The Crucible (Decadia Series Book 2)
The Crucible
DeCadia Series, Book Two
By Apryl Baker and Jonathan Yanez
The Crucible
Copyright © 2016 by Apryl Baker and
Jonathan Yanez.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: 2017
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
www.limitlesspublishing.com
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-937-5
ISBN-10: 1-68058-937-7
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
“For all the writers out there working on novels while taking care of children.
I feel your pain. It’s difficult but it’s possible.”
Titles by Apryl Baker
The Ghost Files
The Ghost Files (Volume 1)
The Ghost Files (Volume 2)
The Ghost Files (Volume 3)
The Ghost Files (Volume 3.5)
The Ghost Files (Volume 4)
The Coven Series
The Promise (Book 1)
The Oath (Book 2)
The Vow (Book 3) coming Summer 2017
The Bloodlines Legacy Series
The Blackburne Legacy (Book 1)
The Blackwater Legacy (Book 2) coming Spring 2017
The Manwhore Series
Touch Me Not (Book 1)
The Sinner’s Touch (Book 2) coming Winter 2017
Hybrid (Sector 3, The Othala Witch Collection)
Titles by Jonathan Yanez
The Elite Series
The Beast Within (Book 1)
The Trials (Book 2)
The Judge (Book 3)
The Nephilim Chronicles
Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes (Book 1)
Alan Price and the Temple of Artemis (Book 2)
Alan Price and the Statue of Zeus (Book 3)
Alan Price and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Book 4)
Bad Land
Thrive
The Dread Novels
All Beautiful People (Book 1)
All the Broken People (Book 2)
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
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Chapter One
Home. Family.
Many took those words for granted, but not Valeria Aurora Dendali Riverthorne. Those words had always been denied to her. She’d fought for everything she’d ever had in life. Now, she stood before the path that led to the possibility of being able to claim those words.
The sky was turning a deep crimson as the sun set. Valeria leaned on the railing of her airship, The Emerald Queen, and watched the day give way to night. Steam billowed out behind them as they idled in the air. As much as she wanted to start their journey tonight, there were things to be seen to. Her crew deserved at least a day to recover after working for the last week to repair the damage done by the Kraken, the Crucible’s guardian.
Her journey to this moment had been long and hard. She’d taken to the skies, become the most feared pirate to roam the wind, all so she could find her way home…to Atlantis.
A cool breeze ghosted over her face. Atlantis. The name sent a thrill through her. So many questions rambled around in her head, questions she had no answer to, but soon, maybe.
“I thought you might be here.”
The deep voice didn’t startle her. She was expecting him. Her first mate, Lukas, came to stand next to her. His presence settled her nerves a bit. “Aye. I needed to think.”
“Decided against going into the Crucible?” He turned serious hazel eyes to her.
She saw the worry in them, the fear. The Crucible was the passage that led to Atlantis. Tobias Blood, the only other person she knew who had made the journey, told her there were certain tests housed within the Crucible she’d have to pass in order to gain entrance to Atlantis—dangerous trials designed to measure her worthiness. She could end up with all their blood on her hands.
“Would you turn away from the one thing you’ve always wanted, Lukas?”
He laughed, but it sounded a little bitter. “I haven’t yet.”
Before she could question him, the lightning struck the water with such force it stirred up a small wave beneath them. The Dendali Curse. This lightning was responsible for poisoning all of DeCadia’s oceans, and somehow her family’s name was attached to it. She needed to know why, to know what had really happened, and not just speculation.
“What are you going to do about our Naval captain?” Lukas once again pulled her away from her thoughts of Atlantis and back to the present. Stephen was not a situation she wanted to think about.
“You know I was in the Royal Navy when I was younger. I know Stephen. He and I were friends during my time there.”
“Just friends?” Lukas’ eyes burned with something akin to jealousy, something she’d never seen in him before. It gave her pause.
“Why do you ask that?”
“I’ve seen you watching him, Valeria. Or rather trying to not watch him and failing miserably.”
She sighed and looked up into the darkening skies. Thousands of stars began to twinkle around them as evening fell. Stephen was going to be a problem even if he didn’t mean to be. Valeria loved him, had always loved him, but knew that wouldn’t keep him from doing his duty as an officer in the Royal Navy of DeCadia. He would turn her in for piracy.
“It doesn’t matter, Lukas. For now, as long as he does as he’s told, we’ll worry about later when later comes around.”
“Maybe it matters to me.”
She turned to look up at him then, startled at the hurt in his voice. “Why would my feelings for him matter to you?”
