Aprilia found herself swaying along with the slow, eternal rhythm of the ocean as waves lapped at the shore. While the sun continued its journey downward, the older children supervised the younger ones in collecting plants that Jack called glassworts.

  Her heart clenched at the memory of him.

  Three weeks with no word of what had transpired after his meeting with the Queen’s envoy.

  She kept telling herself nothing would come of dwelling on it, yet her chest tightened every time her gaze drifted towards Nanon.

  Suddenly, there was a shout from the sea.

  A fisherman was standing on his boat, frantically waving his arms around.

  She was confused at first, but then recognized the motions as a pattern. She shaded her eyes to look at him clearly.

  Danger, it spelled.

  Her breath caught. She spun toward the children.

  “Kids! Back to Cradle!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

  “Teacher?” Tobin asked.

  “Now,” she snapped, her voice commanding. “As the soldiers say, double time!”

  Tobin and the other older children nodded as they began herding the younger ones.

  She waited just long enough to be sure they were moving before turning around.

  A smudge appeared at the far horizon. She narrowed her eyes, and it resolved into a ship, making her heart almost leap out of her mouth.

  Jack, or an enemy?

  A sound caught her attention. A rider from the local outpost was already galloping towards Cradle. Help was coming, but the soldiers might not make it before the ship reached their shore.

  Aprilia forced herself to step away. She would be of no use if they happened to be hostiles. She needed to get to safety herself.

  Then, a distant fisherman let out a jubilant shout.

  She turned around to look at him in confusion.

  “What is it?” she shouted at the top of her lungs. Other fishermen were asking the same question.

  She waited with bated breath as the information was relayed from boat to boat.

  After what felt like eternity, one of the fishermen shouted back to her, “They’re flying our flag!”

  She felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off her chest. Her knees almost gave out.

  Hooves thundered behind her. General Lothar reined in hard, along with the messenger, their horses breathing heavily.

  “Aprilia?”

  “Lord General!” she bowed quickly. “There is a ship on the horizon. A fisherman says they are flying our flag.”

  He kept his face in check, but she could tell he was grappling with a cascade of emotions.

  “They could have kidnapped one of our men,” Lothar said with a restrained voice, then turned to face her. “You should get to safety.”

  She nodded. She was walking back when another fisherman shouted, “It’s Jaklen!”

  She whipped her head back.

  “That man must have eyes of an eagle if he can see that far,” Lothar commented.

  “Pull your boats in!” he shouted at the fishermen, who hurried to comply.

  Aprilia worried for the poor man. His mood had been getting worse every week ever since Jack had been gone. Nor did he let anyone get close to him, despite a dozen girls vying for his attention.

  She stood rooted to the spot where she was standing, her heart beating hard in her chest.

  The ship grew bigger as it approached. At that distance, even she could see the green flag with a white vertical streak snapping in the wind.

  A carriage rolled to a halt behind her, a dozen soldiers, armed and armored, spilling out from it.

  “By God, it is Jacklen!” Lothar murmured.

  A boat was sent out to the ship that had stopped in the middle of the harbor.

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  It soon came back, with a single passenger that drew every eye; the Captain of the Frogmen. He vaulted onto the sand with easy confidence, weathered face split by a grin that belonged on a mischievous boy, not a man approaching his middle years.

  “My Lord General!” he said, bowing with exaggerated flourish.

  “Captain Jaklen, do you come with friends?” Lothar pointed at the ship.

  “Aye, General. Dockwrights, ship builders and sailors, here to help us build a proper port.”

  “A port?” Lothar asked in disbelief.

  “Aye. After all, our lord will need a quick way to travel between the two realms he will soon rule.”

  Silence spread through the congregation.

  “He did it,” Lothar said quietly.

  “Aye, that he did,” Jaklen confirmed. “Three months and he’ll be the Prince Consort of Nanon.”

  Aprilia found her heart had stopped beating.

  Jack was going to marry the Queen of Nanon.

  “Won’t it be a problem if our friends mingle with the people and then go back to Nanon?” Lothar asked quietly.

  “No. They’re all family men. Those families have arrived with them to settle here. They are going to join us.”

  “Ah. That makes sense,” Lothar replied in relief. He noticed Aprilia was still there, and approached her.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked her softly.

  She was surprised to find herself calm.

  “Not as bad as I had thought,” she replied honestly.

  She had feared losing Jack to the Queen, but after his last promise, she didn’t feel so insecure anymore.

  “Good,” Lothar said, patting her shoulder, “Let’s find out what our glorious leader has been up to.”

  While the fishermen helped the families of the craftsmen and sailors disembark under the watchful eyes of soldiers, Aprilia, Lothar and the lieutenants waited for Jaklen to recount his tale.

  “Are you sure he should be saying it openly?” Aprilia hissed.

