She didn’t know what to do. On one hand, the council meeting had been a success. She’d helped Julian get the councillors on his side, and now they were searching for the Lost Words, which was what Noa had wanted. On the other hand, Julian had never seemed more like a dark mage than he had at that meeting—the kind of dark mage that parents throughout Florean told stories about to frighten their children into behaving. Noa could still see the man’s shadow eyes staring at nothing.
Well, you’re still on the council, she reminded herself. After pestering Julian about it for so long, it was a victory. So why didn’t it feel like one?
“You’ve changed course,” said a voice behind her. Kell limped up to the prow, cursing as she lifted her wooden leg over one of the sleeping iguanas, who were difficult to see among the bracken.
“Only slightly,” Noa said. “I thought we could approach the coordinates from the west. It’ll lengthen the journey by a few hours, but we’ll avoid the most dangerous pirate islands, and we can use the northwest current to speed us up.”
Kell thought it over. “Good plan,” she said. “Why didn’t I think of that? You know, you could really be the brains behind King Julian’s operation, little miss, if he’d only let you be.”
“He is letting me,” Noa said, feeling a ghost of pride at the memory. “Didn’t you hear? I’m on the council now.”
“Are you? Well, that’s the first practical thing King Julian’s done in a while, possibly ever.” Kell eyed her. “Is that what you wanted?”
Noa frowned. “It’s exactly what I wanted.”
“Exactly what she wanted! Thirteen’s a shade young to know exactly what you want,” Kell said. “Come to think of it, even seventy-three and a half is a shade young to know exactly what you want! Ha!”
“I want to do whatever I can to help Julian defeat Xavier.” Noa’s jaw tightened, and her hand drifted unconsciously to her charm bracelet. “He killed my mom.”
Kell’s grizzled face softened. “I know, little miss,” she said. “I just meant that I thought you’d be keen to do something other than play King Julian’s spider, at least some of the time.”
Noa’s eyes narrowed. “His what?”
“You know. The brain behind the throne. The person who sits in the shadows and spins webs to trap his enemies and hatches schemes to keep him in power, while he smiles that wicked smile of his and charms the world with his magic tricks and his pretty face. Every ruler who’s ever lived has had a spider. Sometimes it’s a family member. Sometimes it’s just an advisor. But they all have them.”
“I—” Noa sputtered. “They do?”
“Oh, sure. The people who serve Julian would follow him over a cliff. Problem is, without a brain like yours to guide him right, that’s exactly where he’d lead them. He needs someone like you. They all do.”
Noa’s face was hot. “I’m not Julian’s spider.”
Kell shrugged. “All right. So when that brother of yours wins control of Florean, what then?”
“Then . . . then I become one of his royal councillors, for real,” Noa said slowly. “Maybe even a minister.”
“Minister of what?”
“I don’t know,” Noa snapped. “What does it matter? He’s not king yet.”
Kell laughed. “All right. I don’t mean to put a stingray in your bathtub. I’m just saying that with your smarts, you could do anything you want. You don’t have to help King Julian rule Florean just because he’s your brother.”
“That is what I want.”
“Sure it is. But it doesn’t have to be all you want, is my point.”
Noa felt an odd twinge of uncertainty. She never really thought about what would happen after she and Julian defeated Xavier and took Florean back—partly because she didn’t know if they ever would. They were trying to take back a kingdom, after all. When she imagined life as Princess Noa, sister of King Julian and second in line to the throne of Florean, all she saw was a blurry space, like open waters shrouded by morning fog.
“I’m not sure how much help I am to Julian, anyway,” she said. “He barely listens to me.”
Kell raised her eyebrows. “No? Whose idea was it to reassign one of my sailors to guard that wretched snake? Who convinced the king to send a spy to Xavier’s court a few months back? I think he listens to you more often than you realize.”
Noa shrugged, though Kell’s words made her feel a little better. “I want to be Julian’s advisor. Besides, I don’t know what else I would do.”
