The Lotus Ascension Read Online Free Page B

trailing scourge
clasped in it.
    For the first
time that day shock pierced Sillara. Soren and his captain had returned as
masters of their enemy's vessel.
     

Chapter Two
     
    Arinport's
harbor had never smelled sweeter. After two years at sea, Soren was glad to be
back home, especially as he sailed in his chief enemy's flagship. The brazen
sailor—his breast full of Sunjaa pride, his head full of Ausir designs—stood bare-chested on the bowsprit, steadying himself against the jib's
ropes. Soren savored the sight of Arinport, its mud-brick and limestone
buildings at once familiar and foreign. This was his home, and he had grown up
here, but the world he had seen in the past two years of His Grace's service
was wide and varied, and no place resembled Arinport. He wondered where Sillara
was amidst the jumble of streets and houses.
    Soren breathed
deeply, his chest expanding. The wide tattoo of the Itenu hawk across his
pectorals looked as if it might take flight. From shoulder to shoulder the
inked bird stretched, its stare intense, its fierce claws grasping at his upper
abdomen. Soren let go of the rope and capered back down the narrow bowsprit
without support. His legs were the surest of any sailor he knew. He leaped with
both feet onto the forecastle deck and called out orders.
    “ To starboard. Take us home. And let those who slept peacefully in their beds
these past two years stand amazed at our approach.”
    The sailors and
deckhands raised their voices in a single, triumphant cry. Beyond the main mast
Captain Orien stood, and though he shook his head at Soren, his lips were
turned up in an indulgent smile. As first mate, Soren had a way with his
men—not only on deck but also in common quarters. Many of the sailors had told
Soren that he was the best they had ever had. A soldier would die for a
friend—how much more so for a peerless lover?
    “ Everyone's going to be shocked at our return.” Nathen, Soren's
dearest friend, fell into step beside the first mate and descended the steps to
the main deck beside him.
    Soren pointed
to a sailor climbing the foremast and barked out an order, then turned his
attention to his friend. “Not everyone.”
    “ You think someone has predicted our return in the Scourge's own
ship?”
    Soren did not
have to look at Nathen to know his friend would be wearing an eloquent look.
“No, no one could have seen this.”
    “ Then who?”
    “ My sister.”
    “ Sillara.” Nathen's word was but a breath.
    Now it was
Soren's turn to smile wryly. “I have only one.”
    Nathen blinked
as he seemed, with some effort, to clear away a thought. “How can you be so
sure you know her? You've always talked about your special connection or
whatever, but how well can you know her at all? Sure, the two of you did
everything together as children, but when her tutelage started, that damned
Ausir stepped in and swept her off. Haven't you felt some sort of division?”
    “ No.” Soren slapped Nathen on the back and pulled his shirt over his
bare flesh. “We still share everything.”
    As the harbor
came more into view, Soren could see the citizenry gathering at the wharf. With
his keen Ausir eyes, he watched the docks fill up with spectators. The ship was
fast for a galleon, and it cruised into the shallow waters.
    “ Drop main and fore topsails,” Soren called. “Bring in the jib and
staysail.” He glanced back at Orien who steered the ship from the quarterdeck.
It was strange to see him as pilot, but it was Sunjaa tradition for the Captain
to dock his own ship. Soren could not help but smile at all they had
accomplished, and Orien returned his smile with his own wide, toothy grin. As
son of the richest nobleman in the kingdom, Soren had already been wealthy. But
what with his prize money, he was also independent. Once he saw Sillara,
everything would be right with the world.
    The ship
docked, and Soren ordered rope ladders to be fastened overboard. The rigging
secured, all the sailors came