In the affluent side of First Landing, there were no dingy, dark alleys to creep around and hide in, like one might find in the busier areas of the city. Alleyways were a frequent thing elsewhere, considering the number of residences and businesses that tended to spring up in most inhabited islands, and they were often narrow—to save on precious space. Not here though. There were no multi-story, cramped living quarters here. No businesses to attract the noisy foot traffic. Every property was walled off, intent on keeping their space private and protected, and while the walls and shrubbery varied from one mansion to another, they all had one thing in common.

  They didn’t worry that much about space.

  Considering how limited it was in the archipelago and how families often had to share small, cramped spaces, stacked one on top of the other, it was pretty revolting to see the nobility hogging so much of it. Most of it wasn’t even being used productively. Large swaths of land were just covered with lawn and trees—not even the fruitful kind. She couldn’t see any vegetable gardens or roof greenhouses. It was all decorative. So much space. Wasted. And Ash would bet that even now, all of them were coveting their neighbor’s estates.

  As if they hadn’t taken enough already.

  The nobility had basically sectioned off nearly a third of the island to themselves. An area that was almost as large as Coralspire, the island to which Ash had run off and where she’d grown up, begging and stealing scraps so she wouldn’t starve. It still felt a little hypocritical for her to be this revolted by the sight, considering that she was born within their midst. But unlike all of those that still lived here, she hadn’t had her home barged into in the middle of the night. They hadn’t had to run for their lives and while she couldn’t blame the children and young for not knowing any better, about how excessive some of these displays were, she felt comfortable targeting her ire at the ones who knew how good they had it and still elected to live this way. Looking down on the rest of the population.

  Ash slowed her breathing and focused on her surroundings for a second. The song of surrounding birds wasn’t doing much for the growing anger in her gut, and it wasn’t enough to muffle the sound of her own steps as she walked the streets. Still, she wasn’t about to start a vendetta with every noble house in First Landing. She wasn’t seeing too clearly. She knew very well her bias and upbringing were heavily skewing her perspective, so she wasn’t about to start trouble with random nobles. But she did still have some history to settle with one of them.

  As she walked, her steps felt decisive. Who cares if she had noble blood or not? She had gotten to her level through her hard work. There was a little luck there, of course, and she might have never gotten the opportunities she had been presented with if it hadn’t been for the unbridled greed of a sad noble, but right now, Ash was okay.

  She'd be even better once she dealt with the man who'd backstabbed her father. The bastard who’d dragged their names in the mud with fake allegations of treason, only to then swoop in to claim all his lands and business. This wasn’t about class warfare or anything. This was just personal.

  But maybe not today. There were too many guards around. Too many variables she wasn’t aware of. And there was the crew, too. She didn’t want to cause them trouble, not after all the time and treasures they invested in her growth. She owed them at least that. Soon, she would tell the captain what she intended on doing, and if they didn’t agree with her and wanted nothing to do with her revenge, then they’d part ways.

  The thought was painful. The crew of the Red Reaver was like a second family to her. But as much as she loved them, she couldn’t find peace until she did her first family justice.

  Ash ignored another pair of guards that gave her dirty looks as she passed by the property she used to live next to. The road was neatly paved, and it had a wide sidewalk which the nobility could use and for that reason, it was kept spotless. She spared the guards another glance. Both of them were D-rank, and she was sure that if it hadn’t been for the ring, they might have attempted to chase her away for her loitering. But she was dressed too well, and she was wearing Velistraine’s colors. Between that and the fact they couldn’t see her level, no one dared speak to her, lest they’d cause an incident.

  But she wasn’t here for them, so she pushed them out of her mind and focused on what stood beyond them as she passed them by.

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  The mansion of the Clydemars. They didn’t want to hide their wealth, opting to only have a chest-high fence of polished, dark metal, with enough space between bars to comfortably let a dog through. Not that any dog, cat, or rat could sneak in, considering the protective enchantments that she could vaguely sense. Beyond the fence, a wide, verdant garden with neatly trimmed trees encircled a sumptuous pearly-white mansion and even from here, she could see the servants going about their day, maintaining the massive property. It had grown, since she’d last been here, having appropriated the residence right next to it. There was nothing left of Ash’s old home. It hadn’t been that large, even back then. Just old. Inherited. Her father used to tell her how they were some of the first families who’d settled the island, but most of that history was lost to time. Especially back then, the defenses had not been as good as they were now so a lot ended up being lost to random disasters. Fires. Storms. And of course, monsters. And now, the Clydemars had razed whatever was left and built up a secondary… house? Lab? She didn’t know. But they definitely made use of the space.

  “Can we help you, miss?”

  The voice shook her out of her musings, and she realized she had stopped walking. In fact, she was fully facing the grounds where she had taken her first steps, which certainly attracted some attention. Glancing toward the voice, she found two city guards in prim and polished shell-armor standing a few feet away from her, hands casually resting on their weapons.

  Her experience with law enforcers told her they were nothing if not ready for action.

  A patrol then, she thought. Ash wanted to ask if they knew where Cassius Clydemar was. If he was still alive—because she really hoped he still was around. Through the years, especially once she’d gotten in with the underbelly of Coralspire, she’d picked up a few rumors about his involvement and how he had managed to pull off his conspiracy. But she wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth, right before she dealt with him.

  None of this showed on her face. Instead, she gave the two city guards a well-practiced, genuine smile. “Oh, no, I’m okay. I was just admiring the architecture. I’ll be on my—”

  “Guards. What is this?”

  Ash slowly turned toward the new voice and found a young man approaching. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties. Hair cut short. And while his clothing wasn’t as formal as the neighborhood would expect, he definitely had that disdainful expression on his face. As if speaking or acknowledging anyone’s presence was something he wished not to suffer for a moment more.

  The guardsman repeated the exact words she’d told them, and Ash caught herself and her train of thoughts, a bit taken aback by her own disdain toward the approaching man. She knew she had no love toward the nobility, and she thought hanging out with Fabian had mellowed her out a little. But here she was, nearly as vitriolic as she’d ever been.

  She kept the glare off of her face and acted surprised. The nobility really made it hard not to hate them sometimes, and as the man’s lips tightened in a barely suppressed sneer, she nearly snapped herself.

  “Admiring? This is no museum or exposition, girl. Not that you would know what that is,” he said, as if speaking to himself. But it had been audible enough. Turning to the guards for a second, he gave them a head tilt and stepped past them. “Please escort her away, would you? And maybe keep a better eye for stragglers in the future.”

  Ash almost spat something back, but she reeled it in. She’d heard her fair share of insults back in the day and she just could let them roll off her back, so her ire didn’t even show on her face. But then the guardsmen said something that immediately set her heart ablaze.

  “Right away, master Clydemar.”

  Before she knew it, her feet were nailed to the ground and she refused to move. The voices of the guards fell away from her ears as she stared at the back of the Clydemar scion, and she racked her brain, trying to remember if she knew who he was as she opened her mouth.

  She could take most insults. But she wouldn’t take any from a Clydemar.

  “It’s a public street, asshole. I’ll stay here however long I want.”

  The guardsmen fell silent. The sentries at the Clydemar’s gate stilled for a second, then their brows furrowed. And the man in question slowly turned back toward her, brows raised, eyes glinting.

  “What did you just say to me, sea rat?”

  In response, Ash only grinned.

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