“Ah, that’s all right if you don’t know yet. Black seas, I was sixty-two and two months before I figured out what I wanted to do with my life! Do you know, I raised eight children all by myself? Husband was no help—that old lout wouldn’t lift a finger, not even to put his shoes away. Oh, I cooked and cleaned for him for years, worked my fingers to the bones. Then, one morning, I opened my eyes and said, ‘Wait a minute. There’s a door right there. I could walk out.’ And that’s what I did. You should have seen the look on his face. Ha!”
Noa knew the rest of the story, but it was a good one, so she listened to Kell tell it anyway. Kell had become one of the most feared pirates in all the thirteen seas. After a decade spent terrorizing merchant ships and royal vessels alike, she had been hurt by cannon fire, losing her leg and the hearing in her right ear. She probably would have kept pirating if it had just been that, but she was also plagued with headaches and sudden dizzy spells that forced her to lie down wherever she happened to be, which was somewhat dangerous if, for example, you happened to be captaining a pirate ship being boarded by the king’s navy. So she had come to Julian, offering her navigational skills and knowledge of the pirate seas, and he had taken her on in spite of the fact that quite a few of the ships she had robbed had belonged to their parents.
“Your shift’s long over, little miss,” Kell said after she had run out of stories. “Don’t you want to head off to bed?”
Noa idly traced a pattern in the sandy soil. “I’d rather stay here, if that’s all right.”
“Suit yourself.” Kell pulled out a battered deck of cards and began assembling a complicated game of Poison Apple. The windy night grew quiet, broken only by the occasional muttered “Ha!”
“Kell,” Noa said. “Do you think that Julian’s . . . well, bad?”
Kell turned over another card. “Bad at what?”
“No, I mean . . . do you think he’s gone bad?”
Kell considered. “I can’t say. You need to be good to know if a person is bad. Isn’t that how it works? I went bad long ago. Ha!”
“I don’t think that matters,” Noa said.
“Oh. Then I’d have to say that I’ve never thought much about it. The king is the king, and I can’t see he’s changed much since I signed up to captain this mad island. But if he had, it wouldn’t bother me.”
“It might if he decided to feed you to Beauty.”
“Good point.” Kell seemed remarkably unperturbed by this prospect.
“It’s just—” Noa stopped. “That mage Julian captured. Thadeus. I’ve—I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Wasn’t a pretty sight, was it?” Kell added another card the stack. “But as he’s one of the mages Xavier sent to snatch you two girls away, I’m not surprised the king didn’t treat him kindly. . . .”
Noa froze. “To snatch us away?”
“Of course. Perfect opportunity to do it—mages gone mad, chaos everywhere. Good thing those soldiers you met didn’t recognize you. Probably expecting you to be all decked out in gold and jewels and all that, not barefoot and running wild the way you do. . . .”
Noa’s heart beat a slow drumroll. “But Xavier attacked us because he thought we were getting close to the Lost Words.”
“Oh, sure. He wanted to kill the king, or capture him. But failing that, he ordered all his mages to get their hands on at least one of you two and bring you to Queen’s Step. After all, that’d be just as good as capturing the king, and a lot easier, to boot. . . .” Kell trailed off
suddenly. “Oh, black seas. I wasn’t to speak of this to you, child. The king didn’t want to frighten you.”
“Then Xavier . . . He’s been plotting to kidnap me and Mite for a while?”
“That’s what Thadeus said. King Julian suspected it already, of course. It’s the first order he gave me when I got here—to watch over you two. He knew Xavier would try something like this eventually. Probably he’s tried before, but this is the first time he’s gotten close. Xavier knows the king would surrender in a heartbeat if he captured either of you.”
Noa’s breath felt cold in her chest. It made sense, of course. Xavier was as ruthless as he was clever. Why hadn’t Noa realized he might try to get to her and Mite?
Probably because, Noa realized, she was used to seeing the war for Florean as a war between Julian and Xavier, and herself as a figure in the background, pulling as many strings as she could. But Julian knew it wasn’t just about him, and when he fought Xavier, he fought as much for Mite and Noa as he did for himself. Probably more, knowing Julian.
