It didn’t take long for the containers to get switched out.

  We were on our way out of the harbor before lunch. I leaned on the railing as we sailed away from the city. There were small islands all over the place that we had to sail around. Occasionally, I saw a monster on one of the islands, but they left the large ship alone for the most part.

  For lunch, we were summoned below deck to eat in the captain’s room.

  The large, wooden table in the middle of the room stood out and in the cramped space of the cabin, it was easy to tell that most of the time the table was somewhere else. Trent and Bethy were seated on either end of the table, with Miel to Trent’s left.

  I sat down on my father’s right, with Ether sitting beside me and Nakten sitting beside her. Fray sat next to Miel with Justia on the other side of her and Aelin sitting next to our host. I was expecting someone to be bringing in food when the door to the cabin opened, but instead, a teen walked in.

  “Ah, here’s my daughter!” Bethy motioned for the teen to sit in the open seat between herself and Nakten. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my baby, Trinsa. She just turned sixteen, so it’s going to be a while before she has a shot at following in her sister’s footsteps.”

  The teen bore a striking resemblance to her sister, save for the white hair that she shared with her mother. I felt her glare as she took her seat, then turned to face her mom.

  “Dora wants to know when we’re going to be back in town. She says that there’s a concert in town next weekend and everyone is going to be there.” Trinsa focused on her mother while ignoring the rest of us.

  “We’re taking a detour to take my old teacher to Iver, then we have to stop at Atray, Jeul, Haux, Gues, Slece, and Vefe before we are heading back to Tres.” Bethy shook her head. “Sorry, but I don’t see how we can be back in town in under a week.”

  “That’s not fair!” Trinsa slammed her fist on the table. “You promised that we’d be back in time for me to hang out with my friends!”

  “And we got attacked by a school of Sea Arms.” Bethy’s blue eyes narrowed. “Or did you forget that Hill died yesterday?”

  “I…” Trinsa looked up at the ceiling. “No.”

  “I’m sorry that you’re going to have to miss this thing you want to do with your friends, but there will be other things you can do once we get there.” The golden captain put her hand over her daughter’s. “Living outside the walls has its dangers and delays. You—”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Have to accept them and move forward.” The younger woman pulled her hand away and stood up. “You’ve given me that speech since I was two. Why can’t I just stay at home in Tres with Grandma and Grandpa while you’re out?” She scooted in her chair. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Bethy half stood up.

  “My room!” Trinsa stomped out of the cabin, slamming the door on her way out.

  “Um…” The golden woman forced a smile. “Sorry about that.”

  “I’ve seen my share of teenage outbursts.” Trent waved his hand. “She’ll cherish the time she had with you out here on the sea when she’s older.”

  “I hope so…” Bethy sat down. “Well, that wasn’t how I was hoping this evening would start, but there’s always another chance.” She nodded her head towards the other end of the table. “You taught me that.”

  Trent chuckled. “Then let’s start this evening all over again.”

  “Great, because there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” Bethy cleared her throat. “I heard you were given a merc tag and you’re claiming Gar.”

  “That’s…” Trent glanced at me, then looked over at his former student. “That only happened yesterday.”

  “Very few mercenary outfits get to run a gate. Even fewer are trusted enough to run a whole town.” Bethy laughed. “Word was going to get around fast that you were coming out of retirement.” She tilted her head towards me. “You trying to give the boy a legacy?”

  “You could say that.” Trent shrugged. “But why do you care?” He motioned at the ship. “Gar is landlocked and you can’t exactly sail this thing over land.”

  “You’re five hours from the Cathedral and eleven hours from Jyscor.” She grinned as she leaned back in her seat. “But only three hours from the coast. You could build an outpost straight south of Gar and make a road to connect your city to the sea. Grod and I still talk. I know I could get him to leave a convoy in Gar for you to use.”

  “You’re asking for a trade deal.” Nakten leaned forward and looked between the two ends of the table.

  “I’m not really asking.” Bethy grinned and gestured at me. “Bridget is already a part of this, so using any other family as a supplier would be...” She bobbed her head. “Competing with yourself.”

  Trent let out a laugh that broke the tension that had been building. “Well.” He looked over at me. “Looks like you started the first part of your infrastructure already.”

  Bethy grinned. “We can go over the details later and of course, Bridge needs to focus on her studies, but once she graduates, I look forward to letting her take over that leg of the operation.”

  Trent nodded. “There’s a lot to discuss, but I don’t see why that won’t work.”

  The door opened behind him and a green man walked in carrying a plate of steaming steaks.

  “Right on time!” Bethy clapped her hands. “Let’s eat!”

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