Chapter 39: Overheard

Despite the rush to get on the ship, they didn’t cast off for another hour while Patropi and his men searched for the troublemakers and kept all ships in port. There was plenty of time for Adriana to lay on the deck, watching the gulls circle and scream overhead while Cora fussed over her and the sailors prepared for departure. No matter how obnoxious the birds were, Cora’s hovering was worse.

“I’ll be fine, right?” Adriana asked. “The bites are no big deal, but I wouldn’t mind the rib healed, if that’s in the cards.”

Cora clicked her tongue as her hands roamed over Adriana’s body. She’d been judged the most injured out of the team, and most in need of attention. “Thirteen bite wounds, one broken and one cracked rib, and plenty of bumps. Between you and Lucas, I’m going to spend the rest of the day hurting.”

A pang of guilt made her nearly apologize, but she had a feeling the group healer pulled this every time she had to work. Cora was too fond of grumbling to resist. “I owe you one, then.”

“Oh, before too long you’ll owe me a lot more than that. They always do.” Cora grinned and a second later a penetrating, tickling attacked her ribs.

It should’ve hurt. Adriana could tell through the odd tickling that if things had been different, she would’ve been screaming her head off, but within ten seconds it was over and she could breathe without pain. Cora on the other hand, clutched her side and winced. Her own rapid healing would take care of it over the next day or two. It still left the myriad bites.

“What now?” she asked before gingerly touching a stinging bite mark in her leg.

“We clean those up and I speed up the healing. That one will hurt, I’m afraid, but we have to make sure they don’t get infected in the process.” Cora breathed laboriously. “I could use a hand with that. Davos?”

Davos stirred from his spot a few feet away. They’d managed to free him and wake him from his magically induced slumber, but he was still groggy. According to him, the ambush had been so fast and smooth that he had barely any time to register being jumped before he was unconscious and bound.

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “What do you need?”

“A bucket of water, some clean linens, and maybe a strip of leather to bite down on.” That didn’t sound too good. Davos nodded and disappeared belowdeck.

Adriana let herself sink to the deck again and soak in her pain. She’d almost had Synto this time. If Lucas had given her just ten seconds, she could’ve followed after the bastard and burned him alive. Maybe then he would’ve dropped the Warmaster’s Divinity when he died. There would be a certain poetry to getting her Divinity back the hard way. She found it hard not to be irritated at being pulled away, no matter how hurt she was.

“It wouldn’t have ended well,” Cora said, as if she could read thoughts. “Whatever you’re upset about. Count your blessings that you’re alive and will fight another day. Maybe after you heal up, you won’t even want to, but if Lucas was to be believed, you all only barely got out of there before it got too bad.”

That was funny. “Lucas looked fine,” said Adriana. “He took on like ten of them at one time. We would’ve been fine.”

She was shocked when Cora pinched her. “Hey! What was that for?” she demanded.

Cora’s usual friendly smile was gone. “Unlike you, Lucas has to think of everyone. It doesn’t matter to him if he can take on ten men and win, if someone else gets hurt in the process. What about Iris? What would’ve happened if she hadn’t trailed behind? It’s not enough to win, girl. You have to be good enough to keep going, day after day. If you want to be a God for longer than fifteen minutes, you need to start thinking about your actions.”

Adriana fell silent. Her first instinct was to snap at the woman, but antagonizing the woman healing you didn’t seem smart. So with that in mind, she kept her mouth shut and waited for Davos to come back with water and cloth.

It took another five minutes before he returned, but he set the bucket down on the deck and handed the linens to the healer.

“Thanks,” Cora said, blowing him a kiss. Then her attention was on the bucket. Cora closed her eyes and whispered something under her breath. It was subtle, but Adriana felt the power expend as the priestess worked. “Now, this is going to sting…”

She did her absolute best to hold still while her wounds were cleaned with magically purified water. It didn’t sting so much as feel like her wounds had been set on fire. Or what being on fire would’ve felt like a month ago. Then, once they were all to Cora’s satisfaction, the healer put her hands on Adriana’s body and sped up the healing process.

This time, she did need the leather strap to bite down on. It was like the combined aches and pains of the weeks it would take to heal hit her over the course of the ten seconds it took. When it was over, she had a collection of nasty scars that might fade once she hit the next level of ascension. Afterwards, she was ready to pass out, but it was too early for that.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You good, then?” Cora asked, sounding just as tired. “Then I’m going to my quarters. Try to eat something in the next half hour, it will help with the dizziness and weakness.”

That left her with Davos, while sailors and the captain of the ship walked around them and did their jobs. It wasn’t her first time on a bigger ship, but there was still a novelty in knowing that instead of relying on their sails, dozens of men would row for hours on end to get them to Hessiopolis. It was a far cry from her friend’s Gusts moving his little boat.

“You look like you need some sleep too,” Adriana said to him.

