Ocean Cove Inn
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Harmony Harbor, Northwind Island
“Captain?”
I glanced at the door to my room. It wasn’t late yet, but I had been working all night in the library and was exhausted. As usual, I’d found a pile of books with more information about my father that I didn’t think I could ever process.
And then there was this new case—my first as captain, which meant I couldn’t rely on the ship’s crew for help. But I needed their expertise; they’d been so helpful last time, especially since it turned out I needed one of them dead.
Not just alive but well and happy and in the arms of a good woman who loved him back! The very thought of how I would have to do that again made me shudder.
So when I heard the knock, I was not pleased. “What is it? Can you please tell me what’s so damn important now? I don’t even know if the moon will be up tomorrow.”
My sister-in-law, Rylee, looked apologetic as she came inside, closing the door behind her before dropping into a chair beside my desk. “It’s just … you’re never around anymore!”
I rolled my eyes. “How is that my problem? I’ve got an entire island to run. What do you think I’m doing all day?”
Rylee shrugged and shook her head. “But …” She paused long enough to look around my office, noticing that all the papers were neatly stacked. My computer and printer were off to the side, and both looked untouched by any hands but mine.
Even the mug that usually sat on my desk was gone. “But this place looks like something out of a magazine.” Her tone said she wanted to say it like a joke, but she stopped herself just in time.
“Oh, right,” I muttered, feeling embarrassed for letting things get so messy again after the mess they were in before I left. “I guess it does look better than before.”
She nodded with satisfaction. “Good. We need to clean your house, too.”
“You mean the mansion? No one has lived there for years. If we cleaned it, I’m sure it’d only be torn down soon anyway.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she grumbled, looking annoyed that I knew exactly what she meant. She gave me a pointed look. “I want the manor to look nice again. You should make it a priority.”
I sighed as I pulled out another book, hoping to escape from my brother and his wife. “Why can’t he move out?”
“Because we want him here! He’s part of the family, and we love having him here. But I worry about him living alone in a place like this. So many things could go wrong.”
“He lives in a palace!”
“A castle, actually.”
I laughed. “And you’re worried about him being attacked by bandits while walking through a village at night?”
Rylee scowled at me. “You know what I mean.”
“I’ll send my crew over to clean his home tomorrow, then. They can get started early since most of them have shore leave anyway. That should give you some peace of mind.”
She nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Captain.”
The next morning when the men arrived, Rylee sent her husband away for a few hours until they finished cleaning, and the four sailors spent nearly every minute of that time talking to me. About everything except our new job or my father’s murder.
It wasn’t that they weren’t interested—they clearly were—but there were other questions I needed to ask them before I could explain why those two topics were top-secret secrets, and I didn’t think it was appropriate for the men to learn such information yet.
When we finally got done chatting, I was ready to call it a day. They left the mansion, and I shut the front door behind them so Rylee wouldn’t come in while I got changed. By the time I emerged a few minutes later, she and her husband were sitting in the parlor sipping tea.
I frowned. “Is there somewhere else we should talk?”
“Not really,” Rylee responded. “We can talk wherever.” She took a sip of her drink as I walked over to the sofa where they sat, joining her.
I sat in the chair across from them and leaned forward, trying to appear engaged despite how tired I was. “So did you learn anything interesting about Father’s death?”
“Not really,” Rylee replied, giving me a small shrug. “There’s nothing suspicious about it.”
“That doesn’t sound good. How can it not be suspicious? Someone tried to kill him.”
Rylee chuckled softly. “Of course it was suspicious. It was a murder. Of course, there was some sort of foul play involved. That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what?” I asked. “Did anyone see who did it?”
Rylee nodded slowly. “Yes. Or at least, someone saw the person who did it.”
“Who? Who saw the killer?”
“The man who killed him,” Rylee said quietly. “He’s alive, isn’t he?”
My heart sank. The murderer. The man who had murdered my father, and now my uncle.
I swallowed hard, thinking back to our conversation last night, the way she’d reacted when I mentioned the assassin.
Was she hiding something? Did she know more than she was saying?
But if she did … then why hadn’t she told me before? Why was she lying to me?
