Theonis breathed in the salty sea air as he stared out over the railing. As much as he enjoyed getting to explore the different islands, there was nothing like the feel of travel. Seagulls cried out overhead while irregular wind battered the sails. The skies above were dark and threatening. In the near distance, Theonis could hear Kateni practicing with her sword while people scurried about above deck. A set of footsteps was approaching him. Who could that be?

Myrova stepped up next to him and leaned up against the railing herself. She gave Theonis a brief smile that made his heart leap. Then she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the little ring the archmage had given Theonis.

“The enchantments on it are complex, but I couldn’t find anything that would suggest she’s using it to spy on us. I think this is legitimate. So you can have it back.”

“Thank you,” Theonis replied, sliding the ring onto his finger. “So I’m really going to be able to use magic of my own?”

“Looks like it. Why did she give it to you, anyway? Or, at least, why did she say she was giving it to you?”

“Well… she said she was thinking about our journey and that it would be useful. She didn’t say how, though.”

“It’s possible that she used blue magic to get a sense of what kind of things you were going to get up to, but without being able to discern any details. Divination is very difficult; I’m not great at it.”

“That makes sense. She said that she believed I would return it ‘with interest,’ which makes me think that she saw into the future—”

“And saw you handing over the pendant, right?” Myrova finished, grinning. “And you fell for it, didn’t you? That is so like her.”

Theonis blinked in confusion, then asked, “What?”

“She was using blue magic to sense the pendant, but didn’t want to confront you directly about it. So she concocted a situation where she could get you to turn it over and think it was your idea. And she needed to sacrifice an artifact to you as part of her gambit. Clever. Her loss; there’s no way you’re turning over either of them.”

“Yeah…” Theonis bit his lip. He couldn’t really keep the ring, could he? The last thing Theonis wanted was to be accused of stealing. He was supposed to be distancing himself from his pirate heritage.

“So do you want me to show you how to use it?” Myrova asked.

“The ring?”

She nodded. Theonis’ face lit up. He really was going to learn how to use magic.

“Alright,” Myrova said. “First, hold out your hand. Try to mentally draw the magical energy out of the ring. It’ll feel like using a muscle. Since it’s violet magic, you’ll need to visualize the shape you want to create in your mind. Don’t overthink it or the illusion will fall apart.”

After a few moments, Theonis could feel some kind of energy emanating from the ring; it was making his arm buzz slightly. The ring started to glow with soft violet light. Theonis settled on the first shape that came to his mind. A small bird—a homecoming swift—materialized in the air and started flying around the deck in wide circles.

“I did it!” he squealed, losing concentration and letting the illusion fall apart.

“Very good,” Myrova said. “Now, the other aspect of violet magic is causing hallucinations. You need to focus on me and hold the image you want me to see in your own mind.”

“Um… alright?” Theonis replied, furling his brow in uncertainty.

He held up his hand and concentrated on Myrova. What should he make her see? He conjured up an image of Polithea in his mind, trying to replace himself with her in his mind. Again, the ring started to glow.

“Interesting choice,” Myrova mused.

“I don’t think I like that one,” Theonis admitted, letting his hand drop. “It feels a little too invasive.”

“Understandable,” Myrova replied. “It took me some time to get used to it, too. Hopefully you won’t be in a position where you need to use it. Regardless, how does it feel to be able to use magic now?”

“Amazing,” Theonis replied breathlessly. “Thank you so much for teaching me.”

“Of course, anything for a friend. And it’s good that someone gets to use magic without having to suffer for the art.”

Myrova leaned in closer to him and turned to stare back out at the ocean. Theonis’ heart was beating a little rapidly. She was so close to him. This was so comfortable; she actually seemed comfortable around him.

Then a crack of thunder ruined the mood and they were forced to seek shelter below deck.

It was only a day later that the Polaia was docked in the Themarion harbor. Dimileios wrote a quick letter to the man whom they needed to speak to, and the entire team waited with bated breath for a response. Fortunately, he was willing to visit the Polaia to speak to Dimileios in person.

“He’ll be here tomorrow morning,” Dimileios revealed to the team when he broke the news. Turning to Satiria, he said, “I’d appreciate it if you were in the meeting with me. Your expertise will be useful.”

