For as far back as I can remember, Jo and I would wish to be transported away from our homes to a magical world where we could be free and happy and loved unconditionally. I bet she’s still wishing it.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I live in a magical world where I’m free, happy, and loved unconditionally.” I leaned sideways and turned my head to look at him. “I should have wished for you. I guess I didn’t have a face to go with you then. Maybe the promise of you. Or maybe I should have walked into the nearest ocean and you would have scented me and plucked me from all the heartache. But I like to think the time had to be right.”

His chest shook with laughter.

“What?”

“I’m not sure you answered my question. I think you did, but it got lost somewhere in there.”

I kissed his chin. “Nothing, silly. I would wish for nothing because I have everything. You. Your people. The island.”

“Do you ever think about your mother? You talk about your father but not her.”

I shrugged. “She was there. Then she was gone. She smiled a lot. She gave me my eyes, my hair, and my stubborn streak. Dad was easygoing. Give him beer and a perfectly charbroiled steak, and he was good.”

“Anything else about your mother?”

“Nothing really. Not her perfume or favorite dress, what she loved to eat or her favorite song. Is that weird? Or maybe I was too young to remember. Or maybe my father had a greater impact on me than she did. What do you remember about yours?”

“She loved roses, so our father would bring her some whenever he came home. The candelabra he gave her when they mated had roses, and our house had rose bushes along the path leading to the door and on flowerbeds near the porch.”

How could he remember so much and I couldn’t remember a damn thing about my mother? “Did you always have the gift to create lightning?”

“No. That came with the island. That’s why I have to go back to connect with it if I use all the magic.”

I was getting a crick in my neck from turning my head to glance at him. Standing, I straddled him and sat facing him with my back to the rail. He tugged me closer, the position very intimate. I wrapped my legs around him.

“Okay, repeat what you said about the island and magic.”

“I’d rather be doing this.” He lowered the neck of my chemise and dropped a kiss on my shoulder. “And this.” He pushed the neckline even lower and bared my breast, but I stopped him before he could do anything else.

“Answer me first. Please.”

“My lightning ability is part of my connection with the island. Think of the island as a source of magic. I stay connected with it, and I recharge my abilities. I used it like I did in Hy’Brasil. It wanes until I can’t create any. I have to go back to the island to recharge.”

“Oh. So now you can’t create anymore bolts?”

“No, lass. See?” He looked to our right and a spark appeared, but it fizzled. “I have to reconnect with the island. The longer I stay away, the longer I’d need to reconnect and recharge. If I don’t use the ability, it also wanes but slower. It’s the same with all the other captains.”

“They all have special abilities?”

He nodded. “Now can we go back to more fun stuff?”

“Not yet. Your wings. King Tullius chopped them off and yet you have them. How?”

He frowned. “Deck rescued them after we escaped. For days, while we were at sea, he and my brothers used whatever they could find to tether them to my body with little results, until we met Moira and she brought us to the island. She helped me shift with them and absorb them back into my body. But the damage to the parts of me that form the wings was done. The outside wounds healed quickly, but the inside took longer and healed incorrectly despite her help. For centuries, I could not control them, and whenever I tried, they came out crooked and it hurt worse than the kraken’s bite. Even now, they are not as powerful as they once were. Not perfect. And they still hurt. So I don’t use them, except when I have to.”

He’d been through so much. They all had. Sighing, I hugged him and ran my hands up and down the two vertical scars on his back. His muscles trembled at my touch.

“Someone I adore told me not to focus too much on the past,” he whispered in my ear. “Let’s try it and focus on the now.”

And we did.

 

 

~*~

 

The sea was rough the next day. That usually meant the gods were out collecting the dead, yet we didn’t see any other ships or wreckages. From the long faces of the crew, they knew it, too.

No one went for a swim.

The queen mother slept through it all. The shakes were gone, and her temperature was normal. I spent most of the day in the cabin, staring out the window when not holding back Gwyn’s hair while she threw up in the wardrobe. She didn’t just hate flying; she hated the rough sea.

Tired of being cooped inside, I left the cabin to watch the crew battle the rough weather. A drift of deep concern reached my psyche. Storm was worried. That wasn’t good.

“Is he still out there?” Nerissa asked.

“Yes,” Storm said. “He insisted on doing another round. If he doesn’t come back soon, I’m going in to find him before his goddess decides to grab him.”

The two were by the helm, but their voices carried down to where I stood at the entrance of the cabin. Who was crazy enough to be out there in the ocean when the gods were collecting the dead? Was that why Storm was worried?

“Let me see.” Nerissa appeared by the rim of the deck with a monocular. She lifted it to her eye and studied the turbulent water. “I see him.”

“Drop the ladder,” Storm called out.

“You heard the captain. Drop the ladder,” Nerissa called. “And get him something to wear. Does he really think the Royal Army is out there?”

“He worries. Losing Lexi to the Royal Guards was hard, but it was too close to the past for him. It took a lot for him not to smoke them back on the island. They decimated his kind, and he’s never forgotten it. Yesterday when he went out for a swim, he was scouting the water. Same with today. He’ll probably be out there every day until we get home.”

They were talking about Levi. I ran upstairs to join them.

“Are you saying Levi blames himself for what happened to me?” I asked, my gaze volleying between Storm and Nerissa. “He fought three dragons and killed two of them.”

“Kraken’s breath,” Nerissa whispered. “That explains it. He woke up first and was impossible for days, but he never said anything about killing his kind. Poor Levi.”

