Living close to a harbour meant I saw boats and ships from a distance all the time, but it had been ages since I was last on board of one. I valued my life, which meant I didn't go near the docks that lined the waterfront. That territory belonged to merchants, sailors, and pirates, who wouldn't hesitate to plunge a knife between my ribs the moment I turned my back. Not even the thunder of the gods could protect me from all of them.

The Thundercoast's docks used to bustle with life and trade, back when us Montbows ruled the seas. It'd been better times, when my father wasn't broken beyond recognition in more than one way, and we thought uncle Harold could be trusted. I remembered little of sailing now, safe for my father lifting me into his arms and showing me the muscular men rowing below deck. He would point at the stars at night, explaining how they guided us to the Richris islands.

All the Montbow ships that weren't sunken during the revolt on the islands were sold first. The sailors had warned us to never set sail on the trading route between Richris and the Thundercoast ever again, so we had no use of ships. They would rot in the harbour, falling into decay along with our family.

We rode our horses to the shore, where a sleek galley-like craft was moored to a makeshift wharf. While I couldn't remember how to sail, some of my knowledge of seafare still remained with me. I recognised it immediately as a ship from Richris. One with a heavy ram and a plank with spikes, favoured for warfare or protection of large merchant vessels. The flag was the flag of Richris; white with a blue dragon, but soaked in old, brown blood. Pirates. This ship must've belonged to pirates. Father had always warned me to never believe people sailing under that flag. They'd speak about sparing you if you cooperated. They wouldn't. Crack the hull with your thunder. Kill them.

"Is that a pirate ship?" I asked, nodding at the ship gently swaying in the water.

"Perhaps," Ariane replied with a lopsided smile. "Does it matter? It's my ship now."

"I hope the pirates it belongs to agree with that too," I said.

Ariane no longer humoured me with a response. She handed the reins of her horse to a male servant and walked onto the wharf. The planks moaned and creaked under her feet but didn't break. Ariane boarded the ship first, with some of her retainers hurrying after her.

If Conrad had arranged this ship, I was willing to bet the pirates were food for the bottom feeders in the ocean. In pieces. I tried not to dwell on the fate of the previous owners as I boarded the ship myself.

I thought I'd feel some kind of way when standing on deck, given our family's history. But I pressed my palm to the boat mast rising into the sky, listened to the waves slapping against the hull, and felt nothing. Until my eyes fell on brownish stains on the planks below my feet. Old blood.

Since we left the mansion, Oleander had been staying very close to me. He was standing beside me now, too. I hoped he hadn't noticed the smears under his feet. I remembered he didn't like Ytel even mentioning violence, let alone seeing blood.

"Look at the sunlight on the water," I distracted Oleander, pointing at the ocean. "Isn't it beautiful?"

I walked to the railing, and Oleander followed. He peeked down over the edge and smiled. "It is," he agreed.

We watched the waves together as Ariane's servants coiled ropes and lifted the anchor. After a few moments, the boat rocked, and we were off, heading for open water. I assumed we would slowly circle around at the cliffs near my family's mansion, waiting for an attack.

I leaned towards Oleander. "If it comes to a fight tonight, stay aboard this ship," I told him quietly.

Oleander's eyes went round as he turned to me. "But I don't want you to go alone."

I thought we were speaking quietly, but apparently, not quietly enough.

"He is right, Oleander," Endris inserted himself into the conversation from behind. He crossed his arms as his dark eyes settled on me. "You don't want to be in the range of fire when lord Laurence rains thunder on Ytel's men."

"Right. Promise me you'll stay on this ship, Oleander," I said.

Oleander's jaw clenched. He looked like he wanted to protest, but eventually he nodded.

"Very touching this. Truly. "Ariane stepped next to Endris. "But you better spend the limited time you still have preparing for Wildewall. The court isn't like the Thundercoast, dear: forgiving with a mild climate."

"Oh, I'm aware," I muttered. Ariane wouldn't have wanted to live in Wildewall if it wasn't cutthroat. I was pretty certain about that.

