by Effie Calvin
Adale shook her head. “She’s risking her life, travelling through the north at this time of year.”
“I think she’d do it, though,” said Esofi. “We need to move, quickly.”
“You will bring her back?” asked Releth.
“Yes. I swear.” Esofi met her eyes steadily. “My mother has no business raising children. No matter what their species.”
THE COURSER PLOWED through the water at what the captain swore was her highest speed, but Esofi felt as though they were crawling. She paced from stern to stem until Adale came and made her get out of the sailors’ way.
They’d composed letters for Elyne to deliver to Fenstell’s harbormaster, as well as Commander Gero, asking them to delay Gaelle’s departure by any means necessary. Esofi had advised that an indirect approach would be best. If Gaelle was told outright that her ship was being held, she would become dangerous and unpredictable. But if Fenstell could come up with plausible reasons for a delay, Gaelle wouldn’t suspect Esofi was coming after her.
At least, not immediately. Gaelle wasn’t stupid. She would catch on eventually. But Esofi was hopeful the Courser wasn’t more than a day behind her. And despite the presence of the encampment, Fenstell was still a small town. It would take time to gather all the supplies the Rhodians would need for the journey home.
Upon receiving the letters, Elyne vanished right in front of Esofi’s eyes, as though she had never been on the ship at all. Esofi tried not to think about her landing in the ocean again, and the letters being ruined.
Orsina, meanwhile, found a spot near the front railing and stood there, her eyes fixed on the distant horizon. Esofi hadn’t spoken to her much—she was a very quiet young woman, as paladins tended to be. But Esofi was grateful for her help and that she had gone to face Gaelle without question.
Esofi approached her quietly, still formulating what she wanted to say. She was not sure if she should thank her for her help or apologize for all the trouble. But when Orsina turned around, she was smiling peacefully.
Esofi had several questions about how Orsina and Elyne’s relationship worked, but she did not want to be rude. Besides, maybe it was none of her business. They both seemed happy, and that was the most important thing.
“I am grateful to you for accompanying Adale to confront my mother,” Esofi said. “I know this is not what you came to Ieflaria to do.”
“I am glad to be of use,” said Orsina. “Besides, it has been an interesting experience. I never thought I’d see a single dragon up close, let alone an entire colony of them.”
“Are you worried for Elyne?” asked Esofi.
“Oh, no. There’s nothing that can really hurt her. At least, not for long. Still…I hate it when we have to be apart. I like to keep an eye on her.”
Elyne would not return to the ship—it was moving too quickly for that to be feasible. She would meet them in Fenstell, hopefully at the docks, if all went well.
“You should get some rest,” came Adale’s voice from behind her. Esofi turned around to face her.
Adale was right. There was no way her confrontation with Gaelle would not end in a duel. She needed to be at full energy. But Esofi could not possibly imagine sleeping now.
If there was ever a time for divine intervention, Esofi supposed now would be it. But that was not what the gods were for.
Still, why did Talcia not whisper in her mother’s ear to turn away from her path? Or perhaps she had, and Gaelle simply ignored it. From Adale and Orsina’s report, it seemed Gaelle had confused her own ambitions with the voice of Talcia. Perhaps even Talcia had decided the time for talking was past.
They came in sight of Fenstell just before midday. Esofi had hardly eaten anything since waking, and what little she had managed had been at Adale’s near-constant urging.
Esofi had only brought a single Rhodian gown with her to the Isles, a comparatively simple gown in grey-blue silk and decorated with palest pink ribbon. She had not really expected to want or need it.
But Esofi had learned to fight in gowns, impractical as they might seem to observers. When she dressed herself that morning, she only hesitated for a moment before she selected it from her wardrobe. Nobody commented on her choice as she emerged onto the upper deck that morning.
Fenstell was a quiet village, and life was going on as usual despite the presence of the encampment of the cliffs. A few fishing boats were already out in deeper waters, but in the harbor, Esofi could see a very large ship flying the blue and white Rhodian flag.