I didn’t realize I’d started walking toward the ladder until Storm caught my hand.

“Where are you going, mo ghrá?”

“To talk to Levi. He can’t blame himself for what happened to me.”

Storm frowned. “And you can’t blame yourself either. The Dragons sold their services and would have killed him.”

It didn’t make it okay if Levi blamed himself. I nodded, but on the inside, I knew if it weren’t for me, he would not have killed his own. Feeling bad for him, I went back to the cabin.

It wasn’t long before there was a soft knock at the door and Levi poked his head inside the cabin. “Storm said you wanted to talk to me, lass.”

I jumped up and hurried to the door. “Come inside.”

He glanced around the cabin, his eyes lingering on the bed. “How is she doing?”

“She’s still out, but the shivers are gone.”

I opened a chest and pulled out a bottle of rum and two tumblers. I placed the bottle and one tumbler in front of Levi.

He picked up the bottle and studied the label. 

“I still can’t stand that drink,” I said.

He chuckled.

“Ah, lass. If you only knew.” He poured some and took a sip. “This is the rum of kings.”

“Then Lord Conyngham has great taste.”

He glanced around the cabin. “This is his?”

I nodded and poured myself some ale. “After Captain, uh, when you and Storm fought Captain Ren’s men and Dragons, I think you did a number on their ship. They had a hole in the hull they couldn’t plug, a mast they couldn’t replace, and a banged-up rudder. Lord Conyngham rescued them in this ship.”

“Then it’s fitting we relieved him of it and take you home on it.”

Levi leaned back with a smug smile, and I knew he’d disabled Captain Ren’s ship. Why then did he blame himself for my kidnapping?

He sipped more of his rum and hummed. “This is good stuff.”

“I’m sure Lord Conyngham won’t mind if you take the whole bottle.”

“I won’t either.” He rested his arms on the desk and studied me. “What is it, lass? I can feel your sadness. Is it Storm? If he’s been mean, I could talk to him.”

I chuckled. “No, he is perfect.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Perfection is relative.” I sipped my ale and made a face. It was too dry and not sweet enough for my palate. I put it aside and studied Levi. This was the longest conversation I’d had with him since we met.

“You really shouldn’t be out in the sea on a day like this.”

“I know. I had to make sure the Royal Army wasn’t following us. My Ori wouldn’t be happy if that happened again.”

“What’s an Ori?”

“A guardian angel. My people believe everyone has one. My Ori can only guide me along the path I’ve chosen, not dictate my actions. I am solely responsible for what happens to me.”

The Islanders beliefs never ceased to fascinate me.

“Maybe my Ori was asleep on the job when I was taken. I’m sorry you had to kill the other dragons.”

He sighed. “Not my finest moment, but they were a disgrace to my kind. They deserved to die by the bite of another dragon.”

“Yeah, well. I’m happy you made it and they didn’t. You and Storm fought valiantly. You were just outnumbered by Tully’s people.”

He glanced toward the bed and grimaced. When he spoke, his voice was low. “He won’t stop coming after Storm, yet death is not enough for the pain he causes people, including Storm,” Levi said.

I frowned. I’d forgotten Storm shared a bond with his brothers. “Do you feel his pain now?”

“No. On the island, yes, but it’s gone now. You’re a good mate to him.”

In name only. My cheeks warmed at my thoughts, and I reached up to touch the bridle. It was behaving now.

“Thank you. You guys are awesome at the way you watch out for each other. I don’t know how you found each other in this vast ocean and made it home safely, but I’m happy you did.”

“But we didn’t find each other, lass.”

I frowned. “Then how did you make it back to the island?”

“The island found us.”

I gawked at him.

“What? How?”

“I don’t know. Our people said we washed ashore at the port.” He frowned. “That’s the island’s magic.”

The island had brought them home. Just like it had disappeared for Captain Ren.

“What happened to Captain Ren?”

Levi grinned, blue eyes twinkling and the long grooves on his cheeks deepening. “He paid for his crimes. I didn’t get the name of the traitor from Ren, but I’m sure the island will reveal him to us when the time is right.”

It probably would. I watched Levi walk to the door in bemusement.

The rough sea stopped us from reaching the Mac Lir. Storm and I spent some time with his mother, but most of the time he was on the deck with the others, controlling the sails, wrestling the helm, and pumping water that washed onto the decks. When he came to bed, he was so exhausted he crashed.

The rocking of the ship kept me awake. It reminded me too much of my trip to Hy’Brasil. I barely fell asleep when I heard yelling.

“Sails!”

I sat up. The ship wasn’t rocking anymore. The gods were appeased.

“The Mac Lir,” I said and tried to scramble off Storm’s chest, but he trapped my legs with his and tucked me under his chin.

“It’s still dark outside, lass.”

“I don’t care,” I whispered in his ear. “Get us to the Mac Lir, so I can have a bed, food other than fish and pickled vegetables, and you. Not necessarily in that order.”

I’d never seen him move so fast. He disappeared outside. When he didn’t come back, I pulled on the same dress I’d been wearing the last two days and boots, and left the cabin.

The entire crew stood on the main deck, staring at the Mac Lir. My stomach dropped. The ship was still a fair distance away, but it wasn’t alone. One other ship was beside it.

“Is that the Royal Army?” I asked.

“No.” Storm lowered the monocular. “That is King Tullius’s ship.”