“Tsk, tsk, Kirsten,” Bo whispered waving a finger at her.

She exhaled a short harrumph and Max turned and put a finger to his lips, shushing them.

The three of them went silent and listened to the debate for another half hour before the Rollo leaders eventually came to a final vote. It was unanimous, all of the leaders voted for Red to succeed his father. Britt rose and walked across the circle of men, coming to stand directly in front of Red. Kirsten held her breath, wondering if Britt was going to challenge him, but instead, she extended her arm. Red didn’t bother to rise but took her hand and shook it firmly.

“Your father would be proud,” she said boldly. “Congratulations.” Britt turned back and waved her hands ordering her crew to get back to the ship. As they walked away, they could hear the cheers of the men as the clan leaders chanted Red’s name. Once Britt’s crew got the boats back into the water and began rowing back out to the ship, Red’s voice could be heard barking orders.

“Back to the ships!” he ordered them.

Aboard the ships, Britt ordered them to wait until the rest of the clan leaders and their new chief set out into the open ocean. Kirsten rowed alongside Max who remained silent along with the others. Their somber mood could be felt as a collective group. When they’d rowed out to open water, Max made his way to where Britt stood, steering the ship, a job she usually delegated to another member of the crew. “Taking control of the ship, I see,” he said lightly.

She gave him a cold look and said, “At least I can control this.”

“It seemed as though the clan leaders weren’t quite ready for a woman to be their leader,” Max said, trying to get her to speak her mind about the ceremony.

“I was so close to convincing them that change was a good thing. They just weren’t quite ready for that kind of forward-thinking,” Britt said, wishing things had gone differently.

“Red is stubborn and a fool,” Max said. “I never really did like him much. He’s good when a battle breaks out, but as a leader of a group, I’m not convinced he’ll do a good job.”

“He’s very stubborn and stuck in his ways. He has a closed-minded view of the way things should be and doesn’t listen to suggestions from people who don’t align with what he believes,” Britt said, clearly frustrated.

“He really didn’t like your view of treating your crew as equals,” Max added.

“No, he thinks it weakens the role of the leader. But take a look at my crew,” she swept her hand across the ship. “Every person here would not hesitate to put my needs before their own. It’s their choice to do that. I don’t make them. Everyone on Red’s crew has to be ordered to do so; not one of his men would sacrifice themselves for him. Sure, they fear him, but they don’t respect him.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Max said calmly.

Britt looked deeply into his eyes and Max felt his heart quicken. “Red will try to remove me from my command and perhaps banish me from the Navy for running against him.”

“He wouldn’t?” Max protested. “Surely he knows how much of an asset you are to the Rollo forces. He wouldn’t be so blinded to relieve you of your duties.”

Britt looked back down the length of the ship again, “I feel it in my heart. He will try to get rid of me as soon as he can.”

For the next several weeks the weather was superb for sailing and they rode a steady wind along the coastline. Max and Bo pointed out Brookside to Thomas and Kirsten as they passed by. Max recounted the shipwreck resulting from one of Red’s decisions that set them on land for several days before they were able to reunite with the Rollo Navy.

At last, after six weeks at sea, they saw the town of Grandwood. Kirsten and Thomas took note of the wreckage that still scarred their hometown. People could be seen milling about the town. As they drew near in their shuttle boats, Thomas pointed to black and gold banners that hung from the buildings.

“What are the banners all about?” he asked Kirsten.

She shrugged, “I don’t know? I’ve been gone just the same as you.”

“They weren’t here before?” Britt asked.

Thomas and Kirsten shook their heads and Britt groaned, making them feel uneasy.

When they arrived at the docks, the greeting they’d expected didn’t come. The people passing by hardly turned their heads and quickened their pace as the people kidnapped from Grandwood stepped off the skiffs and onto the docks.

Thomas frowned slightly and said to his sister, “Not quite the welcome I was expecting.”

They walked along the dock looking more closely at one of the black and gold banners hanging near the shore.

“Who is that man painted on them?” Thomas asked.

That’s Merglan, Kirsten thought to herself.

Chapter 24

Elven Speed and Seeds of Doubt

Anders and Maija sat together, looking out at the Marauder’s Sea as the last of the Rollo Islander’s fleet sailed toward the horizon. The late spring air blew steadily off the water, ruffling Maija’s long amber hair. Anders could sense Zahara’s presence as she flew toward camp along the Eastland Mountain front.

Anders turned, pausing to look at Maija’s beautiful face. She saw him staring at her and said playfully, “What?”

“Oh, look,” Anders said, pointing across her toward Zahara in flight. Her scales glinted different shades of green against forested backdrop behind her.

“What do you think your training will be like?” Maija asked, watching intently as Zahara approached.

“I hope it’s not too much bookwork,” he replied looking back out across the dark blue sea. “I never really liked to read things that I was forced to.”

“But you do like to read?” she asked, twisting her head sharply to see his reply.

He nodded, “I like choosing the things I read about, and getting through them on my own schedule.”

“I love reading. Anything my grandparents gave me or suggested that I read, I devoured.”

“Kirsten’s that way, too,” Anders said holding Maija’s gaze. “I was always jealous of her aptitude for learning from books,” he paused, glancing at Zahara as she glided over camp. “I can get along with bookwork just fine if I need to, but I’ve always been more of a hands-on learner.”

“Well, I’m sure your training will involve a lot of hands-on learning.”