by Megan Derr
Laughing, Raiden stepped in close, grasped Taka's chin and tilted his face up. "I don't make people sleep with me, jewel. The contract means you are my secretary. Anything else you become, it will be because we both want it, and the contract has nothing to do with it."
Before Taka could pull away, Raiden bent and brushed a whisper soft kiss across his mouth. Taka sputtered and shoved him hard. "Keep yourself to yourself, Master Raiden." He spun around sharply on one heel and stalked off, leaving the temple to head back to the palace.
He had only a hundred things to do that day to ensure that nothing went unaccounted for while he was away. He was certain it would be neglected and turned into a mess, anyway, but he would try to prevent that.
When he reached Kyo's rooms, he saw that Kyo had already returned. Kyo stood at the balcony, hands resting lightly on the railing, hair long and loose and still unadorned. Taka joined him, unsurprised to see that Kyo was watching the ships in the harbor. "I suppose if nothing else come of this, at least we will get to travel. That must excite you, no matter how cool you are playing it. Is he really a mermaid?"
"Half, technically," Kyo said. "I always figured mermaids could bear children, but I've never read of any instance of it happening—though I suppose people are not likely to record that."
Taka made a face. "Are you certain we should be travelling without real protection, Kyo? I know you want to escape your father's hold, whatever we are doing, but Captain Midori—"
"We will be fine," Kyo said. "If all goes according to plan, we'll be in little to no danger."
He did not see how that was possible, but Taka knew better than to ask and was not in the mood for an evasion. If anyone could defy the old 'curse' that those of royal blood could not travel the seas because those seas would seek to kill them, it was Kyo. "Everything is packed—finally. I have only hundreds of other things to do, but—"
"Leave them," Kyo said. "Leave the whole mess exactly as it is; from here on out, it is someone else's problem."
Taka shook his head. "No. I have no desire to come back to more of a mess than strictly—"
"I said leave it."
"Fine, but you get to sort it out when we return."
Kyo smiled faintly. "Yes, Taka. How did your little tête-à-tête with Master Raiden go?"
Taka made a face, completely unsurprised that Kyo knew he and Raiden had spoken privately, though he could not fathom how Kyo knew. "It was fine. I made it clear I wouldn't fuck him; he made it clear he would convince me otherwise. The trip is looking to be a delight already."
"I see," Kyo said with a real laugh. He lifted a hand to point to a ship with black sails. "Piedre ships; it's rare to see those sails anymore. I wonder what it's like there, if the tales of the violence are true."
"I cannot imagine they are false, given its history. No country where a god of death committed suicide can be a good one. Look at how they treat Culebra."
Kyo nodded and said nothing more about it. They stood there in silence together, as they had so many times before, but something felt different. Taka felt the way he did when there was someone behind, just out of his periphery, waiting to spring upon him with something he wasn't going to like. "I wish you would tell me what troubles you."
"I wish I did not know it myself," Kyo said with uncharacteristic bitterness. "But we do not choose our fates, even those of us who follow the gods of chaos. I can only hope that I succeed; I can ask for nothing else." He rose up and left the balcony. Taka reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back and holding him tight. After a moment, Kyo returned the embrace, clinging tightly.
They were the exact same height, he and Kyo. Their birthdays were only days apart. Despite everything, they had grown up in the palace together, each other's only refuge from lives that were less than ideal. "I don't like to see you so unhappy, Kyo."
"If you want to help me," Kyo whispered, "then try to be happy yourself. That's all I want, Taka. If it cannot be me, then it must be you."
Taka wasn't entirely certain he understood what Kyo was saying, but he nodded awkwardly, head still buried in the hollow of Kyo's shoulder. "You're a stubborn fool."
"It's my finest quality," Kyo said and finally pushed him gently away. "I am going to meet with my father, and then there is something else that I must do. Get some rest while you can because once the rest of the palace beds down, we are packing all of our last minute belongings. Leave nothing behind that matters to you, Taka. Also find a good pair of shears."
