“The Cabisi Thassalocracy is at least as technologically advanced as Ondinium— and it is far more willing to sell its technology to outsiders.”
“I’ll tell the Council we should look into the matter.”
“That would be prudent. Now, if you would, I have a boat standing by at the docks that will carry these crates down the coast for a small fee with no questions asked. I need you inside and quiet.”
“A boat!” Taya brightened. She’d always wanted to see the ocean.
Amcathra took charge. “The icarus and the exalted will travel together. Helvi and the principessa. Dayvet and Titus. Emel and Jager. I will remain alone, and the body will also be crated separately.”
“Cael,” one of the lictors muttered under his breath. Taya knew Amcathra practiced the Demican tradition of avoiding a dead man’s name until after his cremation, but after glancing at the lieutenant’s expression, she decided not to explain on his behalf. She was about to climb into the wagon when she saw the young principessa’s face.
“Maybe Principessa Agosti and I should travel together,” she sighed. She would prefer to be with Cristof, especially if she were going to be stuck in a small, dark space for any length of time, but the principessa still hadn’t recovered from the sight of fake lictors shooting at them.
Amcathra calmly reassigned everyone, keeping himself and the corpse separate again.
“I’ve heard more news, by the way,” Alister said, standing motionless in the middle of the workyard as Florianne helped the group into their crates. “You’ve been officially accused of the murders, and your staff has been arrested as accomplices.”
Taya squeezed her eyes shut, whispering a prayer to the Lady.
Alister continued. “In addition, it seems you are holding the principessa hostage.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Cristof scoffed.
“That’s clever,” Alister corrected, moving his head in his brother’s direction. “If she tries to exonerate you, her enemies will argue that she’s speaking under duress. Of course, if they catch her, they’ll undoubtedly kill her and blame you for her death, as well.”
“Have you heard anything about Silvio and Pietra?” Principessa Liliana asked, her voice shaking.
“Nothing new, Your Royal Highness.”
“If I could get to one of them….”
“After you’re safe,” Cristof said.
“Just a minute!” The girl turned to Taya. “Please, Icarus, give me your purse.”
Taya handed it over. The principessa pulled out a golden bracelet and handed it to Florianne, who took it with a startled curtsey.
“If— if you see any of my Family,” she said, softly, “give them this. Mother gave it to me years ago. Let them know that I am alive.”
“I shall. But if you please, Principessa….” Florianne held up the lid to the crate. Taya and Liliana ducked and held their ears as the lid was nailed shut. Outside, Amcathra continued to give orders.
“This is a nightmare,” Principessa Liliana breathed in Alzanan, handing the reticule back to Taya. “I can’t believe any of this is happening.”
“I understand.” Taya squirmed and reminded herself to breathe steadily. There’s plenty of air in here. “Sometimes the whole world seems to be spinning out of control, and all you can do is trust the Lady and try to survive.”
“But you seem so calm!”
“Do I?” Clearly the girl couldn’t sense Taya’s intense discomfort at being trapped inside a box. “Well, Cris and I have been through a lot lately. I guess we’ve learned to keep moving forward in a crisis.”
“…I’m sorry you aren’t with your husband, Icarus.”
“It’s all right.”
“It’s just that… lictors scare me. Especially your lieutenant. I don’t think he likes me.”
“I’m sure you’re imagining things, Your Royal Highness.” Or not. Amcathra had never had much love for Alzanans, and he’d lost classmates and colleagues in the Glasgar bombing. “He’s actually very trustworthy.”
“But he looks so brutal! That scar…”
“On his forehead? He got that in a train crash.”
“I thought it was from a fight.”
“No, Principessa. The scars on Cristof’s face and hand are from the crash, too.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Cris was standing next to a window when the train rolled. He… he was badly hurt. Amcathra saved his life. Saved both our lives, actually.”
“Then you’ve known him a long time.”
“I haven’t known him that long. He and Cris have been friends for several years, though.”
“He seems very formal for a friend.”
“I agree, but we can’t break him of the habit.”
“You can call me Liliana, if you want.”
“Are you sure?” Taya couldn’t see the girl’s expression in the darkness. “I mean, you’re a principessa, and I’m just an icarus, and our countries are at war.”
“But we are not at war, are we?”
“No.” Taya smiled. “So please call me Taya.”
“Thank you.” The girl shifted again. “Do you… do you have any brothers or sisters, Taya?”
Taya heard a tremor in the girl’s voice. She took a deep breath and began telling Liliana about her life, hoping to distract them both as the wagon began to move.
Much later they heard a tapping on the top of the crate and someone’s sharp “shhhhh.” They fell silent, straining to hear what was going on outside. The wagon had reached the harbor, judging from the shrieking of gulls and the scent of salt water. Taya’s desire to get out was almost physical in intensity.
The transfer from wagon to vessel went smoothly, although Taya had to brace her hands against the sides of the crate to keep from slipping around as it was moved. Soon they were on their way again, bobbing up and down and listening to water slapping the sides of the boat. The constant motion made Taya nauseous. She pressed her face against the side of the crate, seeking fresh air. The sailors’ voices were close but indistinct. Once she heard something thrown overboard with a resounding splash. She tensed, but nothing else happened. Fearful anticipation of being thrown into the ocean kept her nervous for the rest of the journey until the boat came to a shuddering halt.