“Do you think she’s aboard or up at the camp with the mages?” asked Adale.
“I suppose we’re going to find out,” said Esofi.
THERE WAS A single mage on guard beside the footbridge leading up to Gaelle’s ship, but Esofi knew there would be many, many more on board. Esofi turned to the others.
“Wait here until I call for you,” said Esofi. “I don’t want to have to worry about hurting one of you by accident.”
“What?” cried Adale in dismay.
“I’ll call down to you the moment it’s clear,” said Esofi, keeping her voice measured. “But if there’s as many mages up there as I suspect, you will only be in my way.”
Adale was obviously planning to argue, but Esofi decided not to give her the opportunity. She strode forward rapidly in the direction of the mage.
“Wait—” began the mage as Esofi approached. But before she could say another word, Esofi stuck her in the chest with rose-pink light, sending her tumbling into the harbor. Esofi dashed up the pier without checking to see if she was all right.
The upper deck of Gaelle’s ship was unremarkable and peaceful. But Esofi’s Rhodian dress earned her only a few extra seconds before the nearest mage cried out in surprise.
But Esofi was ready for them all. Powered by righteous fury, as a paladin might say.
“Where is she?” yelled Esofi, as the mage slammed into a pile of crates. She was not certain if she was asking for Gaelle or Etheriet. Perhaps it didn’t really matter. But nobody answered her.
Esofi slipped her feet out of her shoes. Moving very carefully, she pressed the heel of her left foot to the toe of her right and pulled her foot out of her stocking. To anyone watching, it would appear as though she was merely shifting in place. She set her now-bare foot down on top of her other stocking and pulled her left leg free as well. The wooden planks were icy cold under her feet, and she shifted to her toes instinctively.
“Esofi!”
Esofi risked looking around in time to see Lexandrie emerging from the lower decks. Her face was pale and incredulous.
“What are you doing here?” hissed Lexandrie.
“Where is Etheriet?”
“You need to leave,” said Lexandrie. “Please. You’ll only make everything worse.”
“I’ve barely started,” Esofi snapped. “Get out of my way. Or did you want to fight, too?”
“You’re not the one who has to live with her!” cried Lexandrie. “Just let her have this, so she can feel like she won!”
“This is kidnapping, Lexandrie,” said Esofi.
“It’s just a dragon!” Lexandrie glanced back over her shoulder. “I don’t understand why you even care.”
“Get out of my way!”
“Yes, please do,” said a new voice from the darkened staircase. A moment later, Lexandrie stumbled forward as though she had been pushed and Gaelle stepped into the light.
“Well, this is a surprise,” she said. “I was under the impression you wanted me to leave.”
“Where is Etheriet?”
“Who?”
“The dragon. Where is she?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did you really come all the way here just to rant nonsense at me?”
“It’s kidnapping,” said Esofi. “You have to realize that. She’s not an animal, she’s an intelligent creature, and she belongs with her family.”
“Are you finished?” asked Gaelle.
“I am not le
aving until you give her to me.”
“Then I hope you enjoy the trip to Rhodia.”
“If this ship attempts to leave the harbor, I will have it sunk.”
Gaelle laughed, short and sharp, like the strike of a dagger. “How delightful. I might be intimidated, if I believed you for even a moment. Now, please leave. I don’t want to spend the next three months stuck on a ship with you.”
“I’m not going,” repeated Esofi. “But I will duel you for her.”
This time, Gaelle’s laugh was deeper, longer. “Go, go, just go,” she said, waving her hand in that dismissive way that she always did. “Unless you mean for me to die of laughter.”
Esofi gathered her magic at her hands again, and Gaelle’s lips quirked in a half-smile.
“I will not ask again,” said Esofi.
