“…IF WE CAN get this one done first, we can launch it and begin another,” one of the men said. Unlike the other men working on the ship itself, these men were just wandering around, chatting calmly. They didn’t wear the leather aprons and leggings that allowed workers to miss the odd swing of a hammer and not do damage to themselves. Instead they wore dark clothing much like the Crows wore in Wyrmgate.

  “The sooner the better,” the second agreed. “Our masters can be harsh, but will also reward us if we can beat their timelines. If we work the men through every other night, we can be done in a moon I feel.”

  The men were right under Bert now, and his heart felt like it was going to explode. They could not afford to get caught by these men. His mind worked overtime trying to piece together a reason these men would find two well-dressed outsiders up in a high piece of scaffolding amongst a bunch of ropes, buckets and nails.

  Cat nodded at him, and then looked at the men. It was clear she was thinking these were the men Elayne had spoken of. The Crows—or whatever they were called—of Keelwick. Some of Cat’s political thinking must have been rubbing off on him, because he immediately started considering how these men could be welcomed into a city like Keelwick where the royal family was strong and young enough not to bow to pressure so easily as the old king had with Leoric gone. It didn’t matter for the moment. The focus now was on staying out of sight.

  “Come down, and we can return to the castle to discuss timelines and payment!” a deep voice boomed from across the shipyard. Bert, Cat and the two men below all turned their heads to find the owner of the voice. The man yelling was staring right at them, and Bert knew who it was instantly, or at least who he was related to. The man was an older and somehow more handsome version of Darian Storme. Tall, with a full head of light brown hair, the man stood in a sea-blue, high-collared doublet lined with gold buttons. Despite being a formal uniform, the man wore it like it was his skin, looking incredibly comfortable and ready for action at a moment’s notice. His gray eyes showed intelligence and a strength that matched his voice.

  As the two men below followed his eyes and looked up to see Cat and Bert, Cat stood and began to walk to a ladder that came down the scaffolding about halfway between the men and Darian’s brother. “It all seems to be up to standards, Fleetmaster Elric,” Cat said quickly, earning a nod from the man.

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  “Master Storme!” one of the men whined, running over to talk to him. “Who are these two rooting around in our shipyard? You know the deals we’ve made! We follow our end and you must stick to yours!”

  Elric simply stood and waited for Cat and Bert to come to him. He reached out a strong arm to gently guide Cat down the final steps, earning a nod from her as she stood beside him. In a quiet moment that seemed to last hours, he slowly turned to face the men and look them in the eye. “Do you doubt my intentions, Eel?” he asked. His voice held a fire in it that welcomed an answer of yes.

  “No!” the man said quickly and loudly, his voice cracking. “Never, Master. We just need to make sure all visitors are recorded in the log.”

  “Catherine and Berk here are not visitors,” he said simply. “They are guests. My guests. As we have discussed, you work the people of Keelwick too hard, and that goes against our agreements. I have filed a protest and will be sending it out shortly. Need I add interfering in shipyard improvements to my filing?”

  “Improvements?” the second man asked quietly.

  “Naturally,” Elric replied quickly. “Tell them, Catherine.”

  Cat replied without missing a beat. “The intense heat generated during construction hours have been increasing missed days due to illness for workers, leading to decreased efficiency of ship construction per agreed-upon timeless. Berk and I have been determining a solution to increase airflow and that window up there just might be the key.” She said it so quickly and so confidently that the men just stared at her.

  One man stood with his mouth open, staring at her trying to piece together what she had said. The other finally offered, “Oh…”

  “Yes, well,” Elric said, locking arms with Cat. “As I was trying to say, we can discuss next steps and payment back at the castle. Each shipyard is identical, so no need to inspect the others. Berk, follow.” He turned and began walking away crisply.

  “Master Elric,” a quiet voice came from one of the men who had yet to move.

  Elric stopped, but didn’t turn immediately. Instead, he looked to Bert, then to Cat and winked, earning a smile from the princess. Then he turned. “Yes?”

  “I can see you are working to make these ships build faster. Apologies for getting in the way. Of course, we won’t mention anything…” he trailed off, but left the question of what Elric would do hanging.

  “Apology accepted. We all work hard to meet deadlines and sometimes mistakes are made. I will reconsider my letter of protest if you can agree to keep the work schedule for the people of Keelwick as it is.” He paused as the two men looked at one another quickly. “And of course,” he continued, “If I do send it, I see no reason to put your names in it, other than to recognize the good work you do for us all, naturally.”

  One of the men actually bowed, the other following quickly. “Thank you, Fleetmaster!”

  “Yes, back to it then!” Elric said, turning around. “Follow me, you two. We have much to discuss.”