Alexis Glaciermage's Arc

Chapter 4 of 13

The anchor chain rattled through the hawsehole, ready to lift. Alexis stood at the quarterdeck rail, watching the harbor lanes. A ship moved into their path—three masts, square-rigged, flying a flag she'd seen before. Black field, silver crossed axes. The same house that had refused her application twice. She spread her wings and lifted off the deck. The harbor wind held steady from the northwest, but the blocking ship sat dead in the center of their departure lane, sails furled. The crew wouldn't raise canvas just to block—they meant to hold position. She landed beside Rikki at the helm. "That's the Nautilus Corsair. They're not drifting." Rikki studied the ship. "You know them." "They turned me down before you did." Alexis kept her voice level. "Twice. Said a winged fox was bad luck on a sailing ship." The Corsair's crew lined the rail now, watching The Roaring Dragon. Brass gears gleamed along the hull—a ship built for precision, crewed by sailors who valued tradition over risk. She'd stood on that deck once, making her case to a captain who'd cut her off mid-sentence. Rikki called for Raihan. The quartermaster arrived with his hand already on his blade. "They're testing us," Rikki said. "Seeing if we'll back down." He turned to Alexis. "Can you read their wind?" She looked up. The sails on the Corsair stayed furled, but the flag flew taut—skull and crossbones with sprockets in the eye sockets. The wind came clean over their bow, strong enough to fill canvas if they wanted to move. They didn't. "They've got the wind to shift if we push. But they won't unless we make them." Rikki nodded once. "Then we make them." He raised his voice to carry across the deck. "Raise anchor. Full canvas on my mark." The crew moved without hesitation. Alexis climbed the ratlines, wings folded tight against the ropes. She reached the topsail and looked down at the narrow gap of water between the two ships. The Corsair's crew watched her now—a winged fox in the rigging of a ship that trusted her enough to call their bluff. The anchor broke free. Rikki called for canvas. The Roaring Dragon's sails dropped and caught wind, and the ship surged forward. The Corsair held position for three seconds, then their crew scrambled to raise sail. They moved starboard, clearing the lane. Alexis stayed aloft, watching the other ship's captain at his helm. He didn't look at her. He looked at Rikki, and then he looked away. She climbed down as The Roaring Dragon cleared the harbor mouth. The crew worked the lines without comment, but she caught Rosa watching from her workspace near the quarterdeck. The trader set down her ledger and gave Alexis a single nod. Rikki stood at the helm, hands steady on the wheel. He didn't ask if she was all right. He'd already answered that by raising anchor.