by Jeff Wheeler
Below the waves she saw an enormous ship, one that dwarfed any she had seen before. It was one of Kingfountain’s special seacrafts, the type that could disappear entirely beneath the water, but the size rivaled that of a hurricane sky ship. There were over a hundred smaller vessels trailing in its wake. The surface was polished like pearl, with little sigils and carvings in the hull. Whether it was made of wood or stone, she didn’t know, but it glided through the water at great speed.
In a blink, her vision brought her on board the massive ship, where she saw military officers and sailors walking around with purpose and responding to orders. Her consciousness was whisked to the command area, where a man with a brooding face and a haughty expression stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a saber and a brace of pistols at his belt. His military jacket was adorned with medals. She’d never met this man in person before, but she’d seen him in her other visions, heard about him from Sera and Fitzroy.
General Montpensier.
“Lord General,” an officer said, hurrying toward him, “we passed the mirror gate at Salize. Our bearings are true. We’ve crossed over into the Dahomeyjan waters.” They spoke a foreign tongue, but Cettie could understand their language through the magic enfolding her.
“Good, very good,” General Montpensier replied with a curt nod. “I want all in readiness for the night attack. We must reach Lockhaven before their dawn.”
“Sir, but how will we reach the flying city from the sea?”
The general’s smile was cunning. “I will not tell you, Commander. But trust me, we will shatter it. Have everyone ready.”
“What about the rest of our surface fleet stationed at Leoneyis?” the commander said, perplexed. “Admiral Grant will find them today for certain.”
“It’s no matter. The fleet is lost. But they are a diversion, nothing more. They keep his eyes fixed away from us while we destroy the seat of their government.” He rubbed his mouth, and Cettie could see the nervousness in his eyes. He projected confidence, but his mannerisms showed he was fatigued and desperate. He knew his maneuver risked all.
The commander looked at Montpensier in disbelief. His general had just forsaken a great number of his brothers- and sisters-in-arms.
“Go,” the general ordered with a snarl, and the commander left.
After he was gone, another man approached the general. He, too, wore a military uniform, but Cettie could sense the kystrel nestled beneath his jacket.
“What is it?” Montpensier said in a low voice.
“We lost one of ours,” said the man grimly.
Montpensier scowled. “Who?”
“Russell.”
“Killed?”
The man shook his head no. “Captured.”
“By the Fountain!” Montpensier cursed. “Why didn’t he commit suicide?”
“We don’t know. He lost consciousness. When he revived, we saw he was in an interrogation cell.”
“Disaster,” Montpensier snarled. “Evacuate the poisoner school in Genevar. Get the prince out of the dungeon immediately. Or kill him. I don’t care. Her plans are unraveling faster than a seaman’s first rigging knot.”
“Lady Corinne still has the empress,” the man said, his voice revealing a throb of anger.
“If I held Her Beloved Majesty, the empress, I’d wrap chains and a cannonball to her ankles and drop her into the sea. The other traitoress, well, she should never should have escaped to begin with! Reckless! Evacuate the school. Send word at once.”
“Yes, my lord,” said the man deferentially. But Cettie saw the distaste in his gaze, the contempt for the man he served.
Someone jostled Cettie’s shoulder, rousing her from the vision. She gasped as the vision melted away. There was a young officer standing before her, a look of unease on his face. The pistol in his other hand was pointed at her. Three more officers stood guard, weapons at the ready.
Cettie rubbed her face with her hands as the world came back into focus. She cast a look around the room. It was a small waiting room, with dark wainscoting and a few padded benches to sit on. There were no windows to reveal the time of day, but it had been well past midnight when the tempest arrived at Lockhaven. The moment they disembarked, she’d been arrested by the Ministry of War. They’d wished to lock her in irons, but Stephen had intervened and sworn on his honor that she was trustworthy. She’d saved many lives from perishing at Gimmerton Sough, but the looks on her custodians’ faces, and the gun pointed at her, showed they all feared her.