The crate rocked a few times, and Florianne said something indistinguishable. Alister’s voice rose as he spoke in Alzanan.
“Try to avoid dropping them, if you please. My cargo wouldn’t do well in salt water.”
“Handsomely, boys, handsomely,” someone else said in the same language. The crate swung up into the air and hit the ground with a thump, jostling Taya and Liliana against each other.
“That’s all, then?” the same strange voice asked.
“Yes, thank you. Florianne, my dear, would you…?”
“For your trouble, sirs.”
A chorus of thanks, and then Taya heard splashing and calls to steady the boat and mind the oars, dammit.
A considerable amount of time later, someone tapped on the top of the crate.
“They’re gone, and we’re going to let you out,” Alister said. “Watch your heads.”
A crowbar worked its way under the lid and slowly pried the nails out of the wood. Taya gratefully sucked in a lungful of fresh salt air as the lid popped off, revealing Florianne’s exertion-flushed face. The Mareaux girl turned to work on the second crate as Taya and Liliana crawled out onto a rocky beach.
“What fell into the water?” Taya inquired, raising her voice to be heard over the loud crashing sound around her. She looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Her eyes fastened with wonder on the endless expanse of water that stretched beyond them.
“The corpse,” Alister said, looking mildly surprised. “That’s why it was stored separately.” He stood on the rocky s
hore with the tip of his chestnut cane resting lightly by his feet, looking comfortable despite his blindness.
Shocked, Taya turned back to Alister. “You mean Cael? Does Amcathra know you dumped his body overboard?”
“Your lieutenant is the one who told me to do it.” Alister shook his head. “I don’t blame him for keeping our dead out of Alzanan hands, given the circumstances, but burial at sea strikes me as a thoroughly distasteful prospect.”
“Me, too.” Taya shuddered, hoping such a dismal fate wouldn’t affect Cael’s rebirth. She looked around for her husband. “Why didn’t you let Cris out first?”
“Ladies first, Taya. And you before my brother, always.”
“He’s an exalted! And the one who’s been supporting you— I certainly wouldn’t have given you anything.”
Alister’s lips curled up in a tight expression that was very different from the easy smile he used to affect.
“My fierce little hawk. As unforgiving as ever. Has my brother been treating you well? Have you softened that mechanical heart of his?”
“We’re doing fine,” she said, instinctively reaching for her reticule and wrapping her fingers around the shape of the pocketwatch inside. The heart-shaped gem in its face was Cristof’s quiet, self-deprecating joke. Maybe that was why he hadn’t wanted his brother to see it. “He’s a good person.”
Alister cocked his head.
“‘A good person.’ Not exactly a ringing declaration of love. Is something wrong between you?”
Taya flushed.
“No, and what’s between us is none of your business.” She turned and walked away, impatiently yanking up her skirts to keep them from dragging over the rocks.
Then she stopped, her attention riveted anew by the vast, heaving ocean.
That is what’s making all the noise! It was the water crashing against the rocky shore, sending giant plumes of white into the sky. Waves, she thought, gazing at them in wonder, waves hitting the shore with a regular cadence like the beat of a heart or the ticking of a watch.
She’d read about surf, but she’d never expected it to be so loud.
“Does it ever stop?” she asked, turning to Liliana. The principessa had collapsed onto the rocks, gazing despondently at the water.
“What?”
She raised her voice again. “The water? Does it ever stop pumping?”
Liliana gave her a curious look.
“Have you not ever seen the ocean before?”
“No, never. I mean, I’ve read about it, and I’ve seen paintings, but Ondinium’s surrounded by mountains.” Taya sought the horizon and wondered what lay beyond it. “I’ve always wanted to see the ocean for myself.”
“Well, here it is.” Liliana brushed a strand of seaweed from her skirt. “And no, it never stops.”
“Amazing.”
“Taya?” Cristof picked his way through the jagged rocks, shaking his long black hair out of his face. “How are you, Principessa?”
“Look,” Taya said, throwing her arms out. “Liliana says it never stops pumping!”
He shot a quick, curious look at the principessa, then smiled crookedly and wrapped his arms around Taya’s waist, pulling her against him.
“Like a giant, very wet engine,” he observed next to her ear.
“That’s just what I was thinking!”
“Too bad it only pumps saltwater. Can’t think of any good use for it.”
“The ocean has uses— fish live in it. And shells! Where are the seashells, Liliana? Do they live in the water or on the shore?”
“You will not find any interesting shells here.” The girl watched them with a small, melancholy smile. “All of the pretty shells are farther south.”
“Mother-of-pearl is a shell, isn’t it?”
“That’s what they say,” Cristof agreed. “But I bought my watch faces pre-cut. I don’t know what the stuff looks like in nature.”
“Exalted. Icarus.” Amcathra’s voice carried over the surf. “We have a problem.”
“What’s new?” Cristof whispered in Taya’s ear with resignation. They returned hand-in-hand. The lictors had spread out, stretching and checking their rifles. Liliana followed and hovered on the outskirts of the small assembly.