Lukas rested his forearms against the railing. “I have followed you through hell and back, Val. Not because of blind loyalty but because you earned my respect. You fought with us, shared everything with your crew. You taught me the true meaning of family.”
She laughed. “I remember the day you signed on with me. You looked so disgusted to have to follow the orders of a woman. I almost didn’t bring you on, but I was desperate to get up in the air.”
“Had I known I was being hired on by the soon-to-be infamous pirate Emerald, I might not have been so disgusted. We’ve been through some adventures together, we have.”
“I hope you know how much I value you, Lukas, not only as my first mate, but as my friend. You are one of the most important people in this world to me.”
He frowned, his attention caught
by the lightning. “If I asked you to not do this, to not risk your life, all our lives, would you do that?”
Anxiety beat at her already frayed nerves. Was he going to ask her to give up everything she’d worked for? Would she? He couldn’t understand what this meant to her. He’d grown up in a loving home, taken for granted the love of his family. Valeria grew up in a brothel, sold to the owner when she was three so her grandfather’s good name wouldn’t be tarnished. She’d learned to fight, to protect her virtue. She learned to scheme, to manipulate, and to steal. Now, Valeria had the chance to find where she belonged, to find a home. Could she give that up?
He cupped her cheek, startling her. A warmth spread through her. The feeling was so foreign, she almost jumped back, not expecting the sensation. “I won’t ask that of you, Val. I’ve helped you search all these years. I know you wouldn’t give up your dream for anyone. Nor should you have to. Just remember I’m here, have always been here for you, and will always be here for you.” He leaned in, and his lips grazed hers. It was so fast she didn’t have time to respond. She stood there, staring like a foolish young girl even after he retreated.
Her fingers found her lips, still tingling from his brief kiss. This was unexpected. She’d never even thought of Lukas as anything other than her friend and assumed he’d had the same feelings. When had that changed for him? Was it only seeing her around Stephen that had him misplacing his feelings for her? But then, if that were true, she shouldn’t have felt anything when Lukas kissed her. Yet she had.
Why did he have to do this to her the night before she entered the Crucible? The trials designed to test her worthiness to enter her homeland of Atlantis. Why put her in such a state, knowing how important the morning was for her?
She looked down at her crew. They were busy, if subdued. None of them was too happy with the prospects of their new adventure, but they’d stood their ground, thrown their lot in with her. Even the remaining crew of the Royal Navy’s vessel had not hesitated in joining her. That could have been simply because they feared the Dragons more than they feared a mythical fairytale.
Stephen walked out on deck. His proud bearing caught her attention the moment she spotted him. His blond hair glinted silver in the moonlight. He looked worn and haggard. So much had been taken from him. His crew, his ship, and now his freedom. He looked up and caught her staring. No smile graced his face. His gaze was level and steady. She’d never intended for him to discover she was the girl he’d professed to love all those years ago, the girl who had loved him with every fiber of her being. It would have been so much easier to walk away from him after this was done if those truths had remained hidden.
He nodded to her and turned, walking away. She flinched at the gesture. Valeria had lost his trust and maybe his respect. It was better this way, better the two of them didn’t remember their past, didn’t remember their feelings.
This journey would be hard enough without having to bring the past into the present. Sometimes, it really was better to let sleeping dogs lie.
***
Anger’s intense burn died a slow death to reason’s call. Stephen would still find a way to bring the Dragon to justice. Ryder would pay for what she’d done to his friend, but the attack by the Kraken reminded Stephen he had other men and women in the here and now who needed him.
He would bide his time, protect his people. The Dragon’s hour would come. Sure, she had aided in the escape from the Kraken, but one act did not atone for another.
Stephen stood at the ship’s railing and looked out into the dark water. Now more than ever, he needed to live in the moment. Thoughts of the past would get him killed in the present. Still, one thought refused to be denied. Valeria was the captain of the ship. More than that, she was Emerald, the most feared pirate of the air.
The further Stephen tried to push her from his mind, the more her face appeared in his thoughts. What were the odds that the girl he had entered the academy with, the girl he had loved, was now leading him and a ragtag crew into the most dangerous mission of their lives? Staring into the face of such a coincidence, it couldn’t be called a coincidence at all. Stephen wasn’t sure if he believed in fate, but there weren’t many ways to describe the situation. After all these years, he and Val had found each other once again.
Stephen shook his head, trying to dispel the idea of Val reentering his life as some kind of mystical sign. He left his spot against the railing, thinking a walk across the ship’s deck would do him some good. He was wrong.
His night stroll ended not ten yards from where it had begun. There she was. Standing near the ship’s helm, staring down at him. He wasn’t ready. If they needed to talk about the past, Stephen wasn’t sure what he would say. He didn’t even know how he felt. Instead of continuing his course, he gave Val a short nod then turned and fled back across the deck.