"What?" Taka asked, baffled by the odd request after the rest of the litany. "Why?"
Kyo laughed. "Taka, we are going to be on that ship for months. I do not know about you, but I do not want to be stuck dealing with my hair for all that time. Just before we leave to meet them on the ship, you are cutting my hair."
Taka's brows shot up. "Your hair. Kyo—you can't. You're a royal prince—"
"Not once we leave this palace. Never again. I don't have to be, not anymore." That sadness flitted across Kyo's face again, but it was gone before Taka could comment, almost immediately replaced by the stubbornness Taka knew far too well. "My hair will be impractical, and I want it gone. I've never had my hair short before."
He sounded so wistful about something so trivial that Taka's heart broke all over again. Making Kyo happy was so stupidly simple, it made him angry no one ever bothered to do it. "Umiko's maid will have a good pair. I'll nick them while everyone is at dinner, and I guess it really doesn't matter if they find them on your dressing table later."
"No, it really won't. Thank you, Taka."
"Go placate your father so that we are left in peace the rest of the day," Taka said, giving him a gentle shove toward the bedroom, following him to dress properly for an audience with the king.
When Kyo was gone, Taka set about tidying the office and Kyo's rooms in general, taking care of a few things even if Kyo had ordered him not to bother with any of it. Though Kyo had not said as much, Taka had the definite impression that they would not be returning to Kundou. The thought was troubling, saddening, but he would not worry about it until he had good reason to worry about it—no sense in worrying about the journey before the ship arrived to begin it.
Except the ship had arrived, and it was waiting, and Taka had absolutely no idea where they were going, or to what purpose. All he knew was that he probably wasn't going to like it.
By the time Kyo finally returned, Taka had run out of things to do and given up at any attempts to eat; his appetite was having none of that while his anxiety was high. Kyo looked exhausted, but pleased—far too pleased.
Taka sighed, loud and long. "What did you do?"
Kyo smirked and locked the door then motioned for Taka to follow him into his bedroom where he also locked the door. He motioned for Taka to light more of the lamps, then closed the balcony doors and locked them as well.
"Kyo, what in the storms'—" He broke off as Kyo pulled an unmistakable object from his sash, holding the surprisingly unremarkable diamond-like stone aloft between his thumb and finger. It was beautiful, shaped somewhat like an eye and so small Taka always marveled no one had ever lost it.
Normally, it would have been secured to a chain around the throat of either the king or the crown prince. Fear made Taka's blood run cold. "Kyo, why do you have the Eye of the Storm?"
"Because this entire journey will be pointless if I do not take it," Kyo said. "Dawn is only a few hours away, and Taiheiyou is passed out in his room from drinking too much."
Taka sighed. "Drinking too much, or drinking whatever you slipped into his wine?"
"Both," Kyo said dismissively. "No one will notice it is missing until the Eye is well away from Kundou. By that point, it will be too late for them to get it back."
"You're going to leave Kundou without protection? Kyo … " Taka ran out of words. He had no idea what he should say. The Eye of the Storm was all that kept the terrible storms out at sea, kept the mermaids from making a full on assault on land.
Kyo tucked the Eye away again. "Do not worry so much, Taka. The mermaids will be too busy coming after me and the stone to worry about attacking Kundou. And we are the children of the storms; it will do the people good to remember that and learn how to face them instead of always hiding from them. I promise you, this is necessary."
"First you give me away, now you are stealing the Eye and running away—Kyo, if you do not stop all this nonsense, you will get yourself killed!"
"No one is going to kill me," Kyo said firmly. "I won't permit it. I am the only one allowed to take my life."
Taka glared at him. "Shut up. What about everyone else you are endangering—"
"I am doing what I must! Trust me or don't, Taka, but either way I have set my course, and I am staying it."
"Fine," Taka said. "I was able to get the shears when I went to get my dinner. Sit down and I will cut your hair, and then we can rest for a couple of hours before dawn."