“I’ll be there,” Satiria assured him.

“Everyone else, just try to relax,” Dimileios said, taking a deep breath himself. “I have confidence that this will yield results. Nikoris is a very old friend of mine and has always been generally amicable. We should have what we need and be on our way to our destination within a few days. Kosgoris, I need you and Theonis to be certain that we’re ready for a potentially long expedition.”

Everyone started getting ready, but by the time Nikoris was scheduled to arrive they managed to all find themselves milling about above deck for some reason or another. Everyone watched as Dimileios and Satiria met with a man in a very nice suit before retreating to the captain’s quarters. The rest of the team congregated near the mast and sat down. Kosgoris and Kateni chose to stand. For a while, they were all quiet.

“This has to go well,” Lias said. “It’s our only lead.”

“Worrying won’t help,” Kosgoris said, fidgeting with his hands.

Theonis hugged his knees close to his chest. His heart was pounding. Myrova was next to him, counting sequences of numbers to distract herself from her nerves.

“There’s no need to worry,” Kateni said, folding her arms. “Regardless of what happens, whatever stumbles we face, we will get to the capital city before our enemies do.”

“How can you be so sure?” Lias asked.

“We’re a very good team.”

The door to the captains’ quarters opened. Nikoris stepped out, followed by Dimileios and Satiria, who were both frantically talking at him. Sensing what was about to happen, the rest of the team stood up and started to rush over.

“I’m sure that we can come to an agreement,” Dimileios was saying.

“I simply have too much on my plate right now, Dimileios.”

“This is much bigger than any of us,” Satiria pleaded.

“Excuse me, sir,” Kosgoris said, stepping in front of Nikoris. “I think that you fail to grasp the gravity of this situation.”

Lias added, “We need your help. There is simply no one else who has access to the information we need from you.”

“As I said, I’m afraid that I can’t be of use to you.”

Nikoris turned from them and started walking toward the gangplank. Theonis’ heart was pounding in his ears. He had to do something. Desperate, Theonis walked in front of the gangplank to block Nikoris from leaving.

With a groan, Nikoris turned to Dimileios.

“Really now?” he asked. “Do you plan to keep me prisoner?”

“Let me speak,” Theonis said firmly, getting Nikoris’ attention. “I think I can convince you to help us.”

“You can?”

Could he? Nikoris was a business person, and Theonis had grown up around business people his whole life. Surely he knew how they thought by now.

“You have something to gain from this, and it won’t even require a financial investment,” he started spinning. “The find we’re after is going to be the biggest in recent memory. There’s a vault in Agathula containing an untold number of treasured artifacts. You enjoy collecting, right? Some of that will undoubtedly find its way to your collection. And furthermore, your name will be attached to the most important find in Pelakevi history, and you can’t buy that kind of good publicity.”

Theonis was breathing heavily by the time he was done. Nikoris was wearing a thoughtful expression. Everyone else was standing still, as though afraid to upset the silence that had fallen over the deck.

Turning to Dimileios, Nikoris said, “We should discuss this further. I’d like to invite you and your crew to a ball I’m hosting in a few days.” Turning to Theonis, he added, “I’d especially like to see this rough young woman there so I can speak further to her. But I’m afraid I do have business to attend to today. So, if I may?”

Theonis stepped aside and Nikoris departed. Once he was gone, the group all shared a collective sigh of relief. But Theonis could feel the hair on the nape of his neck stand up. Everyone was watching him. And while they’d all tried appealing to Nikoris’ humanity, Theonis had just appealed to his greed. He wasn’t sure if he could look any of them in the eye after stooping that low.

Things seemed to return to normal the next day. As Theonis and Kosgoris were wrapping up their morning duties, though, he told Theonis that some of the team wanted to meet him on deck after lunch. He didn’t have any more information than that, so Theonis spent the entirety of his lunch wondering what was going on.

Above deck, Myrova and Satiria were waiting for him with Polithea.

“What’s going on?” he asked, growing a little tense.

Satiria was here. Had she brought him up here just to berate him for what he did yesterday? Then why were the other two with her?

“You might not like this…” Myrova began.

