‘Sir. Captain Leftrin.’

‘What?’ His bark was more demand than question. Alise turned her head to find Skelly stifling a grin. Her hair gleamed from being freshly brushed, and she had abandoned her trousers and tunic for a flowered skirt and a pale-yellow blouse and looked, Alise thought to herself, more like a girl than she ever had before.

‘Everything is tidied away, and the mate says he has no more tasks for me. Permission to go ashore for the night, sir?’

Leftrin straightened. ‘Skelly. As your captain, I’ll grant you a night’s leave. But you are to be back here by dawn’s light, to help take Tarman across the water. Be late, and you won’t see this city again for a month. Are we clear on that?’

‘Yes, sir. I’ll be here, I promise.’

As she spun excitedly away, he cleared his throat. Skelly halted to look back at him.

‘As your uncle, I’ll remind you that we had no opportunity to speak to your parents or your fiancé. They all still have assumptions about commitments from you. You are not free. Even if I thought it were wise to do so, I couldn’t give you that sort of permission. You know what I’m talking about. I’m responsible for you. But even more so, you are responsible for yourself. Don’t risk either of us.’

Skelly’s cheeks had gone red. The smile flattened from her face. ‘I know,’ she said sharply, and then added, ‘Sir,’ as if fearful he would revoke her shore time.

Leftrin shook his head, then shrugged. ‘Go see your friends. Wander the city. Sa knows, I’m as curious as you are about this place. And if I were a deckhand instead of the captain of this vessel, I’d want to get off and take a good look. But I’m not. So I’ll be staying aboard, and I’ll expect to find you at the galley table when dawn breaks, ready for a day’s work.’

‘Sir,’ she agreed and spun on her heel. In a twinkling, she was down on the dock and hurrying up the street. As they watched, Alum waved a farewell to Tats and Sedric and hurried after her.

‘Are you sure that was wise?’ Alise asked, and then wondered at her own temerity.

‘I am sure it was not,’ he told her. ‘Come.’

Together they began the slow circuit of Tarman’s deck that always presaged bed and rest for them. Bed. No rest tonight, and a sudden shiver of desire rushed through her. A moment later, Leftrin smiled. ‘That’s an odd reaction for a lady to have to a poor sailor checking his knots.’

‘This ship keeps none of my secrets from you,’ she laughed, and walked to the next cleat to inspect the lines for herself. As Leftrin came to join her, she said more quietly, ‘I fear for your niece. While you have been gone, I have watched this place change all the young keepers. Alum is no exception. Skelly may not find him the same young man she left behind.’

Leftrin smiled wryly. ‘That is ever the fate of sailors! And if you are correct, the sooner she discovers it, the better. And then she may be glad that she did not break her engagement with her beau in Trehaug.’ He shook his head and in response to her unasked question, added, ‘There were many things I did not get done there. Did Malta and Reyn tell you the full tale of how the Council received me, and of the dastardly attack on Malta and her babe?’

‘I had the bones of it. I do not think Malta wanted to relive it, and Reyn strikes me as a man who always speaks less than he knows.’

Leftrin made a wry face. ‘They are private people. Despite their beauty, I think they have lived a life apart. Perhaps because of it. Or it may be caution. They may fear treachery still. Who would ever have imagined Malta the Elderling attacked by Chalcedeans in a Rain Wild city? It speaks to me of a duke who is very determined to get what he wants, and Traders corrupt enough to help him in that insanity. Alise, I know you have feared for the city. But the treasure that seems to be sought most at this time is not Elderling artefacts but dragon flesh. The rewards for it must be very high indeed if two men were willing to murder a woman and a newborn child in the hope of passing off their bodies as dragon meat. The dragons have shown already that they can drive off approaching ships. But what I fear is what will eventually happen if they feel they must continue to defend themselves. Sooner or later, human lives will be lost. Possibly many of them. And if there is war between humans and dragons, where will the Elderlings stand?’

Alise walked with him in silence as they checked the last three lines. She heard the low murmur of voices and glanced up. On the roof of the deckhouse, Hennesey was standing, a wide smile on his face as he told some sailor story to a strange woman. Her scaled face reflected light from the tethered globes. So. That must be Tillamon, Reyn’s sister. She seemed captured by the mate’s tale. The Rain Wild woman was well bundled against the night’s damp chill. Someone had thought to bring her an Elderling gown. Probably Sylve, Alise thought to herself. In the reflected light of the failing torches, it glimmered copper and bronze. She was smiling up at Hennesey as he concluded his story, and they both laughed aloud at the finish of it. Much as she wanted to meet Reyn’s sister, Alise knew that now would not be a good time for pleasantries.