Rowan and Pronn looked at the blood-covered deck with expressions of pure horror before glancing over at Terrin and Yestin, who were in a bruised and tangled jumble a few feet away. At the last second, Yestin had rammed into Terrin and shoved them both off the platform before it and the barrels splintered into a thousand pieces. Every bone in Terrin’s body felt jarred. He was covered in a foul-smelling red liquid, which appeared to have been the contents of the barrels.

“How did’ja survive that?” Rowan demanded with wide eyes as Pronn rushed over to help them.

“That’s a great question,” Terrin groaned as he carefully tested his limbs to see if he could move them.

Thankfully, they landed in a large pile of tarp and netting they’d pulled off the crates and barrels, and although it wasn’t soft by any stretch of the imagination, it was a lot softer than the wooden deck. Yestin stared up at the sky and moaned as Terrin painfully sat up with Pronn’s help.

“Yestin?” Terrin asked cautiously.

Yestin didn’t respond for a second, and Terrin was afraid the boy may have broken his ribs during the rough landing.

“I almost died,” he said with a hint of wonder. “I should be in the mines as a slave right about now, but here I am, covered in—what is this stuff?” Yestin asked in disgust, snapping out of his philosophical musings.

He was right. There was a limit to the amount of times a person should be able to cheat death, and Terrin feared he was over that limit. Rowan started laughing as Pronn helped Yestin pick himself out of the gooey mess.

“That’s ox blood. Great stuff. It can make some wonderful dyes.” Terrin picked himself up out of the stinky puddle. “It also makes people who fall in it look like ah couple o’ zombies,” Rowan finished, grinning.

Pronn shook his head disapprovingly and muttered something about reporting to the captain and finding Jon to tend to their injuries before he vanished down the hatch. Ahren looked at them with wide eyes. Terrin stood up and looked down at his clothes, which were dripping with ox blood. He turned to look at his companion and saw Yestin’s clothes, face, and hair were coated in the stuff as well. His hair was matted into spikes and stuck out in wild tufts. Yestin’s appearance was appalling, and his angry expression would have caused children to cry as his eyes landed on Ahren.

“What the hell, Ahren? You almost killed us!” he screamed at the empty-headed buffoon. “If I hadn’t pushed us off at the last second, that would have been our blood splattered across the deck!”

Ahren’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull as the irate Yestin advanced on him.

“Zombies!” he screeched as he fled toward the stern.

Terrin and Yestin exchanged exasperated looks, but then Terrin smiled.

“Brainsssss,” Terrin droned.

He limped forward toward Ahren, holding his hands out in front of him. Ahren, who had decided to cower behind some remaining barrels, started screaming again. Yestin’s anger dissipated, and a smirk spread across his bloody face.

“Brainsssssss!” he chimed in.

Ahren squealed and ran away with his hands waving wildly in the air. Rowan laughed and looked down at himself before shrugging and joining in.

“Brains for Rowan!” he groaned.

They wobbled across the deck together toward Ahren, who ran around screaming, “Ahren has no brain!”

Terrin, Rowan, and Yestin tried not to laugh more than moan.

“What in tha name of King Parcus tha Fifth is goin’ on ’ere? What did’ja do ta me precious cargo?” Blade’s loud voice echoed over the deck as he stormed up from the hold with most of the crew in tow. Pronn was right behind him, looking rather pale and out of breath. Tristen peeped out from below deck, but quickly disappeared again when he saw the large puddle of blood. The three zombies halted in their path.

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Rowan snapped around and stuttered, “Ahren was d-diving off tha mast again ta c-carry crates—” Ahren ran by screaming about zombies in the background, “An’ when he dropped tha crates, Terrin, Yestin, and I were standin’ close enough ta get spattered, so Ahren destroyed yer cargo.” They smiled at him innocently as Ahren ran around shrieking.

“Explain why yer chasin’ Ahren round and yellin’ ’bout brains?” he asked, looking at them pointedly.

Rowan stumbled over a half-hearted explanation, but Blade rolled his eyes.

“Never mind; don’t wanna know. Clean it up. Yer included, Ahren.”

Ahren stopped running and pointed at them. “Zombies?”