A heavy breath escaped his lungs as he tried for the hundredth time not to think about the captain of The Emerald Queen.
“You need?” A thick island accent reached his ears.
Stephen jolted from his thoughts. He was trained to be aware of his surroundings no matter what the situation. The fact that Ya-You the medicine man could be so close without Stephen knowing was a true testament to how much mental power it was taking him to not think of Valeria.
The medicine man offered Stephen an open flask. Usually Stephen wouldn’t think about consuming anything that altered his state of mind while on duty in the Royal Navy. These, however, were extraordinary circumstances he found himself in.
“I think I do ‘need.’” Stephen joined the dark-skinned stranger and accepted the bottle. Before he could second guess his judgment call, he pressed the flask to his lips and threw back his head. The liquid was unlike anything he’d ever tasted. The closest thing Stephen could relate the taste to was burnt cinnamon mixed with fuel.
Stephen handed the old man his flask, fighting back a cough. “It’s good, thanks,” he managed in a wheeze as the effects of the liquid began to loosen his shoulders.
“You no Royal Navy no more.” The medicine man motioned to Stephen’s tattered uniform.
Stephen looked down at his clothes. His once crimson and black jacket was in shreds, his hat was gone, and his pants so dirty they resembled a stained carpet more than clothing. “Royal Navy in here.” Stephen touched his fingers to his chest.
The medicine man smiled and nodded. He took another swig from his bottle and smacked his lips together. “You remember that.”
Without a parting word, Ya-You strolled away, leaving Stephen wondering if the medicine man was the wisest or drunkest man he’d ever met. While he debated this, another voice interrupted his thoughts. “I see you’re cozying up to our new crewmates, sir.”
Stephen ran a hand through his long, unkempt hair. “Nothing gets past you, does it, Marm?”
The old woman looked at Stephen with a twinkle in her eye. She was a seasoned fighter and the best helmsman or woman Stephen had served with. Every time she was nominated for a promotion, Marm turned the offer down, stating she was honored but she belonged behind the helm. It was what she was born to do.
Her skin was rough and wrinkled by the sun, her wit quick, and her loyalty unwavering. If Stephen had to be in this predicament, he was grateful to have her by his side.
“How are the members of the Royal Navy faring?” Stephen asked, unsure if he wanted the truth or not. “Are they rested after the battle with the Kraken?”
“They’re whole.” Marm joined Stephen at the railing and looked out over the dark, swirling water. “Shaken up and bruised a bit, but they’ll be fine. How’s our captain feeling?”
“I’m not a captain anymore,” Stephen muttered.
The two stared out into the open sea, each lost to their own thoughts. The silence was comfortable between them until Marm spoke again. “Maybe not the captain of this ship, but you’re still our leader.”
“I know.” Stephen nodded along with his own words. “Don’t worry. I haven’
t forgotten. Our place here is tricky. There’s no way to escape the ship short of a mutiny, and we don’t have the numbers for that. Even if we could escape somehow, we’d be leaving the Dragon behind instead of taking her to trial.”
“The Dragon.” Marm repeated the words slowly as if it were the first time she had ever spoken them. “Anger can cloud a man’s judgment just as well as the strongest liquor.”
“I’m not angry anymore,” Stephen lied, “but the Dragon will see justice, one way or the other. The safest thing for us now is to bide our time, earn their trust, and wait for a moment of opportunity.”
“And if that moment of opportunity comes and it mean’s Valeria’s life?”
Stephen looked at her, breaking his line of sight from the dark waves so far below their airship. Val and Stephen’s relationship had been kept between themselves at the Royal Academy. How Marm knew there was something more was beyond him.
“I’m an old woman, but I’m not blind.” Marm ignored Stephen’s questioning stare. “The rest of the crew doesn’t know. I’m sure of that, and it isn’t my place to be telling tales.”
Stephen swallowed hard, trying to decide whether to come clean with Marm or not. What did he have to lose? His friends were growing fewer as each day passed. Hiding things from them would do no one any good.
“We met at the Academy. I loved her.” The words were short, but Stephen had to nearly choke them out.
Marm finally turned from the water below and smiled at Stephen. “Have you thought of speaking with her?”
“No.” Stephen shook his head quickly. “She left me at the Academy. She’s a pirate now, Marm. I doubt any of the woman I used to love still remains.”
“It sounds like you’re frightened to find out if any of that same woman exists,” Marm argued. She straightened her shoulders and saluted. “Permission to speak freely, Sir.”