Astrid explained Rylka’s scheme. “But Desiderio and I just wrecked her Plan A,” she finished, “so she’s working on Plan B: executing us. She’ll never allow us to get near Ragnar. I’m sure her soldiers have orders to shoot us on sight.”
“That’s why we’re here, Uncle Ludo,” Desiderio said. “We need currensea and supplies. We’re going to head to the Kargjord. Serafina’s there. She’s building up an army against Vallerio.”
“Sera’s alive?” Ludo said. Tears of happiness shone in his eyes. I thought she was dead, Des, and that you soon would be. And now you’ve both been given back to me.” He pulled his nephew into another embrace.
“Look, this isn’t the time or the place for a family reunion,” Astrid said urgently. “We’ve got to go. But before we do, can you do something for me?”
She looked around Ludo’s foyer for what she needed. Her eyes traveled over fine furniture, portraits, swords mounted on the walls, and finally came to rest on a glass urn filled with shells. She ripped its lid off and dumped out its contents.
“What are you doing?” Ludo asked.
Astrid didn’t answer. She took a few seconds to steel herself against the pain, then touched her fingers to her chest and drew a handful of bloodsongs, all at once. None of the memories was old; all were painful to pull.
Astrid whirled the red skeins together before they could fade in the water, and stuffed them into the urn. Gasping with pain, she clapped on the lid and held the urn up to the light so she could see what she had. Then she swore under her breath. They weren’t all there.
She touched her chest again and wrenched out more bloodsongs—one was from the River Olt, another from the convoca with Sera. The pain was awful. By the time she’d added those memories to the ones already in the urn, her face was white.
So was Ludo’s.
He’d seen the bloodsongs, too. He’d seen Serafina tell Astrid and the other mermaids in the convoca that it was Vallerio who’d had Isabella assassinated.
“My brother…our brother,” he said in a broken voice. “How could he do it? How could he kill our sister?” He faltered and had to steady himself against a wall.
Des took his arm and led him into a nearby chair. “Easy, Uncle Ludo,” he said. “Take a deep breath.”
Astrid set the urn on a table. “I’m sorry you had to find out about Vallerio like this,” she said, bending down to him.
Ludo made a visible effort to collect himself, then patted her hand. “You owe me no apologies, Astrid. You saved my nephew’s life.”
“Can you get the urn to Eyv?r?” Astrid asked. “Have her send for Ragnar. The bloodsongs will show them the truth.”
Ludo nodded. A bit of color had come back into his cheeks. He rose, pulling Astrid up with him. “I’ll get the urn to Eyv?r,” he said, carefully stowing it in a cabinet. “I’ll deal with that viper, Vallerio, too. But first, I’ve got to get you both out of here.” There was a closet off the foyer. He yanked its door open and said, “Find warm things for the trip. Take whatever you need. I’ll be right back.”
He hurried off down a hallway, disappearing through a pair of double doors. A few minutes later, as Astrid and Des were buttoning up some seal-fur parkas, he returned with a bulging pair of panniers.
“I’ve stuffed them with everything I could find in our kitchen. You should be good for a week. There’s currensea in there, too, as well as a compass, a map, and two daggers.” He handed the bags to Astrid, then swam to a wall and took down two swords sheathed in scabbards. “You’ll need these, also,” he said, giving them to Desiderio. “You couldn’t fight off a guppy with those things,” he added, nodding at the antique sabers Astrid and Des still carried.
“Thank you, Uncle Ludo. Can you spare us two hippokamps?” asked Desiderio. “We’ve got to put some serious distance between ourselves and Rylka.”
Ludo shook his head. “All I’ve got right now are foals and their mothers, and a lame gelding.”
Astrid’s heart sank. They didn’t have a prayer of outswimming Rylka’s soldiers without good strong animals under them.
“But I do have Elskan. I was supposed to deliver her to the palace tomorrow. She’s fast as lightning,” Ludo said, smiling grimly. “And every bit as deadly.”
“Elskan?” Astrid said, her eyes widening with alarm. “You mean—”
Ludo nodded. “The same Elskan your father bought for your mother before he got sick.” He put his hands on his hips and looked Astrid up and down. “You’re pretty good on a hippokamp,” he said. “Think you can handle an orca?”
THE YOUNG KILLER whale spun around furiously, slamming her powerful tail into the front of her stall.
“Nobody rides these things, Ludo,” Astrid said, nervously eyeing her. “Nobody but lunatics. And my mother.”
“You’re a good rider, Astrid. I’ve seen you. Almost as good as Eyv?r.
“Almost won’t count for much when I’m dead,” Astrid said.
“The important thing is to let her know who’s in charge,” Ludo counseled.