Ria breathed in the scent of soap on her skin. Finally, she was able to clean off the stench of sea and sweat. Being on the Opal for days didn't give much choice for sanitation, except for a clean bowl of rain water in the captain's cabin. And running around Basiago all day, almost getting assaulted by ruffians didn't help.
She could still feel the lust--the furious craving for the touch of her skin--could almost see what they intended to do to her if Gin and Enzo hadn't come back to help her. But the awful trembling fear subsided after bathing it all away in a warm hot tub at an inn in Basiago.
Her luxury came with delays to their mission though. One of the supplies they needed wasn't available at the shop where she found Enzo and Gin earlier--sleeping potions to be delivered the next day. So they all booked rooms at an inn paid for by her pockets.
When she finished bathing, she made her way down to the tavern below where she found the crew of the Opal gathered around a table in a far corner where their whispers couldn't be heard.
"Saved you a seat, lady." Sam got up and pulled a chair for her. Reno bounced on his shoulder.
Ria smiled as she sat down between Sam and Mari who wore shorts, showing her mechanical legs. She avoided looking down at them and kept her eyes forward. Across from her, Gin stared and a wave of awe spread over her chest--his cheeks flush from his drink.
"Where's the rest?" She asked, looking at Juli beside Gin and avoiding his gaze. Migal hadn't come down from his room yet and the captain and his first mate were nowhere to be seen. Enzo sat next to Gin and Reynar on the other side of Mari.
"Cap's got business elsewhere," Juli said--no comment about Migal.
"So how're you liking your trip so far, lady?" Mari asked.
"It's--pleasant," she answered, finding a not so fitting word. "And you can call me Ria."
"Ria." Juli played with her name on her tongue.
The barkeep came to their table holding a tray with a pitcher and mugs. "Ale?" He asked Ria. Everyone else on the table had their own.
"Alright," she said and the man poured her a drink, setting it down in front of her.
When she took a sip, soft froth touched her lips and bitter liquid washed in her mouth. It wasn't too bad. She preferred wine, but the ale would do.
Enzo leaned forward on the table. "You know. We' been together fo' days but we know nothin' 'bout you. Nothin' but the fact that you're rich runnin' around with a military man, and your fake name."
"Ria is my real name," she said. It was true--her name before she came to the royal family.
"You can't fool us. You should've chosen a landborn name, not a sea gypsy's," Gin said.
Ria couldn't answer that, couldn't reveal too much of her identity to protect herself. They couldn't know who she was or what their mission was truly about--her adoption documents, for her to learn of her real parents even though they were likely dead.
She had been confused when she found the late king's letter to Mistress Evita inside a book in the royal library. Why had he kept her adoption documents secret when everyone already knew that she was not a blue bood? She'd burned the whole letter after reading it, which the mistress should've done, but she was glad she found it and learned of the papers that could give her a sense of history--a belongingness that she had longed for.
"Come on tell us something about yourself," Reynar urged.
"I grew up in Sivona," Ria said to supress their curiousity about her.
YOU ARE READING
Sea Gypsies: The Draga Isles
RomanceA princess in search of her past. A boy driven by money. A crew that is loyal to the end. Princess Ria is adopted, and she has lived with the acceptance that she will never know her real parents. But when she learns of the existence of her adoption...