“What in the world have these Ieflarians been telling you?” asked Gaelle. “I can only imagine. They believe you’re some manner of hero because you slew an inordinately angry dragon, because they’re too ignorant to realize what a mundane achievement that is. And it seems you’ve started to listen too closely to their praise. They’ve made you think you’re powerful. That you’re special. But they don’t know the first thing about Talcia’s blessings, do they? They are farmers and goatherds and woodcutters. They don’t know anything at all about magic. You may have fooled your people into believing there’s anything remarkable about you. You may have even fooled yourself. But I am not so easily manipulated. I see you for what you truly are.”
Esofi’s strike was lightning-fast, but Gaelle had a shield up before the magic could touch her. It smashed against the crimson barrier and dissipated.
“This is your last chance,” said Gaelle. “Leave, before I destroy all your delusions and leave you with nothing.”
“I can’t allow you to take Etheriet.”
“Why? Are you jealous?” Gaelle’s smile was ugly. “You liked being the only woman on Inthya with a dragon for a son, didn’t you?”
“No—” began Esofi, but the rest of her words were lost when Gaelle lashed out at her with both hands blazing. Esofi backed away rapidly, but Gaelle did not stop, barreling forward while blood-colored magic swirled around her like a storm.
“It’s so obvious!” cried Gaelle, smashing against Esofi’s hastily constructed shield. It shuddered under the barrage but held up. “You are jealous, aren’t you? You can’t stand that Talcia loves me more than you! You can’t stand that she’s given me more! Everything you’ve done has been to spite me!”
“None of that is true!”
“Do you know what your greatest failing is?” asked Gaelle, pulling her magic back to her hands, where it gathered like two bloody beacons.
“Cake, I believe,” said Esofi, fighting to keep her voice from quavering. “As you have told me many times before.”
“Hah. Yes, that is a close second, isn’t it? But your real problem, Esofi, is that you assume that I’m as stupid as these Ieflarians you surround yourself with.”
“I’m not taking Etheriet because I’m jealous of you,” said Esofi. “I’m taking her because she is not yours. And even if you did have any right to her, you’re a dreadful mother and she deserves far better.”
Gaelle struck without warning, blasting magic at Esofi with both hands. This time, Esofi was the one to raise a shield, though she was rather expecting it to shatter under the force of Gaelle’s magic. Yet, miraculously, it held. Esofi hoped that she did not look as surprised as she felt.
Back in Rhodia, Esofi had watched Gaelle duel other members of the Silence, those rare few strong enough to stand against her for more than a few minutes. One might have guessed that they allowed Gaelle to win out of fear or respect, but there was nothing Gaelle hated more than deliberate failure. And it seemed she was always able to tell when someone was not fighting with every drop of their magic. It was part of what made her such an effective teacher.
Esofi had never dueled Gaelle herself—she had never felt compelled to try, nor had Gaelle ever called upon her to do so. The only one of her sisters who ever had was Eliosa, who held her own admirably but eventually lost like all the rest.
Esofi struck again, but this time Gaelle did not shield herself. Instead, she reached out and caught Esofi’s magic with her hands, keeping the pink light suspended within her own red. Then she drew her arms back and sent it back at Esofi.
Esofi gasped. She would not have thought such a thing was possible. But then, she had always known there were things Gaelle had never taught her children, knowledge she saved only for herself.
Esofi could not deflect her own magic. It slammed into her, reabsorbing into the core of Esofi’s self at full force. Esofi was knocked off her feet and onto the cold wooden planks of the ship’s deck.
Gaelle strode nearer, but Esofi stayed where she had landed. Now was her chance to take Gaelle by surprise. She wouldn’t get another one. She adjusted her feet in preparation.
Confusion flickered across Gaelle’s face. “Why aren’t you wearing sh—”
Esofi called her magic to her feet and kicked.
It was a skill she had learned she possessed as a very young child. But it was not proper to fight with one’s feet and so Esofi had neglected it until they’d all forgotten she could do it at all.
Including Gaelle, it seemed, for she had just enough time to see the shock on her face before her mother went staggering backward, only just barely avoiding a fall. Esofi sprang back to her feet and kicked again, gripping her skirt in one hand to keep it out of her way.
