Silvano clapped the admiral on the back. “Impressive damage.”
The admiral’s grin consumed his entire face. He gestured wildly as he said, “It is. From what I understand, the balls are designed to detonate upon impact. It isn’t much, but we’ll work on improving our accuracy, obviously. Regardless, I would wager this is a success. With your permission, I would like to experiment with combining our Gifts with the technology to improve the results.”
“You have my approval moving forward.”
“Thank you. I really think—"
A cry of alarm rang out among the crew moments before the sound of cannon fire reached his ears. A lone cannonball fell short of The Indomitable, splashing harmlessly in the water. For a moment, it seemed like time froze, then pandemonium broke out. Someone rang the alarm bell, and Silvano raced to the bow. The admiral stepped up to his side and lifted a telescope to his eye. He swallowed, then wordlessly handed the telescope to Silvano. He didn’t bother looking through it. The source of the cannonball was clear.
Three large ships cut through the fog like wraiths, sailing toward the cove.
Cannon blasts sounded across the water as cannonballs hurtled toward The Indomitable. The nobles screamed, dropping their glasses and plates to the deck where they shattered, sending shards flying. They scrambled for the longboats, slamming into the panicked crew in their desperation to escape.
Silvano knew he should run, too, but his feet were glued to the bow.
“Prepare for attack! Turn the ship to port!” the admiral cried.
The helmsman turned the wheel sharply. The deck dropped from under Silvano’s boots, and he grabbed the nearest rope to stay upright.
“Man your positions! Fire at will!”
The crew’s inexperience proved costly. They fired off a few useless rounds of cannonballs, but the enemy ships were out of range. Even Silvano knew it was a hopeless cause. If they couldn’t hit a stationary target a thousand feet away, they had no hope at double the distance.
The enemy ships edged closer, sealing the entrance of the cove and cutting off any chance of escape by sea. Silvano lifted the telescope to his eye, hoping for a better look at their sails. His eyes widened, and the telescope fell from his hand. It wasn’t the Belosian flag—a skull with a dagger clenched in its teeth—on their sails. Each of the vessels bore his sister’s crest.
Arianna’s fleet showed no mercy as it sent round after round across the cove.
The crew of The Indomitable returned fire, eating through the ammunition until there was nothing left.
An enemy cannonball blew through the mast. Men and women dove out of its way as it crashed to the deck. Cannonballs blew through the side of The Indomitable. Wood splintered, and men screamed. The ship lilted violently to the side. Silvano slid across the deck. Water sprayed up the sides. He clutched the railing and pulled himself upright.
“We’re taking on water!”
“Abandon ship!”
Sailors dove off the sides to avoid the carnage. The nobility on the ship were herded onto the remaining longboats.
The admiral spotted Silvano, and his eyes bugged out of his skull. “Miestryri, you must go!”
Silvano drew his shoulders back and stabbed a finger toward the enemy ships. “That is my sister. It should be me who handles her.”
“Sire, I respect your wishes, but this is not a fair battle. We are out of ammunition.”
As if to punctuate his point, another cannonball blasted through the side of the ship.
He ran to the starboard side and clutched the railing. If Arianna thought she would have an easy victory, she was sorely mistaken. He planted his boots on the deck and raised his hands. He lifted a wave that towered above the ships and thrust it toward the enemy.
He hoped that the water would slow enemy fire, but the cannonballs cut through the water and rammed into The Indomitable. Shrapnel exploded around him, cutting into his skin and leaving trickles of red behind. A wooden splinter the size of his hand embedded into his thigh. He cried out, releasing his hold on the water. The wave flowed harmlessly back into the sea before it reached Arianna’s ships.
Jax tackled him to the deck as a cannonball flew through the spot where he’d been standing. The air whooshed from his lungs when he hit the deck, and pain flared in his skull. Spots clouded his vision, and he gave into the darkness.
13
Someone was tugging on his leg.
