Elurra woke up the next morning to steady rocking. After a confused moment, she discovered she was on someone’s back. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked to adjust her pupils to the bright rays of sunlight shining down on her. It didn’t take long to realize it was Terrin carrying her. She yawned.
“Where are we?” she asked as she propped herself up enough to focus on her surroundings. Orin Du snaked before them, and the landscape indicated they were heading south.
“We are on our way ta tha border, mi’lady,” the redhead from the night before answered.
She glanced over and saw he was carrying Aleah on his back. She was also sound asleep, and Elurra couldn’t blame her. Neither of them had slept in at least thirty-six hours. That was when she realized Terrin was still carrying her, and her face flushed.
“Let me down. I have legs,” she demanded, embarrassed she was being held like a child.
Terrin let her down without a word. Her legs were a little wobbly, and she focused on putting one foot in front of the other until she stumbled into step with Terrin and the redhead. Voices and laughter echoed ahead of them, and she picked out the group of men she had briefly met the night before. Ahead of her, an older man with dark skin and a tall figure with broad shoulders and chestnut hair led the noisy group. They each carried two packs of supplies on their backs and wore warm clothing. Behind the leaders, a big man with a bald head walked along, humming to himself. The boy who helped her up the night before walked quietly alongside them. Kai and two other young adults trudged along behind him, all complaining about how heavy their packs were. Elurra noticed Kai was limping slightly on his bandaged leg, but he looked much improved.
Kai made some friends who share his knack for complaining, Elurra thought with a grin.
She suddenly had seven loud and noisy pirates, one prince, an argumentative governess, and Terrin to deal with. On the bright side, no one would dare mug them; on the other hand, ten rowdy people were slower than three, even if Kai and Aleah seemed to want to strangle each other every seven minutes. Elurra sighed. Even traveling with a pampered prince would be easier than reaching the border with a crowd on foot. She glanced at Terrin, who looked slightly out of breath from carrying her. She had a plethora of questions but didn’t know where to start.
Finally, she leaned over and whispered, “How did you find us and get involved with pirates?”
Terrin opened his mouth to answer, but the redhead cut him off. “We, Princess, are tha dwarfs, here ta protect ya on yer gallant mission of justice ’n peace,” he said formally. Aleah moaned and covered her eyes with one arm.
“Why do you call yourselves dwarves? You all appear to have average statures,” she asked, turning to Terrin.
He sighed and nodded back toward the redhead. She noted the other men didn’t look too enthusiastic, and a few of them groaned.
“Wait for it,” Terrin breathed, obviously expecting him to say more.
“Rowan, in tha name of King Parcus tha Fifth, make it short!” the hefty man at the front of the procession demanded curtly. “And make sure they’re all listenin’, ’cause I don’t wanna ’ear it again,” he added in a huff.
“Yes sir, Capt’in!” Rowan called exuberantly and then set Aleah down on the ground.
She grunted unhappily and trudged behind them, obviously not pleased with the sudden wake up call. Rowan squared his shoulders, and Terrin grunted, “Here it comes,” under his breath.
“We are noble pirates, known far and wide as tha Robin Hoods of tha sea. We sail on a grand ship, called tha Dwarf. She’s a beauty, let me tell ya, with sails as white as snow ’n as well built as—”
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“I said tha short version!” the captain bellowed.
“This is tha short version!” Rowan called back.
“Make it shorter!”
“Aye, Capt’in!” Rowan responded as he winked at Elurra.
“We free tha slaves on tha high seas and give ’em tha choice of freedom er joinin’ us on our worthy cause,” he babbled. He proceeded to weave in introductions of the other members of her rescue party as he boasted about their exploits.
“How did you find us?” she asked Rowan directly.
“Well, see—” he started, but surprisingly, the talkative boy trailed off and glanced over at Terrin.
Elurra realized she was bubbling over with more important unanswered questions. “I thought you were dead,” she said abruptly.