He stirred, looking up through clouded eyes. “Yeah, maybe. Cora said I’ll be fine, but the binds they used?” he shuddered. “As it turns out, losing time to magical sleep is unsettling. If I ever meet the Builder who gave it to those assholes…” He punched his palm.

Adriana chuckled and looked around at the flurry of motion. It seemed they were getting underway and would actually leave the island now. Groaning, she picked herself up and stretched. “I’m glad you’re not dead,” she said.

“You know, I feel about the same, minus a lingering headache.” Davos’ smile faded and he turned serious. “It’s a good thing you had a team behind you, isn’t it? You should probably go check up on them.”

She nodded. “I’ll do that. Cora might be right. I should thank and apologize to Lucas.”

Belowdeck was dim, cramped, and stunk of mildew, preserved fish, alcohol, and sweat. Adriana hated how small their quarters were, but at least she and Davos had a room to themselves, and she doubted Davos would use his bed most nights. The way the ship was laid out, all guest quarters and the galley were just below the main deck, with the oarsmen’s benches and cots on the two levels below, with supplies on every level.

The Duskbreaker was, Lucas had told her, a ship that served the Children of Stephanos without being owned by them. The Sun Temple would pay for the journey back and forth, in their quest to bring Hessius’ True Divinity back home, and wherever else their team of Demigods would need to go to protect the people.

The other quarters were close by hers, and voices came from the cabin in the middle, where she assumed Lucas slept. As she crept closer, the voices turned into a tense conversation.

“...reckless, stupid, and short-sighted,” Eva said. “Thinking she could be part of the team is a mistake and you know it.”

Adriana paused in place, wondering if she should maybe leave and not listen, but hearing her least favorite Demigod disparage her kept her locked in place.

Another one of Lucas’ heavy sighs followed. “The fault is mine. We didn’t have to turn it into a race, or make a game out of it. I got distracted, and lost sight of keeping everyone safe. We shouldn’t have walked into that ambush.”

“And why were you distracted?” Eva demanded. “What is it about this girl that’s got you so hot and bothered?”

A low, deep chuckle made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She too wanted to know, and desperately hoped they wouldn’t hear her heart pick up the pace and pound. “What’s the matter, Eva? Jealous?”

Silence.

“And if I am?”

“You shouldn’t be. I don’t have time to worry about anything other than leading this team and fighting the Maw. If I am at all fixated on Adriana, that’s why. She may not like us or agree with us on everything, but she came along with us anyway to help us fight. That means something to me.”

“We all care about the fight. What makes her so special?” Eva sounded hurt..

Lucas didn’t answer for a few seconds. Adriana waited with bated breath. “She’s got a fire to her that the rest of us don’t. An intensity. I want to make sure she doesn’t burn herself out. And if she does, I’d rather be there to make sure nothing happens to that True Divinity. We can’t let that fall into the wrong hands.”

Another pause, followed by entirely too much eagerness. “And when she proves that she can’t work on a team and behave, what then?”

“I’ll do what I have to,” he said. “And before that, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that isn’t what happens. We need each other. We need everyone in this fight. So would you do me a favor and not antagonize her or make my job harder?”

Eva chuckled. Wood creaked, and then she said in a lower voice, “And what about me? You going to give me an incentive to behave, Mr. Leader? I do believe I deserve a prize for winning that race…”

With growing disgust, Adriana realized what was going on. Her stomach twisted and she moved away from the cabins before she could overhear more. It wasn’t like she had any claim on Lucas. She thought he was attractive and fought well, but apparently there was no accounting for taste. If he and the blond bitch had a thing, she wouldn’t interfere.

Instead, she went to the galley. Like most of the ship it was crammed, but at least a good chunk of sailors could eat at any given time, when their shift was over. Tobias and Iris were already there at one of the tables, eating some bread and fruit. Their eyes lit up upon seeing her. Well, at least someone other than Davos liked her.

“Hey,” Adriana said as she joined them at the table. “The food here any good? Cora told me I needed to eat something.”

“Well,” said Tobias, “it’s food from Mykarkos, so it's still fresh. Take as much as you like, we aren’t on restricted rations like the rest of these guys.” A nearby sailor shot him a dirty look before returning to his card game.

Her stomach growled. “What about meat?” she asked. “After a good fight like that, I need more.”

Iris pointed to the back, where the cook worked tirelessly. “You can ask, but, uh, be nice?”

“I’m always nice,” Adriana said with a knowing grin. The two of them laughed, and she let herself relax.

They were away from Synto now, and on their way to their fate, good or bad. With the ship pulling away from Mykarkos, there was no turning back. She had friends now, even if she couldn’t stand Eva. At least it was mutual. There was a clear path to power, more if the Sun Temple accepted her. If she had to behave in order for that to happen, fine.

But first, she needed meat.