Silvano groaned and tried to sit up, but blinding pain in his thigh made him fall back down. His head throbbed when it hit the soft ground. Soft. Why was he laying on something soft? Where was he? He kept his eyes squeezed shut and reached out, feeling the ground around him. Sand? What happened to the—
The memories came rushing back. The Indomitable. The cannons. His sister’s ships.
“Lie still, Miestryri.”
“Jax?” Sand coated his tongue and crusted his teeth. He turned his head to the side and spat. Blinking, he opened his eyes and his surroundings came into focus. They weren’t in the cove anymore. Dense cover surrounded them, so thick he couldn’t see the sea, but the faint screech of gulls and the sound of water crashing on the shore told him they were close. Jax knelt by his side, tying a strip of cloth tightly around his thigh. “What happened?”
“We lost,” Jax said bluntly, though he kept his eyes averted. “Somehow, your sister’s fleet was equipped with even more cannons than our own. It was a bloodbath. We and the nobility were able to escape in time, but it was a close thing.”
Silvano pressed his palms to his temples. Everything… gone. He glanced over his shoulder. The nobles huddled together, dripping wet, looking lost and confused. A few sported minor injuries, but nothing that would slow them down for long. “The admiral?”
“Dead. After evacuating the crew, he chose to go down with the ship.”
He hadn’t known the man long, but the admiral had already earned his respect. He would have had a wonderful career, had he survived. Silvano felt a flare of remorse. “Who is in charge of the navy now?”
“No one, sire. The fleet has been captured.”
The weight of what he said slammed into Silvano. His head snapped up and he gaped at Jax. “All of it?”
Jax nodded. “Every last ship.”
“We must reclaim it immediately. Help me up.” He reached his hand toward Jax, who clasped his wrist and pulled him to his feet. Silvano tested his leg, leaning weight onto it. He gritted his teeth and took a few steps. The pain nearly made him collapse, but he couldn’t afford to rest. “I’ll need a team of Irrigos and Ignises. I’d rather burn the fleet to the watery depths than see them under her control.”
“Miestryri, with respect, my duty is to keep you safe.” Silvano opened his mouth to protest, but Jax cut him off. “We need to get you back to the castle immediately. Now that the fleet has been taken, East Rock will be her destination. We must fortify it against attack.”
He nodded reluctantly. It killed him to abandon the navy but losing the capital would be even worse. What he didn’t understand was how Arianna knew they’d be in the cove this morning. And where had she gotten the cannons? The only thing that made sense was… His eyes landed on Lord Pierce, who stood at the back of the group.
“Lord Pierce.” Silvano took a shaking step forward. He placed a hand on Jax’s shoulder to steady himself before puffing out his chest. His voice rang out. “Just how long have you been working for Arianna?”
The nobles gasped. Lord Pierce glanced over in apparent surprise, but Silvano knew better. It was the only thing that made sense. He had arranged the trade for the cannons, and he had close friends in the council. He had more than enough opportunity, but why? What could have possibly motivated him to commit treason?
“Have you nothing to say in your defense?” Silvano asked, hoping he was wrong. It was incomprehensible that one of his strongest supporters was secretly working behind the scenes to undermine him. When Lord Pierce refused to speak, Silvano said, “Jax, take
Lord Pierce into custody. We’ll take him back to East Rock for questioning.”
At Silvano’s declaration, Lord Pierce’s lip curled. He struck his chest with his fist and jutted his chin upward. “Long live the one true Miestryri!”
Before Jax could stop him, Lord Pierce slipped something in his mouth and swallowed. Within seconds, he collapsed to the ground, mouth frothing. Jax cursed under his breath. He raced over and pressed his ear to Lord Pierce’s chest. A few seconds passed, then he shook his head. “He’s gone.”
Silvano lifted a fist to his mouth and bit down. He turned and let out a strangled cry. Lord Pierce was a traitor. He’d obviously orchestrated the entire morning, from gifting six cannons to the navy while smuggling many more to Arianna. Now, she controlled the fleet, leaving him with nothing. All his dreams of conquering the sea crumbled like sand through his hands.