"If you are aware, you aren't acting like it," Ariane retorted. "Stop slouching and stand up straight. That's lesson one, Laurence. In Wildewall, you are a storm-touched before you are a man. Pay mind to that. Here you are lord Montbow. There, you are somebody embodying the will of a god and there are expectations tied to the status."

I grimaced, but straightened my back when I noticed I was indeed slouching. Expectations tied to my status? They could certainly expect me to be tied. Tongue-tied. "I am aware of that too," I said.

I had been in the capital after the mark had manifested itself on my chest and abdomen. Mother and Father had paraded me around, but we had never entered the queen's palace. Like sailing, I had few memories of Wildewall. But I remembered the stares and people looking at me a certain way. Some of them had bowed. Some of them had gifted me trinkets representing the thunder god. I didn't get in trouble for not understanding rules back then, but people are far more forgiving of children. Now, they would expect me to behave as if I'd been at the court all along. Even if that wasn't fair, as the Montbows had lived in exile.

"Oleander and I should practice our manners if we are to be presented to the queen indeed," I said. "We'll move into a cabin, and I will share with him what I know."

"You two together in a cabin? I'm certain you have a lot you would want to teach him there," Ariane said with a smirk. "But there are people present on this ship who can explain Wildewall's court a lot better than you can."

Ariane gestured at a plump woman to come over. She had large breasts emphasised by her tight dress, golden ringlets of hair that framed her heart-shaped face, and piercing blue eyes. Another one of Ariane's servants that was, like the others, gorgeous. 

"She's going to teach us?" I asked.

"No." Ariane snorted. "Nele, take over for me here, my dear. I have two gentlemen to teach the ways of Wildewall."

Nele curtsied for Ariane. "Yes, Lady Seydal," she replied in a hoarse voice.

"I will sit in the crow's nest and look out over the shoreline," Endris offered.

"We all know of your eagle-eyes, Endris." Nele smiled at him. "That is a great idea."

Endris wasted no time nimbly climbing up, and I was envious of him already. The sea was calm, the breeze cold but not freezing, and most of all Endris wouldn't have to listen to court rules from up there. 

"Let me guess: you're the one who is going to teach Oleander and I then," I asked Ariane rhetorically.

"Of course, who better than me?" Ariane replied with a flick of her wrist. "I will lead the way."

"Right you will," I said with a sigh.

I didn't even dare to look at Oleander's face as he and I were led below deck. The look in his eyes would likely be more destructive than my lightning. 

Ariane brought us to a cabin. Judging from the size and the interior, it was likely the captain's cabin. There were large windows, a bookcase, and a table with a map where one could decide a route. Ariane had us sit but stayed on her feet herself, like a strict school teacher standing over a bunch of children.

"I feel the need to emphasise again that this ball can't be taken lightly," she said, staring directly at me. "As a grown man with a branch of the thunder god on his chest, everyone will ask you for the story of your mark. It is most important that the story you tell about your mark is entertaining, so I suggest you start writing down a tale to tell them. It doesn't have to be true. Just make sure you don't bore anyone, especially the queen. And you must ask others like you about their mark as well. You will be required to recognise other god-touched."

Ariane's gaze shifted to Oleander. "And you, the miracle herbalist, will attend as an oddity that attracted the attention of some nobles. Since you are low-born, you will only speak when spoken to."

"Lucky you," I muttered to Oleander, because only speaking when spoken to sounded a lot easier than what I was supposed to do upon meeting people: recognise they were special somehow, and repeat the same made up fantastic story over and over.

Oleander's lips twitched as he looked at my absolutely miserable expression, but when he turned to Ariane, his eyes were cold and hard. He immediately put the information he was given to use and only nodded at her, not opening his mouth.

"Good." Ariane sniffed. "It seems you already understand your place. Seen but not heard. I believe you know enough. You can leave now."

"Ariane," I warned her. "People will surely want to speak with Oleander. He saved the Montbow family and made a cure for a poison that was, until now, a death sentence."

"Lord Montbow, you praise me far too highly," Oleander replied in a low, almost seductive tone I had never heard him use before and sent jolts straight to my groin.