Blade turned back to them. “Clean up yerselves, then tha ship. Be quick ’bout it.” Blade grunted before stomping off. The rest of the crew gave him a large berth and stood in awe as they examined the wreckage.

“Ya wanna know how I would clean off a pack o’ zombies?” Ahren asked with a grin as he backed away from the three bloodied shipmates.

Oh, no, Terrin thought. Yestin and Rowan looked just as nervous.

“Like this!” Ahren shouted before he jumped off the side of the ship.

Most of the newer crew let out exclamations of alarm as they ran to the side and looked over in time to see a splash, but the veterans were used to Ahren’s stunts and had no interest in gawking at his shenanigans.

A few moments later, Ahren resurfaced and spat out ocean water. “Come on!” he yelled up to them. One of the twins calmly lowered a rope ladder to him and went back to his business like this was a typical occurrence.

“Well?” Rowan, Terrin, and Yestin exchanged looks. Yestin shrugged.

“I guess it’s the best way ta get cleaned off,” he reasoned before diving in.

Terrin was about to follow when Rowan grabbed his wrist.

“Wait, I ’ave ta talk ta ya ’bout that bracelet,” he said seriously as he nodded toward Terrin’s left wrist.

Terrin turned back to him and glanced around the deck to make sure no one could overhear them. Pronn had reappeared with a mop and bucket, and the other twin was picking up broken barrel pieces. No one was paying them any attention.

“I’m listening,” he replied cautiously.

“I think I might know sumthin’ ’bout how that bracelet came ta be. Where did’ja get it?”

Terrin studied the boy carefully, wondering how much he should say. Snow’s bright blue eyes flashed through his mind. “I got it from someone special as a gift. I don’t know how they got it,” he answered finally.

Rowan nodded, accepting that Terrin didn’t trust him. Rowan seemed way too excited about the gossip he’d heard to let Terrin’s reserve get in his way, so he breathlessly continued.

“Well it’s justa rumor, but I think I know where Blade got his bracelet and how.”

Terrin couldn’t hide his curiosity. “How?”

“Before ’e was taken as a slave, he was ah thief. Him and Ahren were notorious bandits. Their crownin’ achievement? Robbin’ tha castle of tha Land of Snow. They broke in and looted the treasury. Then Blade snuck inta tha king and queen’s sleepin’ chamber and stole it right off tha king’s wrist. They escaped by climbin’ outta a guest room winda, I ’eard. Sumthin’ went wrong though. Ahren’s rope broke. He fell and he was hurt up ’ere,” Rowan said, tapping his head. “Not ta mention he was hurt pretty bad physical-wise.”

Terrin had noted that Ahren didn’t seem to be all there mentally, but he hadn’t expected the reason to stem from a botched royal heist. Rowan leaned closer, and Terrin wrinkled his nose at the sharp smell of ox blood.

“They say tha King of Lur Alava and ‘is entire family is plagued with Demons, and it spread ta ’is entire land. They say a witch cursed ’im because he killed her lover.”

Terrin’s heart raced inside his chest, and he immediately felt guilty. If Elurra really was cursed by the Demons, then she was in as much danger as he was.

“Did you hear anything else?” Terrin asked quietly.

Rowan shook his head. “But I do have a theory, if ya wanna ’ear it.”

Terrin nodded eagerly, interested in any information the talkative boy had. Rowan glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, then turned back and whispered, “I ’eard tha King and Queen of tha Land o’ Snow is dead now, but nobody seems ta know too much about it in tha South. It’s all been kept hush hush, and there’s a buncha rumors floatin’ about. But I reckon you know a whole lot more since ya just came from there. So, tell me first, whatdaya know?”

Terrin’s stomach twisted into knots. “They say it was bandits, but it’s not true. The queen was killed by Demons, and I don’t know about the king.”

Rowan smiled victoriously as his theory was proven correct, but he quickly reigned in his joy and noted Terrin’s expression. He couldn’t help his tone of satisfaction, though.

“I betcha ten shillings tha bracelet was made ta battle tha curse for tha king. If I’m right, then in a sense, Blade killed tha whole royal family and left tha little snowborn princess an orphan. All because he wanted ta prove he was a good thief.”

Terrin pictured the pained look in Snow’s eyes that sometimes showed through before she could cover it up, and twin stones of anger and horror settled in his gut.