"Thank you," Kyo replied softly and obediently went to sit at his dressing table.
Chapter Six: A Battle Lost
Kin wondered if he could lock them all in a cabin and pretend they weren't there until they arrived at their destination. He could assign one of his men to see to it they were regularly fed and didn't kill each other, and he'd be able to enjoy the voyage in relative peace.
He sighed as the harbor bells rang, announcing the formal arrival of dawn. And there they were, two unmistakable figures approaching the ship. They must have spent a lot of time together, he thought cynically, given the way they moved together, so similar right down to the way they walked. He watched from the ship as Raiden greeted them and led the way up the gangway. Sailors approached to take and stow the satchels they carried, and then Raiden guided them across the ship to the Captain's quarters.
Preceding them, Kin went to his desk, sat down, and resumed drinking his coffee, a drink he'd become fond of in Piedre and that he vehemently refused to go without no matter how much Raiden harassed him for it. He watched idly while Takara and his Highness removed their hoods, not realizing until he saw Nankyokukai's face that he had been holding his breath.
He was even more astonished by the wrenching disappointment he felt when the fabric finally fell away, and he realized Nankyokukai had cut his hair. His hair had been cut to his chin; the long, thigh-length, ocean-blue strands gone. It looked good, but, as much as Kin hated to admit it, Nankyokukai was beautiful, breathtakingly so, and his long, long hair had only enhanced that beauty. Everyone knew the royals wore their hair long and decorated it with beads and other trinkets, but Kin had not realized until he saw it just how stunning it could be. Even as he had wanted to stand and walk off in disgust, he had wanted to run his fingers through that hair.
And now it was gone. Kin looked away when he realized he was staring, refilling his coffee and going over the papers his first mate had given him. Signing off on everything, he stood to return the papers and give the order to depart.
When he returned, the others were eating breakfast and discussing tariffs and trade laws. Kin wasn't certain what irritated him most: that they were able to discuss it at all so early, or that Nankyokukai discussed it so well.
Nankyokukai reminded Kin of Raiden in that he was so visually distracting that no one noticed just how hard his mind was working. Devious was the word, and conniving right on its heels, but Kin wasn't surprised by a merchant acting that way. He was surprised to find it was the case with a prince who all rumors said had little going for him save his looks, a prince who everyone said slept with his secretary.
He had thought so earlier, watching the way they moved together, how comfortable and familiar they were together. Observing them with Raiden, he thought they were friends, but not lovers. That was a relief because the last thing he needed was Raiden attempting to seduce Takara away from Nankyokukai in the middle of the sea. Watching Raiden, he could see full well that was exactly what Raiden intended to do, and storms protect anything that stood in his way.
Kin did not get the obsession, and he did not want to get it. The one obsession he had was distracting enough. His fingers twitched for his dagger, but he had already tucked it away for the journey. Helplessly, his eyes flicked back to Nankyokukai, that one moment in the temple when he had thought …
Ailill's words had come back to him, then—that the dagger had once been noble or royal. Kin had always assumed noble. Royal had never entered his mind before, and Ailill's comments were the only reason he had thought, for even a single moment, that Prince Nankyokukai was Koori.
If he were, then surely … surely he would remember? Hope had almost immediately soured into doubt, however, when Kyo had given absolutely no indication of knowing him. He had bit the question back at the last moment. Looking at Nankyokukai ensconced on his ship and bickering trade law almost cheerfully with Raiden …
He just could not reconcile that little boy with the arrogant prince before him. Kin left the room again, in no mood to feel out of place on his own ship. He joined Samé on the poop deck, listening while Samé rattled on about the ship and crew, the weather, how good it would be to be in Pozhar again.
Kin silently agreed. Pozhar was always tense because of the search for and eventual sacrifice of the Vessels, but the children of rebirth placed a great deal of faith on that very thing, more than any other country. It was hard to keep down people who believed that the end of one life was just the beginning of another.