He took a deep breath. No matter how dire the situation, he couldn’t afford to fall apart right now. Jax was right. He needed to get back to East Rock before Arianna did.
***
An hour later, Silvano limped through the streets of East Rock and up to the castle. Blood had soaked through his makeshift bandage, and the throbbing in his head threatened to render him unconscious. He wanted to go straight to the small council, but Jax insisted on finding a Healer first.
He’d already sent the Nobles to their homes, sending each with two guards to ensure their safety. What he hadn’t said out loud was that he couldn’t trust a single one of them. If Lord Pierce had betrayed him, any one of them might have as well. Until their loyalty was proven, he would keep them all on a tight leash.
“Sil!”
Silvano’s eyes snapped to the entrance of the castle where six guards waited with Olielle standing between them. She flew down the steps and wrapped her arms around him. One of the guards tried to pry her away, drawing his cutlass. “Put that thing away before you kill someone, you ignorant seabass. I’m not going to hurt him.” To Silvano, she said, “You’re bleeding! What happened?”
He returned the embrace, burying his face in her shoulder. “Ambush. Arianna took the fleet.”
“What? How?”
“Lord Pierce was a traitor.”
“Pierce?” Olielle gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth. “Sil, I’m so sorry. I had no idea that he was false, I swear it.”
“I know. You’re one of the few people I can trust now.” He pulled back and stared her in the eyes. “Don’t ever betray me.”
“Never,” she swore. “Let’s get you inside and send for the Healer.”
With an arm slung over their shoulders, Silvano let Olielle and Jax help him up the stairs, though he protested the former, saying a pregnant woman shouldn’t exert herself so much.
She rolled her eyes and barked out a laugh. “I’m pregnant, not terminally ill. The exercise will make the baby stronger.”
“But if anything happened…”
She stiffened and pulled back. “Sil, there’s something you need to know.”
Something about her tone set him on edge. “What is it?”
Her eyes tightened as if she were worried that the news would upset him. “While you were away…”
A guard raced into the room as they stepped inside the castle doors. “Miestryri, Lucan escaped.”
Silvano stumbled. He gaped in horror at the guard. “What?”
Olielle took his hand in hers and turned him to face her. “That’s what I was going to tell you. There was a riot in the market this morning, which diverted the guards from the castle. The timing was too perfect to be coincidental. We think they planned the rescue while you were away, and security was lax.”
“And if I’d died during the attack, all the better.” He exchanged a grim-faced look with Jax. Maybe that had been Arianna’s plan. By eliminating her competition during the attack, no one would have stood in her way to claim the throne. The priests would have had no alternative but to anoint her in his stead.
“We found this in his cell.” The guard held out a book. Silvano recognized it as the one Lucan had been reading when he visited.
Silvano took it and opened the front cover. A scrap of paper slipped out and floated to the floor. Jax picked it up. His face tightened, and he handed it to Silvano. Your move. He crushed it in his hand and swore. He knew there’d been something off about the number of books Lucan seemed to be reading. He wasn’t reading them at all. He was smuggling out messages to the rebellion under their noses. But he hadn’t been working alone. “Where is the chambermaid, Beatrice?”
“Missing.”
“And Lucan’s usual guard, Davis?”
“Dead, sire.”
“They can’t have gone far. Send out search parties to find him. Take extra guards and do not underestimate them. It’s clear my sister is clever, and she will stop at nothing to see me unseated.”
Silvano let Olielle lead him to his chambers to wait for the Healer. How had everything fallen apart so quickly? Just when he’d felt that he was gaining control of Crystalmoor, something happened to cut his legs out from under him. He thought of the last conversation with Lucan. The advisor had asked if he’d gone to visit Lord Maynard yet. It might be nothing more than a distraction, but something told him that he should speak to Olielle’s father soon.
