Nora snorted, but the two leaders did not pay attention to her.
“Which one do you think is the queen?” the one called Captain Batard asked.
Elea glanced at her cousin. They both had the same fair skin and impossibly purple hair. Nora’s skin was tanner than Elea’s and she was covered in twice as many freckles. They were the same height and roughly the same build, but Nora’s sinewy arms had strength that Elea’s would never have. Nora’s eyes were sea-blue, while Elea’s were bright green. But aside from that, their features were similar enough that they could have been mistaken for sisters. They were first cousins, after all.
The admiral drew his sword and pointed it at them. “Which one of you is the queen?”
Before Elea could answer, Nora sprang forward. “I am.”
She grabbed the captain by the throat and lifted him a few inches into the air. The sailor tried to break free. He was twice Nora’s bulk, but he was no match for her strength.
No man was.
“One illegitimate prince . . . for . . . return safe . . . of cousin . . . to Urka,” Nora said in broken Kaulish.
Elea gasped.
Her cousin was right! The captain had to be related to the king; she’d recognize King Pierre’s aquiline nose anywhere. He put his picture on every coin, his visage on all his correspondence.
The admiral turned his sword toward Nora and she tightened her hold on the young man’s throat. The skin on her captive’s face started to change from red to a purplish blue. He struggled more wildly than ever in her arms.
“Decide quickly or he’s dead,” Nora yelled, this time in the high tongue.
“Queen Eleanora, I promise to return your cousin safely to Urka,” the admiral said.
Still holding the sailor up off the ground, Nora pushed him against the wall. “Swear by your god that my cousin will be returned safely to Urka.”
The young sailor stopped struggling and Elea feared for his life, but not as much as she feared for her own.
“I swear by Pater that your cousin will be returned safely to Urka!” the admiral yelled.
Nora dropped the sailor and he hit the wooden floor with a thud on all fours, gasping for air. Her cousin stepped back and nonchalantly tucked her hair behind her ear. The admiral knelt down beside the young sailor and pulled off his neck scarf to help him breathe. The young man sputtered and coughed but managed to get to his feet.
“The rumors are true,” he gasped in Kaulish to the admiral. “The Urkan heir possesses magic.”
Nora clicked her tongue and Elea turned to face her. Nora didn’t speak but inclined her head toward the two Kaulish leaders. Elea blinked back stupidly. Her cousin gave her an intense stare and again inclined her head toward the two men. Elea finally realized that Nora was asking which one Elea would be safer with.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, focusing her attention on the scents of both leaders. Neither of them meant her immediate harm. They smelled of lavender and geranium; loyalty and duty. The two men were simply following their orders. She inhaled again, focusing specifically on the admiral. He smelled strongly of sulfur and sweat. Fear was a very volatile emotion. Exhaling, Elea breathed in the scent of the younger man. He smelled of musk (male virility), vanilla (he found them attractive), and cedarwood (protectiveness). A hint of another scent reached her nose: lemongrass.Regret.The illegitimate prince regretted his part in their capture.
Elea sighed and leaned her head slightly to the side of the room where the young man was standing.
“The illegitimate prince can take my cousin to Urka and deliver whatever demands his father, King Pierre, has for my safe return,” Nora said in the high tongue. “In return, I will be fully cooperative with you, Admiral. Or if you don’t keep your word, I will kill as many of your men as I can until I am dead and of no use to you or your king.”
The admiral and prince both looked at Nora with fear and respect.
Despite Elea being the heir, no one respected or feared her. She wished they did.
The Kaul leaders backed away from them and stood by the broken door to converse. They spoke low and quickly in Kaulish. Nora could not understand them, but Elea did.
“The king’s orders are to bring both princesses to Kaul.”
“My father only wants the new Queen of Urka, Admiral.”
“The cousin is second in line for the throne.”
“You gave your word.”
“Your father—”