The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

"I should have turned her away. To this day, I do not know my own heart enough to understand what drove my response. Was it the unexpected chance to seize one last adventure and win riches that would secure Marjana's shaky future? To do right by the family of the young man I doomed? To avoid Salima's wrath and being turned over to a list of enemies? I suspect only God knows. And perhaps, on the Day of Judgment, I shall too."

"Ah, Aden. What can I tell a collector of tales about Yemen, that most glorious and blessed land, that they do not already know? I suspect you can spout plenty of verses extolling the wealth of the famed kingdoms of Saba and Himyar, and know by heart the epics of the warrior-king Sayf and his djinn companions in these lands. And at first blush, one might think Aden—Yemen's most valuable pearl—would embrace the bewitching legend of its countryside. Perched upon the sunken crater of a long-dead sea volcano and ringed by jagged peaks that tear at the sky, the city's very location seems out of a book of myths. There is but a single pass through the mountains, one said to have been carved by Shaddad bin 'Ad himself during his conquests of the world before Islam. Curved around a bright blue bay, Aden gazes down upon its harbor like an eager audience in an amphitheater, with three forts, a new seawall, and numerous gates adding to its already fearsome natural fortifications. It is though the Almighty Himself decided to protect it. Sailing past its ancient breakwater—the stones said to have been set there by giants—you might feel as though you have entered a mythical port of magic from a sailor's yarn. You would be sorely mistaken."

"I loved it. I had always loved it. I loved being on my ship, the wind in my face and the salty damp in my clothes. I loved taking pride in running a tight vessel and a capable crew, jesting with my companions and rising each dawn to see a new expanse of water stretching toward the horizon. Seafaring had been stamped into my soul long ago; there was no rooting it out. 'I'm not sure I ever stopped being a nakhudha,' I finally replied. 'Our hearts may be spoken for by those with sweet eyes, little smiles, and so very many needs, but that does not mean that which makes us us is gone. And I hope... part of me hopes anyway that in seeing me do this, Marjana knows more is possible. I would not want her to believe that because she was born a girl, she cannot dream.'"

"'No...' Raksh moved closer, his voice alluring. 'If you could summon gold, you would build your mother a castle. Bribe your grandparents to forgive her and set your little brother up with the best education possible.' His eyes locked on mine, the impossible depth of them intoxicating. 'Then, guilt assuaged, you would buy a better ship and sail for the East. You would go see all the places in your stories and have escapades that would make you a legend. Not because you are a woman or a pirate or any of these things people say about you. But because you would be the best, period. Because they would be talking about the adventures of Amina al-Sirafi for centuries. And by the end of it... your family might even forgive you. Might welcome you home with open arms.'"

"Was that who I was? A selfish woman who had left her child to chase adventure, convincing herself it was for some greater good? A selfish woman whose ambitions had gotten her trapped yet again and was now dragging someone else into a future I would have fled? Some hero I turned out to be."