14
The next morning, Silvano waited outside a white stucco mansion with arching windows and a walking path that serpentined around the house to the landscaped back yard. Creeping vines grew up the sides of the building, making it look like the house had emerged from the wild fully formed, rather than built by hand. A smile came unbidden to his lips. Olielle had always loved the vines and almost whimsical beauty of her childhood home. They would spend hours wading in the pond behind the house, skipping stones and trying to catch tadpoles and minnows.
If only they could go back to those simpler times.
He rapped on the door and waited until a servant answered. The servant led him through the house and into the study. Lord Maynard sat in his wheeled chair by the window. Silvano’s eyes went habitually to Lord Maynard’s missing leg—amputated at sea after a botched assault on the pirates—before coming to rest on his hardened face. If he’d noticed the staring, he didn’t show it, and Silvano knew better than to bring up the injury that had resulted in Maynard’s premature retirement from the navy. He was satisfied to see that the idle years hadn’t changed him much, apart from a larger potbelly and an ample number of gray hairs.
“Miestryri, I was not expecting you.” He scratched the graying whiskers on his chin.
Out of a lifetime of habit, Silvano fidgeted and bowed his head in respect. “I apologize for not sending word ahead, but I had an urgent matter that could not wait.” He tilted his head toward an empty chair, expecting Maynard to ask him to sit. He didn’t.
“I see. If you’re asking me to annul my daughter’s marriage, I’m afraid you’ll leave disappointed.”
“No, no. Nothing of the sort. Olielle seems content with her new husband, and I will not be the cause of her pain by separating them. Speaking of which, it seems as though congratulations are in order.”
Maynard relaxed infinitesimally, and his face broke out into a wide smile. “I’m looking forward to having little ones running around here again.”
“I imagine it’s too quiet in here now.”
“It is. Still, I can’t deny that the quiet has been refreshing. I’ll never tell Olielle this, but the two of you wore me out.” He chuckled under his breath. “So, what can I do for you?”
“I have questions of a somewhat political variety.”
“Well then, I believe this discussion requires a strong drink. Religion and politics should never be discussed sober. Jenny!” he called as he wheeled himself behind his desk.
“Oh no. There’s no need to trouble your servants.” Silvano held up a hand and walked over to the beverage cabinet. “I’m happy to pour it myself.”
“Good man. No doubt you’d like as few ears lis
tening in as possible.” Maynard’s lips twitched.
“Shrewd as ever. Now I know where Olielle gets it from.” Silvano pulled a decanter of vintage red and two glasses from the shelf. “Is the red okay, or would you prefer a white?”
“The red is fine, so long as it wets my throat all the same.”
“A man after my own heart.” Silvano poured the glasses to the brim and carried them over, holding one out for Maynard. “I would appreciate your discretion today. This is somewhat of a… delicate matter.”
“Consider my interest piqued.” He took the glass from Silvano and took a long drought, licking the excess liquid from his lips. “What can I do for you?”
“Before I begin, I must know—and I’m trusting your word as a gentleman here—are you allied with Arianna and Lucan?”
“Your sister and the Miestryri’s advisor? Over my dead body! I don’t have anything against your sister personally, but Lucan is an eel. I wouldn’t trust him to lick the Miestryri’s boots, let alone help run a country.”
Silvano took a polite sip. “It has recently come to my attention that my father named Arianna heir, rather than me. Lord Maynard, you were my father’s closest friend. Ever since you were boys, you were rarely apart. No one knew his mind better than you. Why?” His fingers tightened on the glass. “Why would he name my sister his heir when I am his eldest child?”
Maynard sighed and ran a tired hand down his face. “I knew it was only a matter of time,” he said so softly, Silvano wasn’t sure he’d heard him correctly. A crease formed between his eyebrows as he examined Silvano. He pressed a fist to his lips and nodded. “You should know. After all this time, you deserve to know the truth. The reason why Arianna was named heir, and not you, is because you are not his son.”
The world fell from under Silvano’s feet, and the glass dropped from his hand to shatter on the floor, spraying wine everywhere. Lord Maynard was shouting something, but Silvano couldn’t hear a single word, as if he were speaking underwater. Silvano reached out to steady himself. “I don’t understand.”
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