Since Zaya had made me throw myself to the wolves before, she offered to stay up and keep an eye on things. Apparently she was well used to ‘your particular kind of temper, darling’ and she was well equipped to deal with that pair’s similar one. Which I deeply resented! I was the very definition of a calm and rational person! But I appreciated her sacrifice anyway.

Of course, it took me only a few minutes to remember why I really couldn’t stand the wretched Captain.

She took a bottle of old Shan’s grog from an inside pocket of her jacket and slammed it on the table. I gasped.

“Captain, what If you broke it!” I scolded her, horrified. It should be a sin to waste good alcohol. In fact, in a very peculiar city state not very far from Venixia, it was. Every barman, bartender, tavern owner, server, and anyone of similar alcohol-pouring professions in Padiva were part of a very selective and severe guild. They believed that a spilled drop of any drink brought about seven years of bad luck from their goddess Vinona. They were a superstitious and zealot lot. But their wine was divine.

I was not superstitious, but I was tempted to take control of her ship and deliver her there myself, but alas. Restraint must win.

“Then we’d lick every single drop with our tongues, lass!” Restraint should probably win. I sighed again.

She took the bottle off the table and started moving it around in the air, like a child with a new rattle. “Ah, I really missed the sound of your exasperated sighs!” Then she landed it softly on the table. Thank the gods. Old Shan’s grog really deserved better.

“Speaking of, is that pretty girl we left upstairs your new wife?”

“Your powers of observation are outstanding as usual, Captain.” She gripped my shoulder with one hand and patted my back with the other. Oh, that’s why she finally let go of the bottle.

“Well done! I remember how weepy you were when that other girl rejected you.” I stepped away from her grasp, embarrassed at her audacity. And her long memory.

“Captain! That was told in strict confidence!” I hissed.

She barked a laugh.

“The confidence becomes less strict if you share it in front of the whole ship, lass!” I…did not remember that. At the absolutely mortified look on my face Morgana barked another laugh.

“Not a lot of space on a ship,” she said wisely. “Especially if they’re not a…MarkII?”

“MarkIII,” I said, my love of correcting people overcoming my embarrassment.

“Ah.” The Captain nodded and gave me a smirk. “Moving up in the world, eh?”

I took a seat and slumped onto it. “You have no idea,” I muttered.

“Hmm. Well, let’s drink to that!” She took two small glasses out of her inner pocket and slammed them on the table.

“Could you stop that, please.”

She shrugged. If nothing else, that enlarged pocket spell I put on her coat (under extreme duress) was really effective, if I said so myself.

She opened the bottle and started pouring that sweet nectar in the first glass.

“So,” she prompted. She gave the now filled glass to me. “The woman up there is your noble father?”

She started pouring into the other one.

“Yes. I found her in our manor…this morning actually.”

“Suspicious.”

“Very. Speaking of, what about your passenger?”

Morgana grunted. She stilled a bit, then seemed to come to a decision. She took out another three glasses -seriously, how great was my spell? - and filled them too.

“Met her in Aurana,” she finally said. “She came with a letter of recommendation from a friend of mine. So, I took her money and sailed to Venixia.”

So, she wanted to follow mommy dearest, huh? I knew the Viscountess’ children would be trouble. I massaged my temples.

“What friend?” I demanded. I hoped the Captain wasn’t part of this whole conspiracy.

My hope slowly died when I saw she wasn’t answering.

“What friend, Captain?” I said again.

“Ah, lass, I really shouldn’t say. Don’t ask me again, please.”

“Morgana…” I said, threateningly. “How much?”

She gave me a rueful chuckle.

“Nothing you could possible pay.” I gave her an affronted look. I could pay for a lot of things, thank you very much!

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m still the ambitious business-woman you once knew.” She took her drink and raised it high. “Let’s do what we came here to do.”

It was true, though. There were not many things I couldn’t pay for. That meant the exchange currency was not money, but another type of power. Maybe political, of which I had admittedly very little. But why would she care to hide her friendship from me? That meant it definitely had something to do with all this fuckery. But the Viscountess didn’t seem to know her.

I grunted and reluctantly raised my glass too.

“To old friends!” She said, cheerfully.

“To old friends.” I muttered.

We clicked our glasses together, making sure to look each other in the eyes, and then we drank.

The liquor went down smoothly in a familiar burn, and I felt shivery immediately afterwards. Ah, that was the stuff!

“May we join in?” The Viscountess said.