“Miss, the prime minister is ready to see you,” the young officer said. “You dozed off.”
“Thank you,” Cettie said, her mind still rushing from the vision she’d seen. She got to her feet, and the dragoons encircled her. Her poisoner bag had already been confiscated.
After a brief journey through a series of short corridors and doorways, she entered the prime minister’s chambers through a secret door. She could hear Stephen’s and Durrant’s voices as she approached.
But she was shocked to find Adam Creigh in the room as well.
Her astonishment was so complete, her mouth went dry. He looked fatigued and concerned, and more careworn than she’d ever seen him. But he’d also never looked so handsome. She longed to reach out and touch him, to beg his forgiveness—but that impulse was rivaled by an even stronger instinct to flee, to run far away. All her memories of him flooded back, brought to crystalline vividness in her mind. Her heart was afire in her chest.
When he saw her, he didn’t seem to recognize her at first. But then his eyes widened, his fists clenched, and the muscles at the corners of his jaws went taut. No, he’d not been expecting her arrival. Her cheeks burned under his gaze.
“Ah, there she is,” said Durrant, who looked more tired than all of them. “Welcome, Miss Cettie. We meet under rather perplexing circumstances. Lord Stephen has vouchsafed for your conduct. Gentlemen, put the pistols down,” he added, gesturing to the soldiers escorting her.
“I’m sorry, Prime Minister,” one of them said. “But our orders come from Admiral Grant himself. You’re not to be left unprotected.”
“I can hardly walk ten feet without stepping on one of your boots,” Durrant complained. “Your protection is highly inconvenient. But do as you’ve been ordered.”
“Cettie,” Adam said, drawing her eyes to him. Oh, how she longed to talk with him, just the two of them, and forget the past—no, forget the world. He wouldn’t want her back, but she needed to make amends. To see him happy again. He deserved someone like Anna, someone who had been faithful to him all the while. Not Cettie. Never her.
And yet she still wanted him. Her burden would be to always want him.
“Young man, you’ll get your turn with her,” Durrant said, interrupting him. “But as I am the prime minister, I insist on mine first. If you would, my dear, approach the Leering on the pedestal over there with me? I would like you to put your hand on it. It is a Truth Leering.”
“I know,” Cettie answered. It had the carved face of a frowning man with curly hair and deep-set eyes. She felt the magic of the Leering, sensed its purpose, and even heard the gentle hum coming from it. She nodded in obeisance and walked over to it. Stephen gave her an encouraging nod. Adam stood transfixed, his look darkening as he watched her. Did he hate her?
After she reached the Leering, she put her trembling hand on it. The soldiers crowded around her, blocking her view of Adam. Under these circumstances, it almost came as a relief. Still, she felt the loss. Durrant stood opposite her, then placed his hand on the other side of the stone facade, invoking the magic, locking them together. It was a strong bit of music, but she instantly saw how to dismantle it. If she’d wanted to, she could have pulled her hand away. She didn’t.
“State your true name, if you please.”
“My legal name is Cettie Pratt, but I am the natural daughter of the woman masquerading as Lady Corinne and a kishion, her lover, who is my father. I do not know his true name.”
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br /> Mr. Durrant’s brow furrowed even more. “I did not know this.”
“Although the real lady Corinne had no natural children, this woman bore me in a nexus of sorts between our world and that of Kingfountain. I am a daughter of both worlds. I was deceived by my natural mother, my father. I have become something I once abhorred. If I could change it, I would. I cannot. But still I hope to be useful to Sera. The Mysteries have called me to be her protector. I had a vision, Prime Minister. Just now. While waiting for you to see me.”
“You have?” he asked, his brows lifting in wonderment.
“My powers have not worked since I was abducted. But they are working now.”
Durrant looked at her firmly, his face devoid of expression. “What did you see in your vision?”
