“Why are you and Royce here? I stuck my neck out getting you on board. I think I’ve a right to know why.”

“I thought you got us aboard to pay off a debt.”

“True, but I’m still curious why you wanted on the Storm in the first place.”

“We’re looking for a safer line of work and thought we’d try sailing,” Hadrian offered. Wyatt’s face showed he was not buying it. “We’re on a job, but I can’t tell you more than that.”

“Does it have to do with the secret cargo?”

Hadrian blinked. “It’s possible. What is the secret cargo?”

“Weapons. Steel swords, heavy shields, imperial-made crossbows, armor—enough to outfit a good-sized army. It came aboard at the last minute, hauled up in the middle of the night just before we sailed.”

“Interesting,” Hadrian mused. “Any idea where we’re headed?”

“Nope, but that’s not unusual. Captains usually keep that information to themselves, and Captain Seward doesn’t even share that with me … and I’m the quartermaster.”

“Quartermaster? I thought you were the helmsman.”

“I’m guessing you’ve served in armies, haven’t you?”

“A few, and the quartermaster is the supply officer.”

“But on the sea, the quartermaster steers the ship, and as I mentioned, the captain hasn’t even told me where we are going.” Wyatt shuffled the cards absently. “So, you don’t know where the ship is going, and you weren’t aware of the cargo. This job didn’t come with much in the way of information, did it?”

“What about you?” Hadrian turned the tables. “What are you doing here?”

“I could say I was working for a living, and for me it would actually make sense, but like you, I’m looking for answers.”

“To what?”

“To where my daughter is.” Wyatt paused a moment, his eyes glancing at the candle. “Allie was taken a week ago. I was out finding work, and while I was gone, the Imps grabbed her.”

“Grabbed her? Why?”

Wyatt lowered his voice. “Allie is part elven, and the New Empire is not partial to their kind. Under a new law, anyone with even a drop of elf blood is subject to arrest. They’ve been rounding them up and putting them on ships, but no one can tell me where they’ve taken them. So here I am.”

“But what makes you think this ship will go to the same place?”