"I can promise you that if the DuCrees ever come for you, your family, or your crew," Domenec said firmly. "They'll have to go through the whole of Blackwell first."
Mervyn could see Roch wavering, and even the cautious Rose Marie seemed to be softening, so he pressed forward before either of them had a chance to ask questions.
"There's more to it," Mervyn said. "A ship of your own, when the time comes. Not a merchant cog with ballistae bolted to her rails. A ship with real teeth, built for hunting," he said, stopping short of mentioning the Witchwood Fleet.
Rhys had been very clear that it would take Lady Ashlynn's help to wake the fleet. Sorcery was dangerous, and they'd lost touch with too many of the techniques of their ancestors to risk diving in at the deep end. If they did, they were as likely to produce ghost ships as anything else after sacrificing the lives of their men to the attempt, and that was something no one wanted to see.