If she did know the murderer, what would happen once she told me his name? Would it change anything? Would it hurt her family? Hurt me?
“How do you know he’s alive?” I asked carefully.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
“It means,” I whispered, “that he’s still out there. And if he is, he might still be planning to try to kill me.”
***
After Rylee’s explanation, I couldn’t think straight. My mind raced with thoughts and possibilities and concerns, all of which led me to one inevitable conclusion: the assassin was definitely still in town.
Maybe he wanted revenge against both Rylee’s son and the heir of House Arcos. Maybe he just wanted the land. Whatever his reasoning, he was going to keep coming after us, and if I didn’t find a way to stop him, it could be the end of our journey.
I glanced at my brother and his wife. Both seemed confused by my silence and the look on my face, but I couldn’t take the time to explain. Not yet. There was too much to think about, and I had no idea what was happening right now or why this had happened. I needed answers first, and I needed them fast.
“Where is the assassin right now?” I asked.
They exchanged another glance. “You can’t know that,” Rylee replied.
“What’s wrong, Alex?”
I looked at him for several seconds, trying to gauge his reaction and figure out how best to answer the question without betraying any secrets. Finally, I settled on a simple response. “Nothing is wrong,” I lied, forcing myself to sound confident instead of worried or fearful. “Just trying to make sure everyone is safe.”
“Of course,” Rylee responded.
I turned my attention back to my sister-in-law. “Do you want to stay here for a bit?”
She nodded and stood up from her seat. “I suppose that makes sense.”
I sighed, relieved at least that the threat was over for the moment, even if it had just been a brief reprieve. Now all I had to worry about was keeping everyone safe and figuring out what had happened to Father and why.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of talking and planning. We discussed different plans for getting back to Daphne safely. The best options would involve leaving immediately and traveling quickly, but we couldn’t travel at night because that was when the assassin liked to strike.
So, we decided that we would leave around midday tomorrow—which gave me plenty of time to go into town for an emergency supply run. As for my father’s funeral … well, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with that. At that point, the funeral seemed like the least of our worries, given the other problems that we still needed to deal with.
I spent most of the day working alone, but every so often I would stop and look over at Rylee and Alex, seeing them standing together at the edge of the woods, talking quietly as they watched us work through the morning and early afternoon. I knew their relationship must have changed a lot since the last time I’d seen them.
They’d grown closer, become friends and partners and family—all within a matter of days—and while it seemed strange, it also seemed natural somehow. It felt almost inevitable, the way everything was unfolding between them.
As the sun began its downward descent toward the horizon, I finished gathering my supplies and headed back over to the group, where Rylee and Alex were standing close together.
“I’ve got everything you need,” I said, pulling a large sack filled with fresh food and a small bag filled with weapons from my satchel.
Rylee held out her arms and grinned brightly. “Come here, you big lug.” She pulled me into a hug and kissed me firmly on the lips before stepping back.
“What was that for?” I asked, blushing slightly at the feel of her soft lips pressed against mine.
She shrugged playfully. “We’ve never hugged each other before.”
Alex snorted softly, his eyes fixed on Rylee with obvious affection. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
I rolled my eyes and stepped back, looking at Rylee. “So, are we ready to head out?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!”
I grabbed my pack and slung it over my shoulder. “Then let’s get going.”
***
“What’s going on?” Rylee asked.
“Just a minute,” I answered, trying to collect my thoughts. “I’ve got something to tell you first.”
My sister-in-law tilted her head curiously. “Sure.”
“There’s been a development that came up today,” I started, pausing briefly to consider how best to present the information without revealing anything too sensitive or compromising. “A friend of ours has gotten in touch with me.”
I could see a light of understanding dawning behind Rylee’s eyes, which made me more confident that she was going to be able to handle whatever news I had for her. “Who is it?”
“His name is Kael. He works for the Order.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “The Order? That’s not good.”
“I’m afraid it isn’t.” I took a deep breath and continued. “Kael told me that one of our parents—” I paused briefly, trying to come up with the best way to put this without hurting anyone’s feelings “—isn’t dead after all.”
I could feel the tension in the air as everyone waited for me to continue, knowing that it would likely bring up a whole bunch of new questions. And sure enough, my little speech elicited nothing less than confusion, fear, and anger among everyone there.