Kell threw another card down and let out a whoop. “Another win! Either my luck is improving, or I’m cheating much more effectively.”
Noa got up. She felt cold and shaky, and she wanted the comfort of her familiar room, and Willow. “Good night, Kell.”
“Eh? Oh, wait. I thought of an answer to your question before.” She turned, her silver hair glowing like the moonlit clouds. “The witch and the whale hunter!”
“What?”
“You ever heard that story?”
“No.” Noa frowned. Witches were a silly myth, creatures who lived in trees or volcanoes and cast spells without words or grimoires. Nobody believed in them, except little kids.
“You need to read more books, girl. Lot of wisdom there, more than in your maps and charts.” Kell cleared her throat. “So the whale hunter’s a poor man, see? He’s out hunting in dangerous seas, near an island piled with shipwrecks like broken bones. He pulls up on the beach for lunch, and out of nowhere, there comes this old lady. She asks for passage back to town, and he doesn’t want to take her, ’cause even though she’s little, the seas are so bad now that any extra weight could tip the boat. But she’s standing there, shivering, so he gives in. As they go sailing back to town, a great wave rises up, but it doesn’t capsize them. It picks them up on its back and carries them into the harbor like a gentle mare. When the whale hunter turns around, he finds the old woman is gone, and in her place is a witch, fresh and beautiful as a field of crocuses. And what’s more, caught in his net is the fattest whale he’s ever seen. The witch gives him this odd smile, and then she’s gone. And he realizes that all those shipwrecks must have belonged to the whale hunters who turned the witch down and refused to give her passage.” She grinned as if expecting Noa to grin back.
Noa was unimpressed. “I don’t understand what that has to do with—”
“Waifs and strays, girl,” Kell said. “Waifs and strays. Witches are wise. You judge a person by how they treat the lost, those with nowhere to go and no one to help them. You want to know if the king’s bad—well, he took me on when nobody else would have. You ever seen him do different?” She turned back to the cards and began setting up another game. “Never heard of the witch and the whale hunter! Do you good to spend a little more time in the library, and a little less hunched over that notebook and compass. Life’s more than numbers and maps.”
Noa left Kell muttering to herself and walked back to the castle, turning her thoughts over and over.
Part II
Evert
10
Beauty Accepts a Bribe
The island of Evert jutted out of the water, an oddly misshapen lump that reminded Noa of a potato. She stood on the beach, eyeing it across the waves with Julian, Kell, Renne, and several other councillors. Mite was back on the dry sand, looking for shells. Behind them, keeping a respectful distance, a crowd of villagers had gathered to gawp at the strange sight.
The strangest thing about the island—besides the fact that it wasn’t shown on any map, and that the only way to find it was by sailing backward toward its coordinates, a tricky feat for most ships, but not for Astrae—was that it seemed to be sweating. Mist rose off its black rocks, which were completely barren of trees and grass and even penguins, who tended to like strange places.
Noa folded her arms and glared at the island as if squaring off against an opponent. Xavier’s mage had said that the king’s ships had come here looking for the Lost Words, and then gone away again empty-handed. Could Noa and Julian succeed where Xavier had failed? Or was Evert a dead end?
“Let’s try circling it once, Captain,” Julian said. His brow was so furrowed that his dragon tattoo looked to be in danger of falling into his eye. “Perhaps we’ll find a harbor where we can put a boat in.”
“Aye, Your Highness,” Kell said, and limped off.
Renne raised his eyebrows. “Seems an odd place to hide anything, let alone the Lost Words.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Noa said.
Julian didn’t say anything. The shadows under his eyes were darker—he’d barely slept during the four-day voyage, poring over books of myths and legends until late into the night. Finally, he said, “Tell the sailors to prepare the longboat. We’ll launch as soon as Kell finds a suitable harbor.”
Noa noticed Tomas standing up on the path, waving to her. She gave Julian and Renne an excuse and hurried over to him.
“Do you have it?”