  “How very astute of you,” Lothar said, smiling at her. “But no, it is fine. Jaklen may look carefree, and he is a showman, but he is also very discreet. I wouldn’t have chosen him as the commander of the Frogmen otherwise.”

  She nodded silently, as Jaklen began recounting his tale.

  “The day after we left with the Queen’s envoy, we got attacked by a band of fifty brigands. Bastards set up an ambush in the hills. The idiot Nanoans charged headlong into them. Brave men, but foolish.”

  Aprilia found her breath stuck.

  “What happened?” one of the lieutenants asked.

  “While they were busy fighting and dying, we took out the enemy archers from cover, then went to save their asses.” His face blanched upon finding Aprilia. “Forgive me, my lady.”

  “I’m no lady,” Aprilia corrected. “I’m a village lass. I’ve heard far worse things.”

  Jaklen smiled at that, then continued. “Well, our lord takes a poleaxe and begins smashing heads like they were pumpkins. One, two, three. Even the fancy knights stared at him after that. The rest of the brigands lost their marbles and ran away. The Nanoans lost almost a dozen men, but all of us made it.

  We stayed at a fancy inn in Nordhaven that night. The Queen had sent this beautiful,” he stretched the word, “ship to carry us. A bit bigger than that one over there,” he pointed to the well-built but clearly utilitarian ship in the harbor, “but painted bright blue, with shiny decorations everywhere.”

  “The Royal ship,” Lothar commented absentmindedly.

  “Aye. Our lord didn’t really get to enjoy the journey, as he got sick, but I had a fun time. It’s a nice way to travel if your stomach agrees with it.”

  Aprilia grimaced at the plight of her poor Jack. He was a spoiled man in many ways, hailing from a very different world.

  “I don’t want to offend our new friends, but most of Aldersthron is kinda shite; filthy, smelly and packed full of people. Thank God we did not stay in those parts. Two lines of soldiers in shiny armor escorted us to the castle. A tall building that is,” he said, lifting his hand up.

  “Our lord and the Queen talked for days, while we were cooped up in a nice suite.”

  “You didn’t enjoy the city?” the other lieutenant asked.

  “Nope. Lord’s orders. Couldn’t talk to anyone or go anywhere alone. Had to keep our weapons secret until the lord made a pact. Their girls tried to entice us with their wiles, but not one of us broke.”

  That got sympathetic smiles and nods of approval from Lothar and other men. Aprilia was shocked that even nobles resorted to such tactics.

  “We did enjoy their food, though,” Jaklen said, almost drooling. “It was amazing, with all the fancy spices and whatnot. I want to go back just for that. Well, while we are enjoying the dishes and whiling away the time, our lord managed to entice the Queen into marrying him. I think our demonstration made up her mind.”

  “Demonstration?” Lothar asked.

  “Aye. She took us to the kings-wood and we showed her our rapid-fire crossbows. Then the lord brought out,” he looked at Lothar for approval, who nodded his assent.

  He dropped his voice for effect. “The new weapon. It smashed a thick piece of wood into bits, and all those fancy knights began panicking like chickens!” he cackled.

  His glee subsided, as his face turned serious and he met Lothar’s eyes.

  “I remember the Queen’s face. She’s a smart lass; immediately understood that thing was far beyond any weapon her men had. That’s when she must’ve made up her mind. She gathered all her nobles and announced her betrothal only a few days later. We gave them another demonstration.”

  “To all the nobles?” Lothar asked, alarmed.

  “Aye,” Jaklen replied softly, then corrected himself, “only the crossbows.”

  “Oh,” Lothar said in relief.

  “That still rattled them. The Queen had to pull our lord away from their grubby hands. I’m sure some nosy bastard would’ve thrown more girls at us, but thankfully we left the capital the next day. From Nordhaven, our lord took off towards the capital of Nobart with the Lady Reshma and a hundred of the Queen’s soldiers.”

  “Why?”

  “To fix it. The Queen gave him his inheritance back. He said it might take a month, or more.”

  Lothar took a long sigh. “Thank you for your report, Jaklen.”

  “There’s more, General” Jaklen continued, savoring his audience’s attention. “That ship isn’t just carrying people and timber, but grain, thread, some finery and lots of chicks!”

  “What?” Aprilia asked, flabbergasted.

  She looked towards the shore, where more than a hundred women and children had disembarked, along with some crates riddled with holes. As she strained her ear, she could hear lots of weak, high pitched peeps. Fragile life.

  “Get it? Chicks!” he said, sniggering.

  Aprilia ignored him. The jealousy she had expected to burn from within was muted, replaced by worry for Jack. He could call himself a narcissist all he wanted, but she had felt his passion when he discussed how he could make this world a better place.

  She knew he would do whatever it took to achieve his goals, which included taking large risks. She just hoped she wouldn’t lose him in the process.

  Looking at the newcomers; children clinging to their mothers, women looking around anxiously, she wondered what she could do to ease his burdens.

  She found herself already walking toward them.

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