Cettie swallowed, feeling her composure rattled by the knowledge that Adam was listening to her. Judging her. She wished she could see his expression. “It was sunrise,” she began. “The vision opened over the ocean in the world of Kingfountain. Then it went beneath the waters. General Montpensier has a fleet of ships that can move unseen from above.”
“We know this,” Durrant said.
“One of the ships is the size of a hurricane.”
Durrant’s eyes widened. “That is news.”
“I overheard him speaking to one of his underlings. I don’t understand the context, but it sounds as if our admiral, someone called Grant, is about to discover a fleet of ships and destroy them. I surmised that the admiral believes Montpensier is with that fleet, but he’s not.”
The look of surprise on Durrant’s face said much. She was revealing information she could not have known.
“They passed a mirror gate at Salize. There was something said about Dahomey as well.”
Durrant nodded. “Go on.”
“They plan to attack Lockhaven. The underling doesn’t understand how it will be done, but Montpensier seems convinced they can do it, even from ships beneath the waters.”
“Salize is the name of a rock formation off the coast of Legault. It is connected to the ruins of Dochte Abbey off the coast of Dahomey!”
“There’s more. After the general spoke to the underling, a kishion approached him with the news that you’ve captured Will Russell.”
“How could word have traveled so fast?” Durrant exclaimed.
“Will Russell has been in disguise among us for years and there are many ways they transfer messages. He took the place of Rand Patchett. His sister, I believe, is also a hetaera. They assigned Will as my kishion.”
There were a few grunts of surprise at that. Cettie pressed on boldly. “They’ve ordered the evacuation of the poisoner school in Genevar. That is where I’ve been held since I was taken. From what they said, Prince Trevon is being held there.”
“Prince Trevon! His location has been changed constantly,” Durrant said. “This is good news.”
“He’s being kept in the dungeon.”
“It was your information,” Durrant said, “that revealed Sera’s maid as an imposter. Do you know where the empress is?”
Cettie bowed her head. “I don’t. I’ll do all I can to help make things right. I am loyal to the Mysteries, Prime Minister, and to Sera. But I know that I must earn back the trust that I once held. Trust is so fragile, but let me do what I can to mend it.”
“So you know where the poisoner school is?”
“I do. Well, one of them. There is more than one. But it makes sense to me that they’d keep Trevon guarded at the one my mother knows best.”
Durrant rubbed his mouth with his free hand. Neither had pulled away from the Leering yet. “Is there anything you are concealing from me? Is this information intended to deceive us away from your true aims?”
Cettie felt the throb of the Leering, compelling the truth from her. “No. I’ve been completely honest with you.”
“I can sense that,” Durrant said approvingly. “Your cooperation will, of course, provide leniency for when we must face the truth about what you’ve let yourself become.” He sighed and removed his hand, which freed Cettie to do the same.
“Now I will be truthful to you,” Durrant said. “Lockhaven is trapped here. It has only ever obeyed Sera. We cannot budge it from its position without her. Which means we are helpless against Montpensier’s fleet if they have already made it through the mirror gate. We must begin evacuating immediately.” He looked her in the eyes. “You are the only person who can find the poisoner school in Genevar. Well, you and that scoundrel Russell, but I don’t suspect he will be willing to assist us.”
“He has a ring on his left hand—” Cettie said.
“We know. We discovered it after the good doctor brought him here. It was also invisible, like the one worn by Becka’s imposter. At least he won’t be able to use it to resume his disguise. He is guilty of the most heinous treason. No, Cettie, if your vision is true, then you need to help rescue Sera’s husband.” Durrant started to pace. “It is already day in the other world. You’ll have to fly to Genevar in full daylight. They’ll know you’re coming. I don’t imagine there are many sky ships that fly over its massive walls.”
“No, there aren’t. I will do as you command, Prime Minister.”
“How many soldiers do you think should accompany you?”
Cettie looked down. “They will kill as many of us as they can. We need sharpshooters. Dragoons to clear the way from zephyrs. But once we go inside, they’ll be useless. I will go in alone.”
