Chapter 48: [48] A Big Fish in Small Waters
Stepping into the tavern was like being submerged in honey. Amber panels on the walls bathed everything in a warm, liquid gold. The air was thick with the smells of expensive wine and beeswax polish, a low murmur of conversation the only sound.
Moreau chose a corner table where shadows pooled despite the warm illumination, gesturing for Raven to sit across from her. Moreau didn’t so much walk as flow, her scaled hand resting on the back of a chair as she slid into the booth.
"Wine?" Moreau asked, already pouring from a bottle. The wine caught the light as she poured, the dark red turning to molten copper in the tavern’s amber glow.
Raven accepted the glass but didn’t drink. Old habits. "You mentioned complications."
"Always straight to business." Moreau’s laugh was layered with a convincing warmth that didn’t quite reach her golden eyes. "I do admire that about you, darling. Very well. The Dawn Sea has been... educational. A lovely little pond where I could perfect my methods, test my theories. But ponds grow stagnant, don’t they?"
She leaned forward, her golden eyes reflecting the amber light like twin suns. "I’m tired of being a big fish in small waters. My sights are on the Great Sea, where real power lives and breathes."
Raven’s expression remained a carefully neutral canvas, but a knot of ice was forming in her gut. Beneath the table, she dug a thumbnail into her index finger—a small, sharp point of pain to keep her grounded.
The Great Sea. Where the Ten Marquis ruled from their archipelago, where ancient monsters slept beneath the waves, where a single successful venture could set someone up for life. Or kill them in a hundred creative ways.
"Ambitious," Raven said.
"More than ambitious. Inevitable." Moreau’s smile sharpened. "I’m not talking about mere piracy, Raven. Any fool with a ship and desperation can rob merchants. I’m building something greater. A legitimate power base. A new kingdom on the waves, if you will."