The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(4)
Iseult watched as Finn carefully stepped down the slatted plank connecting the ship to the dock. The smell of smoke was stronger this close to the city, coating the chill air hitting his lungs. His gaze lingered as Finn paused to wrap her ratty green cloak more tightly around her, catching her snarled hair in the fabric around her shoulders. She stared down the length of the dock, her feet not moving.
He stepped up behind her on the plank and gently touched her shoulder. She jumped at his touch, then turned her worried gaze back to him.
“There’s nothing to be concerned about,” he assured her softly. “I will keep you safe.”
He looked past her, observing Maarav and Ealasaid already down onto the dock, both watching as Anna’s ship drifted into the harbor. Maarav’s hired men, Tavish and Rae, also waited below, securing the ship to the large wooden beams of the dock with heavy lengths of rope, in addition to the already lowered anchor.
As Finn nodded and started forward again, Iseult briefly wondered where Tavish and Rae would go from here. He watched Rae, the older of the two, grimly checking each of the ropes they’d secured. Sunlight glinted off his dark skin as he glanced up at Finn and Iseult as they passed by. He hadn’t spoken much on their journey, and Iseult had found himself increasingly uneasy around the man.
Tavish, however, had rarely stopped blabbering. He’d excused his lively demeanor as an accompanying trait to his bright red hair. An idiotic thought as far as Iseult was concerned, though the man’s dark brown eyes reflected a certain cunning.
Maarav stepped forward and offered Finn his hand as she reached the dock, but she ignored him. Just as Iseult had found it impossible to trust Rae, so Finn had found Maarav. Though, he couldn’t blame her for being wary of his long-lost brother. Iseult was wary too.
Finn stepped onto the dock with him close behind. Roughly sixty paces away, a plank was lowered from Anna’s ship. Peering in the direction of the sun, it was difficult to decipher who managed the plank, but judging by the man’s massive size, Iseult didn’t think it was Kai.
He turned to witness Finn nervously chewing on her lip. Noticing his gaze, she asked, “Do you think there’s anyone left in the city? Anyone who might harm Naoki?”
Iseult pursed his lips in thought. He was still skeptical that Finn had actually adopted a real baby dragon, though Kai and Anna had both seemed to agree that’s what it was. He flicked his gaze to the nearest ruined building, a small shack that would normally store extra lengths of rope and spare planks. “I doubt anyone is left here. Perhaps a few looters hoping to salvage some goods, but our party is large enough that we should not be bothered.”
With a nervous nod, she began walking toward Anna’s ship. Iseult followed after her, continuously scanning their surroundings for hidden threats. It was unnerving that the city seemed so empty. When they’d first noticed the smoke, he’d thought it likely that Conall was responsible, but now he wasn’t sure. If Conall had taken Migris, he would have left men in place to claim it for his people. Now that they were able to observe things more closely, Iseult thought the Faie were more likely to blame. Only the Faie would attack a city simply to lay it to waste, abandoning what could be a useful commodity. It would also explain why any survivors would be hesitant to return. Though most alive had only been around to experience the aftereffects of the Faie War, stories were still told of the horrific occurrences.
Leaving Maarav, Ealasaid, and the other two men behind, Iseult and Finn reached Anna’s ship just as Kai was making his way down the plank toward the dock. He seemed tired, and a little thinner than usual, not to mention the pair of angry red gashes across his cheek. Upon closer observation, Iseult noticed more gashes on his hands, and a few tears in his dark green tunic and gray woolen breeches.
Kai’s gaze remained on Finn as he finished his descent. Anna could be heard shouting orders up on deck, but was yet to appear at the top of the plank.
“Where’s Naoki?” Finn demanded, taking a step toward Kai. She seemed to have noticed the gashes on his face, taking it as a sign her dragon had been harmed.
Kai narrowed his eyes at her. “Well greetings to you too,” he grumbled. “Your dragon is fine. I, however, have borne the brunt of her tantrums during this last leg of our voyage.”
Finn’s expression softened. Iseult’s did not.
The trio stood in awkward silence for a moment before Kai gestured toward the plank leading back up to the ship. “I’ll leave it to you to retrieve her,” he said to Finn. “And you’re welcome.”
Not responding, Finn hurried past him up the plank.
Kai gave Iseult a quick nod in greeting, then turned to walk back up the plank after Finn. A half-second later, Iseult was at his side, boarding the ship. By the time both men reached the deck, Finn had disappeared from sight. Anna stood on the other end of the deck near a pile of supplies, ordering three men around as they carried things out of the main cabin.
Kai sighed, then gestured toward the hatch leading below deck. “Protect any areas you’d rather not have sliced open,” he explained. “The little dragon has talons as sharp as any blade.” He absentmindedly touched the wounds on his cheek, then led the way forward.
Iseult followed Kai to the hatch, then down a narrow set of wooden stairs. At the bottom, they walked down a short hallway, then turned right into one of the small, windowless cabins. Iseult widened his eyes in surprise as he observed Finn, seated on a small bed, being nuzzled by what appeared to be a baby dragon.