Esofi knew she had to end this quickly. If Gaelle managed to reorient herself, she would have the advantage. They might have been evenly matched in terms of power—and that was a bizarre thing to realize after she’d spent so many years assuming otherwise—but Gaelle still had the upper hand when it came to experience.
Esofi moved as lightly as she could manage, recalling the way she’d experimented during her first visit to Fenstell, the day Adale had wandered into the training room and found Esofi standing there with no stockings and no explanations. When she built up momentum, it was easy to keep moving, to keep kicking. The muscles in her upper legs had gone largely unused over the years, and she knew she would feel them aching once the thrill of the fight died away. But for Etheriet, and for herself, she would endure it.
Perhaps Esofi had known from the start that this was the only way it could end. She’d refused to admit it to herself, but in retrospect, it was obvious. Gaelle did not respect logic or reason or laws. She only respected power
Gaelle lashed out with her magic again, directionless and brutal. But fighting with her feet meant Esofi’s hands were free to call up a shield without sacrificing a means of attack.
Gaelle was an experienced duelist, but Esofi had a feeling she’d never faced an opponent that could attack and defend simultaneously.
Gaelle caught Esofi’s magic again, but Esofi was already in motion when she sent it back at her, dodging it easily and avoiding its impact. After a moment, it dissolved into empty air. Esofi spun and kicked outward again, her magic flying toward Gaelle.
This time, when Esofi’s magic struck her, Gaelle did not keep her balance. She fell backward, her head slamming against the ship’s railing. Esofi raised another shield, readying herself for another attack.
But Gaelle did not move. Her head was rested against the ship’s wooden siding, and her eyes were closed. Esofi hesitated a moment longer before she dismissed her magic. She did nothing to stop the other mages from hurrying to her side. For better or for worse, it would take far more than a blow to the head to kill Gaelle.
Esofi swallowed and went back to the footbridge that connected the ship and the pier. But it was not just Adale and Orsina that stood there waiting. At some point during the fight, they’d been joined by soldiers from Fenstell. Commander Gero stood at the front.
“May we come up now, Princess?” he called.
Esofi nodded vigorously. “If anyone gives you trouble
, arrest them. I’m going to search for the hatchling.”
Esofi turned away and went down the steps leading to the lower levels, and the personal cabins. Nobody did anything to stop her.
It wasn’t difficult to find her mother’s room. As was common in Rhodian ships, the best and largest cabin was near the front. The door was locked, but Esofi called her magic to her hands and blasted the handle and locking mechanism to the ground.
The room was not very different from the one Esofi herself had stayed in during her journey from Rhodia to Ieflaria. And sitting on Gaelle’s bed, curled up like a cat, was a tiny red dragon. Esofi gasped and rushed forward.
Etheriet lifted her head and chirped eagerly, wings fluttering, as she jumped into Esofi’s arms.
“There you are,” Esofi murmured. “Let’s get you home.”
ESOFI WANTED TO bring Etheriet back to the Isles immediately, but holding a foreign queen at port was a complicated matter. While she would have liked nothing more than to let Gaelle leave and never see her again, she knew she could not trust her to actually return to Rhodia. So she had written to their majesties, asking for an escort so they could be sure of Gaelle’s departure.
As Esofi had predicted, Gaelle’s last act of defiance was to order Fenstell’s mages home. She could not leave the ship, and so had sent Lexandrie in her place. None of the mages had dared disobeyed, and Esofi could not blame them. She’d expected nothing less.
But strangely, she didn’t think she minded. From the time she had spent in the Isles, she truly believed that there were no more coordinated attacks coming, at least not during her lifetime. Perhaps they could even hire some of the friendlier dragons to guard against their own kind, at least until they had more Ieflarians trained as battlemages.
If Etheriet was feeling homesick, she did nothing to show it. She and Carinth chased each other all around Fenstell while Mireille chased after them, trying to make sure they didn’t get themselves in any trouble.