Dark Tides (Kingdom of Bones #2)

PART ONE - LOST TREASURE, CHAPTER ONE: KANE

Death's Cove

Late Frostfall

Death's Cove takes no prisoners.

Words Kane Blackwater had heard his father say many times when the Iron Jewel would sail too close to the ship trap. It was a treacherous place he'd never been to, but one that had haunted his dreams as a child. Yet even though the thought made his spine go rigid, the Iron Jewel sailed straight toward its dark waters.

Kane stood at the helm of his ship, one hand gripping the smooth blackened-oak handle of the wheel, the other holding a spyglass to his eye, as he searched for a safe spot to enter. The clouds above were as gloomy as his mood, growing darker by the moment. Death's Cove was a splotch on the map of anyone who sailed the Sister Seas. It lurked on the tail of the Silver Sea like a silent predator waiting for its prey.

Jagged sea-stacks sprouted up from the waves like daggers, sharp enough to rip straight through any ship that dared to venture close. Kane was used to sailing through the deep turquoise waves of the Sister Seas. From Crossbones, all the way to Sarva, the waters were the clearest and most beautiful of any he'd sailed. The sea surrounding Death's Cove was nearly the black of kra-ken's ink. It's only because of the weather, he lied to himself.

"Death's Cove takes no prisoners," said a voice very different from the slurred rasp of Kane's father. Kane pulled away from the lens of his spyglass and glanced to his right. Flynn Gunnison leaned against the railing, the wild sea wind blowing stray pieces of his sand-colored hair out of its tie and across his face. Two seasons ago, Kane would've decked Flynn for standing too close, but today, he was glad to not be alone. Today, he was glad to have a friend. Typically, Flynn would've been manning his own ship on this search mission, but the Anaphine remained docked in Baltessa, receiving much-needed repairs after a skirmish with a small Incendian fleet. Kane needed all the help he could get.

"We won't be anyone's prisoners," Kane replied, collapsing the barrels of the spyglass with a clap. "Not today or any other day."

Flynn slapped Kane on the back and chuckled. "Those sound like famous last words, Blackwater." The crooked smile slipped from his face for a moment. "I would rather not die today though. No offense, mate, but I'd much rather have Csilla's face be the last thing I see. Not your ugly mug." Csilla Abado was the newly crowned Queen of Bones. She was back in Baltessa, the capital of the island kingdom of Cerulia, along with the Maidens and Lorelei Storm—whose face was one that Kane found himself missing as the days and nights at sea blurred together.

"Remind me again why I brought you here?" Kane asked, pocketing the spyglass and grabbing the wheel with both hands. "It's become apparent that it wasn't to help man the ship, as you're up here and not with the rest of the crew."

"You brought me to help search for Rove because there's a chance you might need my impeccable shot." As a reminder, Flynn drew one of his pistols from his belt and spun it over his fingers. The barrel came to a stop in front of his pursed lips and he puffed once like he was blowing out the wick of a candle. "Besides, is there really a need for me to break my back over some sails? Your crew has beefed up pretty nicely over the past few moons. Plus, Arius and Borne are down there, so I'd say we're faring well."

"You say faring well, I say barely cutting it."

"You have always been the flask-half-empty type."

Kane was about to attempt a comeback when something white caught the corner of his attention. He turned to his left just as the shouts from the men on the deck reached his ears. From behind one of the largest sea-stacks emerged the white sails of a fully stocked brig. It slid out from behind its hiding place like it had been waiting for them all along. Kane didn't have to pull out his spyglass to see the flag waving in the wind atop the brig's highest mast, or the emblem of flame and sword imprinted on the fabric.