Tomas nodded. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. Then he carefully lifted up the corner of the blanket laid over his wagon. Beneath it was the biggest cake Noa had ever seen, puffy and golden and still lightly steaming. It took up half the wagon.
“It’s cinnamon raisin,” he said. “We ran out of lemons. I hope that’s all right.”
“What happened to the other one?” Noa said. They had gone looking for Beauty yesterday with a lemon-lime cake in tow, but hadn’t found her. One of the scouts had told Noa that she had dived beneath the island, which she’d been doing a lot lately. It struck Noa as suspicious behavior, but then, Noa couldn’t recall Beauty ever engaging in unsuspicious behavior.
“It’s day-old,” Tomas said in an affronted tone.
They walked along the beach until they came to the sheltered cove where Noa had made her bargain with Beauty. There was nobody there, sea serpents included.
A familiar figure jumped out from behind a rock. “What are you doing?” Mite asked. Of course she’d been following them. Her pockets were stuffed with shells, which she liked giving to her pet bugs so that they could hide in them.
“Tomas baked Beauty a cake,” Noa said. “We’re going to give it to her.”
“Is it her birthday?” Mite looked excited. “Are we having a party? Do we all get cake? How will Beauty fit in a party hat—”
“It’s not a birthday cake,” Noa said. “I’m going to go talk to her, and you can only stay and watch if you promise not to tell Julian. If you can’t keep it secret, you have to go back to the castle.”
Mite chewed her lip, weighing the choice between lying to Julian and being left out of something. “I won’t tell,” she said, her voice glum.
Noa pulled the blanket back so that the scent of the cake could waft down the beach. It smelled delicious, built in layers spread thickly with cinnamon and brown sugar, with fat raisins soaked in butter pressed into the top. Mite looked as if she was about to start drooling. She scuttled closer to the cake, her gaze darting to Noa, clearly plotting to steal a piece when she wasn’t looking.
“Mite—” Noa warned.
A huge shape lunged out of the water, and there came a sound like two dozen swords unsheathing. Mite screamed and toppled over. Then, as quickly as Beauty had appeared, she was gone, and the wagon of cake was empty but for a few raisins.
Noa brushed the water from her eyes. They were all drenched. Tomas looked too stunned to move. Water dripped down his long nose like a foun
tain.
Noa marched to the water’s edge. “Beauty!”
A long stream of bubbles erupted on the surface of the water. Then Beauty’s head surfaced, still chewing. “Ah,” she mumbled around the cake. “That is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever eaten. What is that delicious aftertaste?”
Tomas blushed. “Orange peel.”
“Really?” Beauty gulped, her black eyes widening. “How inspired!”
Noa didn’t think she’d ever seen Tomas look so pleased. “Well, you have to caramelize it first—”
“Can you two trade recipes some other time?” Noa said. “Beauty, I have a business proposition for you.”
“A business proposition? How dreary. Is there any more cake?”
“That’s the business proposition.” Noa steeled herself and waded into the shallows, stopping only feet away from Beauty’s huge shadow. “Tomas bakes the best cakes you’ll find anywhere in the thirteen seas. I’m prepared to offer you a regular supply.”
“I see.” Beauty’s expression didn’t change, but at the word cakes her tongue slashed out to lick her lips. “And how will I thank you for such generosity?”
Noa folded her arms. “As you reminded me, you’ve been around for a while. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of the world.”
“More than your brother’s royal advisors and all his books combined could tell you,” Beauty agreed. Her voice was free of arrogance, as if she were merely stating a fact.
“I bet you even know things that could be helpful to Julian,” Noa said. “If you could answer a few questions, I’d be very grateful. It wouldn’t take up much of your time.”
Beauty thought it over, eyeing Noa with her wet black eyes. “Why do you think I’d be truthful?” she said at last.
“Because you’re a lady of honor, of course,” Noa said, raising her eyebrows as if surprised. The serpent might be bloodthirsty, but she had observed that insulting Beauty’s honor riled her more than anything else.
Beauty smiled appreciatively. “What a clever flatterer you are, little Marchena. Very well—I accept. I will answer one question for one cake.”
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