of copper and blades

CHAPTER TEN,

  "BAD NEWS." MARCUS returned to the quiet little dockside tavern where they sat, musing and mourning over the evening's quick change of effects. "There is one ship heading out of Gira to Epimur tonight, but the problem is, it only has place for two passengers."

Cass immediately said, "Justine and Gabriel. They're the people we need to get to Arecia right now for. The rest of us are only heading to Epimur anyways, and for far less urgent matters."

"Hell to the no," Laurence interrupted.

Cass scowled in his direction. "Who else? The four of us are used to working in a team anyways, and we all have connections here in some shape or form. We'll be fine. Gabriel most definitely needs to leave and return to Arecia. I say he definitely has to leave."

"Herein lies the problem," Ciri said in a voice so quiet Justine thought she hadn't spoken. "I'm pregnant."

And then silence descended upon the group like an unexpected storm.

Marcus let out a quiet curse. Cass' face had turned chalky white, and Laurence pulled his wife closer to himself.

Gabriel was the one who reacted first. "Congratulations, Viscountess."

Ciri swallowed. "Even if I stay, I won't be of much use. And I know it's selfish, but I really do think it's best if Laurence and I left Gira right now. We might even cancel our stay in Epimur and head directly for Arecia. It's safest there, and I... I really don't want to take any risks."

"It's not selfish," Cass snapped. "You and Laurence. Get out of Gira right now. Don't just take your sacks, then. Take the entire chests. You can get people to help you move it from the ship."

Everyone agreed. They would not force Ciri to stay here when it might be dangerous for her. They weren't risking the child in her stomach.

It was a simple decision. No one argued about it, and two of them went with Ciri and Laurence to secure their passage, scout out the ship they'd be taking and move their belongings over. Once it was deemed safe, there was a tearful farewell between Cass and Ciri before the other two prepared to disembark on their trip to Epimur.

"Fucking hell," Cass murmured quietly as they watched the ship move further away from the docks.

It was twelve o'clock at midnight when six became four.

And then they huddled into a group and began to discuss their next choices. Their next goal would be passage out of Gira, but a few questions revealed that the next ship out to Epimur or Arecia would not be until almost five days later. And they didn't particularly want to trust any ship that came their way. They needed a place to live in, and quickly.

"We could return to the Weeping Flames," Gabriel pointed out. "They would not turn us away. We could request to stay there for a short period of time so that we could figure out this mystery."

Cass let out a sigh. "It seems like the best course of action. And even if there's no place in the Weeping Flames for us, they could very easily arrange for a hotel nearby for us to live in. It's a club that caters to a lot of foreigners, there most definitely would be some hotels nearby."

It was one o'clock when they arrived at the Weeping Flames. The guards and waiters received them once more with stunned silence. It was starting to get quieter, but some guests still lingered around. One of the waiters immediately ran to grab the twins, and they returned, equally surprised, listening as they explained what had happened.

It was Fayette Mi who immediately set out the plans. "Gah, the hotels here are shit. We have two guest rooms here in the house... Well, actually this might be slightly tricky. The earl and his wife could of course take one room, but you two..." she eyed Justine and Gabriel.