Terrin glanced at her sideways and ran his fingers through his hair. “So did I.”
She gave him a funny look. “What does that mean?”
“It means ’e gave it ’is best shot, but neva quite achieved it,” Blade announced loudly without bothering to turn around.
“Excuse me?”
Jon laughed heartily. “Apart from the explosions, blood loss, drowning, broken fingers, being eaten by ah leviathan—”
The others laughed hysterically. Elurra looked at Terrin incredulously.
“Not ta mention the falls from high places,” Rowan muttered.
“What in Yamoi’s name are they talking about?” she asked sternly.
“He escaped tha holdin’ cells on tha slave ship durin’ a terrible storm ’n ended up gettin’ caught. Then he received a few lashes,” Plague piped up.
“He braved a full pirate attack,” Rowan told her, “then fell off the boat and almost drowned.”
“He toppled from the top of the mast,” squeaked Tristen from behind Rowan.
Ahren spun around suddenly and screamed, “He was ah zombie!”
“Not ta mention ’e tamed that leviathan,” Snore mumbled, yawning.
Elurra glanced at Terrin in a state of awe, although he wouldn’t make eye contact and was rubbing the back of his head.
“How on Incari did you survive all of that?” she demanded.
“He wouldn’t ’ave if it weren’t for tha bracelet. It’s magic for sure,” Rowan replied immediately.
Terrin and Elurra exchanged a quick smile, then Terrin took off the second wristlet and handed it to her. “This is rightfully yours,” he said as he set it in her palm.
“Where did the second one come from?”
Terrin sighed. “What if I just tell you everything?”
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I would appreciate that,” she told him softly.
For the next hour, he elaborated on everything that happened over the last two weeks. His arms flailed as he recounted the dwarfs’ rescue, including the fog and cannon fire, and his voice dropped in dramatic tension when he recalled being eaten by the sea monster. Kai and Rowan interrupted every few minutes with questions and comments respectively, but Elurra stayed completely silent.
“Then Vixquilla pushed the Dwarf until we reached a port due east from here. Some of the men opted to stay aboard, so we gave them instructions to raid close to shore and wait for us in a hidden harbor they apparently have nearby.” Terrin looked around uneasily before he said, “Vixquilla used the imprint of your mother on the bracelet to locate you.” Under his breath, he whispered, “I used a spell to find you, like the one we used to find the capital, only I pictured you in my head. It was weird. It just came to me, which has happened a few times now, but I will tell you about that later.”
Elurra nodded at his rushed explanation, and Terrin continued, “We hadn’t expected you to be with other people, but Vixquilla somehow knew this was going to be a rescue mission. She told us we should bring rope and a few sticks of dynamite.”
There was a brief silence as Elurra thought over the story. After the pause, she handed the second bracelet back to Terrin.
“Why are you giving it back? It’s yours.”
She grinned. “I believe you have a fatal condition and need it more than I do,” she informed him, her eyes grave. He stopped walking.
“What condition? Is it contagious?” Plague demanded shrilly.
“Very contagious, I am afraid. It is called stupidity. Some of the side effects are extreme bad luck and dumb decisions. You seem to be very receptive.” She said with a smirk.
Terrin grimaced and handed the bracelet back with all the dignity he could muster while the group burst into fits of laughter. Humor glimmered in his lilac eyes, and for a moment Elurra struggled with the urge to give him a hug or a playful shove. She recalled her dream from long ago, in which Nitiri demanded she choose between Terrin and Lur Alava. At the time, she hadn’t realized choosing Lur Alava meant pushing Terrin away. She wished she could rekindle their close relationship, but almost losing Terrin had taught her it was too dangerous to show how much she cared because it could get him killed.
“If you will excuse me, I must speak with Blade," she said abruptly, the warmth draining from her demeanor.
Terrin's face fell as he watched her stiffly maneuver her way to the front of the group.