“Your brother has not delivered us to our destination,” Amcathra said, giving Alister a hard look. Taya looked up for the first time and realized that there were no buildings on the rocky, pale cliff behind them.
Cristof slid his hand from hers. “Where are we, Al?”
“The sailors refused to drop me off at the lighthouse because the Alzanan military has set up an outpost there. This is as close as they would come.”
“You knew nothing of this?” Amcathra pressed. Alister sighed.
“I don’t live here, Lieutenant; I publish here. I thought I was doing rather well just finding a set of smugglers willing to take us this far. Believe me, if I were going to betray you, I wouldn’t have put myself through this much personal discomfort.”
“All right— enough.” Cristof raised a hand to forestall Amcathra’s response. “Janos, do we have a backup plan?”
“No.” Amcathra’s eyes were hooded as he considered the problem. “Ondinium has agents on shore who will have signaled to the ship that the exalted is in trouble. It is supposed to check the rendezvous point for four nights before leaving.”
“What are you going to do, Alister?” Taya inquired. “Are you coming with us, after all?”
“No. There’s a path up the cliff about a mile south. From there I’ll take the coastal road back to the capital.”
“You’re going to walk?”
“I’m blind, not crippled.” His voice was sharp.
“I— I know, but it’s a long way….” Taya’s voice trailed off.
“The walk is not difficult,” Florianne assured her.
“Are you sure you won’t be arrested?” Cristof pressed.
“Your concern is heartwarming, Cris.” Alister’s tone was dry. “But keep in mind that you’re the one who’s wanted for regicide.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you,” the exalted mumbled, looking away and folding his arms over his narrow chest. “I went through a lot of trouble to keep you alive, you know.”
Alister’s lips tilted upward as he turned his blindfolded face toward his brother.
“I have done my best to protect your investment. In turn, I expect you to protect our little hawk here.”
“She’s the one who protects me, most of the time.”
“I wouldn’t brag about that, Cris,” Alister retorted.
“Are we ready to go, Exalted?” Amcathra asked, cutting off Cristof’s irked reply. The lictor didn’t bother to hide his impatience.
“I think we are,” Cristof said, glowering at his younger brother.
“Good-bye, Taya,” Alister said. “Good-bye, Cris.”
Cristof hesitated, poised to step forward, then jerked away with an irritable lift of one shoulder.
“Good-bye, Al. Florianne. I’ll write as soon as I can.”
“This way.” Amcathra began walking, and the group fell in behind him, murmuring farewells. A few minutes later when Taya looked over her shoulder, Alister and Florianne were still standing next to the jumble of open crates, silently facing the water.
Chapter Four
The beach became steeper and rockier as they walked. Taya tucked in her skirts and used both hands to steady herself as she clambered over the jagged, slippery boulders. By the third time she’d slipped and fallen, she was reconsidering her love for the ocean. Ocean water was cold and dark, and slimy strands of seaweed clung to her skirts. The ocean is nice to look at, she decided, but being in the ocean is another matter entirely. She hoped sailing would be more comfortable.
By midday they reached a wooden fence.
Three signs nailed along its length read “Government Property — No Trespassing” in Alzanan. No guards watched it, and the rocky beach continued beyond its uneven posts and rails.
“Looks like a good stopping point.” Cristof perched on a boulder and inspected the shredded remnants of his silk slippers. His trousers and the bottom half of his robes were as wet and stained as Taya’s skirts. Liliana crouched on another boulder, looking cold and near tears. The lictors gathered loosely around them, rifles at the ready. The exalted looked at Amcathra. “Now what?”
“Jager and I will scout ahead.”
“Won’t there be a patrol?” Cristof asked.
“It is possible. Stay close to the cliff and wait for me. Bright, you have the exalted. Helvi, the principessa. Emel, the icarus. Dayvet, Titus, on watch.”
“Yes, sir,” the lictors replied in a ragged chorus.
“Bring us back something to eat,” Cristof said as Amcathra started climbing over the fence.
“Hide,” the lictor ordered, unamused.
“I wish you hadn’t mentioned eating,” Taya grumbled as they dutifully trudged to the base of the cliff. “I didn’t have any lunch yesterday; I was afraid the execution might make me sick.”
“There must be something we can eat on a beach.” Cristof looked dubiously at the cold water. “I saw starfish clinging to the rocks a little way back. Are starfish edible, Principessa?”
“I believe some people eat them.” Liliana looked disgusted. “But they’re hard and they have slimy suckers.”
“They’re hard?” Cristof stopped. “They didn’t look hard. Are they safe to touch?”
“Cris— later,” Taya said, recognizing the look on his face. Her husband was about to go plunging back down to the water, trying to find one of the wretched things. “Let’s not get captured by the Alzanan army because you’re squatting on the beach poking at sea creatures.”
He blinked, then reluctantly nodded.
“I suppose you’re right.” He cast her a sidelong look through his glasses. “Just remember that you turned down a starfish dinner.”
“Complete with raw, slimy suckers. Yum.”
They traded wry smiles. Liliana frowned.
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