“No, you will not,” Adam said, stepping around to the prime minister’s side, a look of fierce determination on his face. His jaw was clenched again. “I will go with you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY−TWO
BROKEN HEART
While all the preparations for the operation were underway, Stephen did not leave Cettie’s side. She was grateful for his reassuring presence, and as they stood together in the landing yard where the zephyrs and soldiers were assembled, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss into her hair.
“Mother will be anxious to hear back from me,” he said. “I would go with you too,” he said, “but I cannot risk Mother and Anna’s safety at Fog Willows should anything happen.”
“I will be less worried if I know you are all home safe,” Cettie said. She glanced at Adam, who was talking to some of the soldiers. He had a medical bag slung across his shoulder.
Stephen noticed her looking at him. “I suppose the two of you will have a much-needed talk,” he said.
Cettie nodded, dreading it. Desiring it. She’d tried to argue against including him on the mission, but his argument that Trevon might need a doctor had swayed the prime minister. Ultimately, the choice had not been hers. He had vowed he would go with her into the deepest parts of the poisoner’s school. She had no intention of letting him fulfill that promise.
“He’s a good man,” Stephen said. “I think he’ll do the right thing. In the end.”
She looked up at him, then lowered her eyes. “I don’t deserve him. Tell me truly, Stephen, does Anna still love him?”
He flinched. She knew the truth without it being spoken. It didn’t surprise her. Not at all.
“His heart has been constant,” Stephen said softly, emphatic.
“Which I do not deserve,” she answered. “If I can, I am going to persuade him to return her affections. They belong together. I want them both to be happy.”
Stephen did not look convinced, but he didn’t argue with her either. Maybe he thought, deep down, that she was right.
“It looks like they are nearly ready to depart,” he said, rubbing her shoulder. “Be safe, Cettie. We’ll be waiting for you at Fog Willows.”
She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure the prime minister will let me go once this is over. But I should like to see Mother again. And Anna. And even Phinia. Tell them all how sorry I am.”
An officer approached her with a stern expression. “It’s time to depart, Miss Cettie,” he said, bowing his head to her. Her eyes dart
ed to Adam. He was watching her and Stephen, his arms folded, his expression inscrutable. He wasn’t happy, that much was clear.
“Thank you,” Cettie said to Stephen and kissed his cheek. He squeezed her hand and stood by as she followed the officer.
“You’ll be riding with me and Doctor Creigh in that one,” said the officer, gesturing to the zephyr that Adam stood beneath. “My name is Captain Dumas.”
“Thank you, Captain,” she said. There were around twenty soldiers in all, in three zephyrs. As she approached the air ship, she couldn’t help but think again of the last mission she’d been on for the empire, the day she and Will had gone to the Fells to capture the Fear Liath. The day Joses had died.
When they reached the rope ladder dangling from the sky ship, the captain said, “After you,” while he and Adam held it steady for her. She didn’t need the help, but it was gallant all the same.
After mounting the ladder, she boarded the vessel. The other soldiers who would be accompanying them were already aboard, along with the pilot. The Leering lights in the landing yard lent a bright glow to the scene, almost as if it were daylight. Looking over the side of the zephyr, she saw the other ships readying for the journey and noticed that Stephen still stood below, hands clasped behind his back in a posture that made her think of their father. Of Fitzroy. Her throat tightened.
Then Adam appeared up the rope. He gestured for her to sit down by him on one of the benches, and she did. She felt like a tangled mess of nerves. It was so wonderful to see him again. Yet so painful too. She remembered every word of the letter she’d written him to sever their engagement. At the time, under the sway of the Myriad Ones, she’d meant every word.
“Mr. Cochran,” the captain said, looking up at the pilot. “Take us through the prism cloud. Then give control of the zephyr to Miss Cettie, who will guide us to Genevar.” He turned to Cettie. “We’ve sent word ahead to the Serpentine to rendezvous with us on the way.”