Ariane's eyes narrowed while Oleander gave me a sultry look. His antics were clearly meant to piss Ariane off. I sputtered helplessly, caught between two roaring fires. My ears grew hot. "You, uh, you did all the things I just mentioned though," I eventually brought out.

"Yes," Oleander replied in his normal voice, seemingly sensing that he shouldn't cross the line too far. "And I have been reading the books about etiquette you have graciously provided me with in my room."

I gaped at Oleander. "You read those? Voluntarily? How did you not fall asleep?"

"Apparently, because your herbalist is more interested in drama and far better at playing court games than you are by nature, Laurence," Ariane said, her gaze lingering on Oleander. "The way you joke shows me you don't understand yet. You have very limited time to learn many rules. Grace and subtlety in conversation can't be taught in two weeks, but rules can."

Ariane turned abruptly and pulled two books out of the bookcase behind her. Together, the books were so thick she needed two hands to carry them. She slammed them onto the table in front of me and Oleander. "Laurence, you will read the chapters on those blessed by the gods in Wildewall. I will interrogate you tomorrow to see if you have learned. Oleander, I believe you would benefit more from learning the servant's rules in Wildewall." Ariane smiled kindly. "That is all you will ever be. A servant to us, the high-born."

I thought the silent struggle between Ariane and Oleander was over, but that seemed to be far from the truth. Oleander had fire in his eyes, but quelled it before he spoke. He took the book Ariane offered and started reading.

I breathed out through my mouth in relief, and then groaned when I looked at the absolute monster of a tome I knew so well already. I recognised it as the authority on court etiquette. We had two copies of it at home as well. It was literally heavy enough to use as a murder weapon.

Ariane raised a brow at my sounds of discomfort. "Is there a problem, my beloved? I assume this particular information is only a refresher for you. You have already read this at your estate before."

"I have," I confirmed. "It has been a while, that's all."

Until I was twelve, learning about behaviour at court was extremely important. Then our house collapsed, and I had to help and guard our home along with everyone else in our household. I didn't have time to read when I was fishing, or striking trees down with my thunder for in the fireplace, or learning how to shoot my bow. My priority was to learn how to kill dragons with crackling arrows so I could become a knight, not reading how to act in court. The Montbows were a far distance away from court. Still were.

Exhaling heavily, I opened the book and looked through the table of contents to find the chapters on god-touched. While searching, I wondered if Conrad was so mad at me because he too had to learn all this dry shit by heart until he was thirteen. Only to then find out he no longer would be required as an heir. I'd be angry, too. 

Both Ariane and Oleander were reading now, and I had little else to do but join them. Some parts I could skim. Nobody needed to tell me where the whither-touched, or bleeders, fell in the court hierarchy, after all. Those who could manipulate blood and flesh and raised people from the dead or killed them for power would not be welcome in Wildewall. The elves had almost brought a human kingdom to their knees with this power in the Starcross woods, and so it was a forbidden. Wielders would mysteriously die. 

I learned that in Wildewall, as an element master, I was a decent third on the list of most desirable. My thunder god blessing was only seen as below healers and diviners, respectively called light-touched, fate-touched. On the off chance I met one of those, considering maybe one of them was chosen every three-hundred years, I'd need to greet them with a deep bow. If I could believe the book, they would always leave their mark visible on their body so we could recognise them. That would be required of me as well.

There were illustrations of the distinct patterns that signified different blessings. I tried to commit them to memory, but it didn't take long for the symbols to dance in front of my eyes. I decided to only concentrate on learning the two marks I'd have to bow to when in Wildewall; a sun and an eye.

By the time we had to light the oil lanterns as the sky behind the windows grew darker, I was no longer able to absorb more words. Oleander and Ariane were still immersed in their studies, but I was staring at the ocean. My thoughts wandered to my family. They had to be worried sick, while I worried about them and Ytel's men.

I had faith in Endris, whose eyes were much sharper than mine, to see if they were in trouble. But now that it was dusk and nearing the most likely moment an assault would take place, I should be up deck watching over my family.

I was about to stand and excuse myself when there was a rapid knock on the door. Ariane stood, but the door already burst open. Endris barged into the cabin.

"Pardon the intrusion, lord Laurence," he said.

"I smell fire in the breeze."