“What do you mean they aren’t dead?” Rylee demanded angrily, staring at me suspiciously. “How can you be so sure? How is Kael supposed to be able to find someone who is supposedly dead?”
“Well, I don’t exactly have all the details yet,” I answered honestly. “But Kael says he’ll be able to help us confirm whether or not our parents are still alive. If they’re alive, then we need to figure out a way to go meet them and rescue them.”
I paused, feeling the weight of those words settle heavily upon me. I didn’t want to be right about this. I wanted to believe it was just some kind of horrible nightmare, or that somehow they were okay, but deep down I knew we’d been lied to. And worse, we now knew our parents had been involved in something far deeper and darker than any of us could have imagined.
My gaze drifted over to Alex and Rylee’s mother, whose eyes glowed with a mix of emotions I couldn’t quite make out behind the tears and rage that were pouring forth from her beautiful face.
I sighed, fighting back the lump in my throat. “This doesn’t change much for us right now, though, because even if they’re alive, we can’t afford to take the time to try to rescue them from wherever it is they’re being held captive. We need to focus on finding my brother.”
“You think my husband is dead?” Rylee cried bitterly.
I shook my head sadly. “No, honey. But we need to find him.”
Rylee’s gaze turned away from me and fell to the ground in anguish. “What are we going to do?”
Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily, his fingers gripping tightly around the hilt of the sword hanging at his side. “We need to keep moving.”
Rylee wiped tears from her cheeks and sniffled loudly. “That’s easy for you to say, Alex. You’ve always been able to take care of yourself. What about me? What about Mom? And what about my baby?”
“Calm down, Rylee,” he snapped back sharply. “None of us know what to do at this point except try to keep moving forward.”
She looked over at me helplessly. “How am I supposed to calm down?”
I bit my lip nervously, hoping that I wasn’t about to make things worse by saying something stupid. “We should probably set up camp for the night and rest for a while, so we can start fresh in the morning.”
Alex sighed heavily and turned toward their wagon where a fire had already been lit in an effort to dry off the soaked canvas covering. “You guys get everything set up. I’ll join you shortly.”
I nodded at him silently and turned to help Rylee get their tent erected so we could get some shelter for the evening. It was raining steadily, and there was no chance of it letting up anytime soon. The tent provided a little protection against the elements, and it also kept us warm during the freezing cold nights that followed the rain.
As Rylee started to erect our tent, I walked over to the wagon to gather some dried meat and other supplies I’d left there before departing.
“Where did you learn how to build a tent like that?” she asked curiously, looking up at me as I approached carrying a pack of dried meat in each hand. “It looks amazing!”
I smiled slightly and chuckled. “Well, thanks. My father used to teach me a lot of things when I was younger.”
She raised an eyebrow at me and cocked her head sideways. “What things?”
“He used to make tents too—and he taught me how to use a bow and arrow, and how to shoot a rifle.”
Her mouth dropped open and she stared at me incredulously for a moment, her jaw working as she tried to figure out why I would tell her such a strange thing. She seemed almost offended.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small wooden figurine I’d found hidden away inside the trunk in the attic and held it out to her. She stared down at the carved image of a woman holding a child that was attached to a string dangling from its waist.
“My mom gave this to me before I left, so I could remember her,” I said quietly. “And, um, my dad made it for her. So I thought I should give it to you.”
She gasped softly and brought her hands up to her lips as she stared at me. “Oh, Alex! This is… this is so precious!” Tears filled her eyes again, and she took the object gently from my hand and held it close. “Thank you.” Her voice quivered.
I nodded silently, unsure of what else to say. I’d never shared my personal feelings with anyone else about my past before, except for my father on a couple occasions, but I knew that it was important to share those memories with people you cared about—so I felt it necessary to let her know about my parents.
Once I finished getting things situated, the three of us settled down and enjoyed a nice dinner together by the fire. As we ate, we tried not to think about all the terrible things that might have happened to my brother and sister-in-law, or how badly we’d failed them in the last few hours.
Instead, we just enjoyed each others’ company as best we could, knowing we had a long road ahead of us if we wanted to find my family alive.
The End