They also had fine whorehouses and none of the prudery of Verde and Piedre and were a taste of something different from Kundou. Kin looked out over the sea, thoughts drifting from the journey to his passengers, to Pozhar, to Sanhoshi all the way at the end of the journey.
Why in the name of the dragons would a royal prince want to journey there? How did he even know it existed? Kin knew veteran sailors who were ignorant of the island's existence, and it was not on any maps save those that he and Raiden had altered and kept very close.
He was pulled abruptly from his thoughts when Samé fell silent mid-sentence. Kin saw the look on Samé's face and followed the direction his gaze, completely unsurprised to see that Nankyokukai had come on deck. Leaving Samé, Kin moved down to the main deck and approached. "Highness, was there something you needed?"
"No," Nankyokukai replied. "You can stop calling me Highness; there is very little need for that out here." He swept his arm out to encompass the ship and the sea. "Kyo will suffice, please."
"Kyo," Kin repeated obediently, feeling awkward at such informality—feeling awkward, period. What did one say to a prince? He could not converse the way Raiden did, and was not inclined to anyway, but he refused to look like an uneducated idiot on his own ship, no matter how much that was true. He was an officer because he was good at his job and Raiden trusted him, no matter his lack of station or formal education. "Did you grow tired of discussing tariffs?"
Kyo laughed. "I wanted to see the ocean. I thought it would look the same whether I saw it from a ship or my bedroom window, but it looks different from here."
"The protections of Kundou are gone here," Kin replied. "The water is deep. They say that in some places it goes on forever, too deep for any but a god to comprehend."
"I believe it," Kyo said, looking out over the water again. The wind flew about them, stirring his hair and hiding his face from view.
Kin fought a strange urge to reach out and brush it back, keep it back, so that Kyo was not hidden from him. "You cut your hair, Highness."
"I, for one, did not want to try to wash and comb it throughout this journey. It is difficult enough in the palace where every luxury is at my disposal to help tend it." He reached up to touch the back of his neck. "It feels very strange having my neck bare." He smiled ruefully, then let his hand fall.
Once more Kin had to fight an urge to touch. He could only imagine the penalties for touching Kyo without permission, and it made no sense he wanted to anyway. But that was a lie, and he knew it. Raiden loved to mock him for being susceptible to pretty thin
gs, especially pretty men. Kin had never denied the weakness, or the trouble it had gotten him, though he thought it a bit ridiculous that Raiden mocked him. Kin, at least, had never been banned from a brothel for causing trouble.
Thinking of Raiden and brothels reminded him of Takara. "Are you certain you should be leaving Shima alone with your secretary? He looked as though he might bite."
"With all due respect, Raiden looked as though he would not mind," Kyo drawled.
Despite himself, Kin laughed. "Fair enough." He moved to the railing and leaned over it, arms braced on the edge, and stared out at the sea himself, wondering what it looked like through the eyes of someone new to sailing. He had been that person, once, but he no longer remembered that moment.
The sea, to him, was home and hostile territory all rolled into one. Already he could feel the perpetual itch of his merman features wanting to come out. Being out at sea made the fangs and scales harder to suppress. His mouth tightened as he wondered how Kyo and Takara would react the first time his merman form took control. There were reasons he worked hard to keep a stable crew, and finding replacements when they did leave or died was difficult. Those willing to stay on such a dangerous ship, with a captain who attracted that danger, were precious few.
He startled when fingers touched his arm, and he jerked back reflexively. "My apologies," Kyo murmured, withdrawing his hands into the sleeves of his dark turquoise robe. "Your skin … "
Kin looked down where he stared and grimaced when he saw he did not have control of himself the way he had thought. "It's nothing," he said. "If you'll pardon me, Highness, I should check we are still on course. The winds are stronger than usual, and they have a mind all their own." He balled his hand into a fist and strode off, silently swearing at the glisten of tiny scales that covered most of his right forearm. He drew deep breaths and released them slowly, willing his merman nature back—but try as he might, it would not subside.