Satiria cleared her throat and explained, “Yesterday, Nikoris indicated that he thought you were a girl. And since we’re going to be attending a high-class ball, you’re going to have to look the part.”

Theonis’ heart stopped in his chest. Panic started to set in as his breathing got quicker. But Myrova and Polithea were beside him quickly, holding onto him gently.

“It’s okay, Theonis.”

“We’re going to be here for you.”

“I don’t want to do this,” he managed to choke out.

Satiria sighed and nodded, but replied, “It can’t be helped, I’m afraid. Nikoris is a little more unpredictable than Dimileios remembers, so we need to do everything we can to stay in his good graces. You’ll be fine; it’s just one night.”

It took a while, but eventually the three of them were able to get Theonis to agree with the plan. Taking the money that Dimileios had given them, the group left the ship. While his escorts searched for clothing stores, Theonis let his attention wander.

Themarion was a young city, with taller buildings and a lot of stone archways. Even from the ground, Theonis could see glass roofs and domes. Some buildings had fresh marble facades, while others were coated in granite or slate. It was a very deliberately beautiful city.

When they found a shop, Polithea started searching for something that would flatter Theonis while the other two took him aside.

“Take your shirt off,” Myrova instructed, pulling a breast-band out of her coat.

“I don’t really need one of those, do I?” Theonis asked.

Myrova didn’t meet his gaze. Satiria cleared her throat and looked away before answering, “Actually, you do. Nobody wanted to say anything and make it even more awkward.”

Theonis felt his face burn and snatched the band out of Myrova’s hands. He tried to figure out how to put it on himself, but needed Myrova’s help in the end. He was very uncomfortable being seen by these women, two of whom he was crushing on, in his underwear. It was almost a relief to try on the first dress that Polithea had brought.

Dresses this expensive all seemed to follow a similar pattern. They had long flared sleeves and the skirt got wider as it descended. The fabrics were satiny and styled in abstract patterns. A lot of the outfits were frilly. More than one had a built-in corset.

The dress they settled on was a dark green affair, thankfully without an attached corset. The sleeves were short enough that Theonis could see most of his lower arms, and the skirt had a gold trim at the bottom. Staring at himself in the mirror, Theonis was consumed by one thought: he was finally wearing a skirt.

Next, Theonis was brought to a large shop where Myrova and Polithea experimented with various makeups on him, occasionally bouncing ideas off of each other. Satiria was pacing, clearly deep in thought. Finally, she turned to the rest of them.

“I hate that we’re dependent on the goodwill of somebody who collects ancient artifacts and locks them away. Those artifacts belong to the public as a whole. They should be displayed for everyone to see.”

“I agree,” Myrova said, focusing her attention on applying something to Theonis’ eyelid. “The things we find should be used to benefit everybody.”

The four of them stopped at a small restaurant to have an early dinner. Satiria sat beside Theonis, with Myrova and Polithea on the other side of the table. He found his gaze drifting between them instead of focusing on his food. They were both really attractive. But they didn’t like him, right? Honestly, just watching them like this made him feel kind of predatory. They deserved a better friend than him.

The last place they stopped at was a little jewelry store. Satiria picked out an appropriate necklace while Polithea returned with several gold and silver bracelets. Myrova walked up with a small pair of diamond earrings.

“I don’t have my ears pierced,” Theonis protested.

“Not a problem,” she replied, shrugging. “It’s not difficult. The girls at the academy would do it for each other all the time.”

“I also found this,” Polithea said, holding up a small silver hair clip covered in sapphires. “I thought it would look cute.”

Theonis’ hair only came down to his chin, so they weren’t able to get his hair up into a bun. But the clip did rest nicely in his hair. Myrova and Polithea debated over whether or not they actually needed it to complete the look.

“I think we should get it,” Theonis finally said.

The other three looked at him.

“You do?” Satiria asked.

“I do,” he said, his stomach churning. “You know… to impress Nikoris.”

His real reason was that Theonis had always envied the kind of jewelry that his mother got to wear, and the hair clip reminded him of that. He really just wanted it to prove that he could finally wear what he wanted and not just what he was expected to. Besides, he was never going to be able to afford anything like this on his own.

“Alright,” Myrova said, “I guess we’re getting it.”