The Perilous Sea (The Elemental Trilogy #2)

Perhaps it was good and right that Wintervale came along. If the vortex that sank the Sea Wolf was any indication, his powers put hers to shame. And one needed power of that magnitude to pit oneself against Atlantis.

The sight came back to her again, the ship caught like a leaf in an eddy, powerless to escape. “A maelstrom that dines on ships,” she murmured.

A book appeared on the shelf behind the help desk, which must have thought she wanted something on the subject. She pulled it out and absently flipped a few pages.

It was a travelogue written by a mage who sailed with a group of friends from the Domain to Atlantis, to witness the demolition of a floating hotel that had been condemned.



On the way into the Bay of Lucidias, we passed near the Atlantean maelstrom, a sight at once terrifying and awe-inspiring. In diameter it was nearly ten miles across, the dark waters churning ceaselessly around a funnel-like center. Overhead circled chariots and riders on pegasi—this phenomenon is as novel and jaw-dropping for Atlanteans as it is for the tourists. And though much of the country is dirt poor, the elites still possess enough beast-power to make the fifty-mile trip from the coast.

No one knows how the vortex came to be. One day it was not there, the next it was. My friends declare it as remarkable a sight as the shifting peaks of the Labyrinthine Mountains, and I must agree.



She looked at the front of the book. It was published in YD 853, almost a hundred and eighty years ago. She knew that the stylized whirlpool that was the Atlantean symbol represented a real maelstrom not far from the island, but she did not know that the maelstrom hadn’t always been there.

Interesting, but she had come with a different purpose in mind. She put the book back. “Show me everything with this sentence inside: Oysters give pearls, but only if you are armed with a knife and willing to use it.”

The travelogue disappeared, to be replaced by hundreds of editions of Argonin’s plays.

She modified her command. “Everything that is not a play.”

Still too many books left. “Take away the textbooks and the books of quotation.”

Three books remained. First, perhaps unsurprisingly, was Master Haywood’s dissertation. The line was on the final page, with no context or explanations.

The next was the annual compilation of The Delamer Observer for YD 1007, six years before Iolanthe was born. The article that contained the quote had for its subject the fancy-dress ball held to celebrate the tricentennial of Argonin’s birth—and to mark the start of a year of revival of his plays, major and minor.



Most guests came dressed as better-known Argonin characters. A fair number arrived as Argonin themselves—it is always a surprise to some that Argonin was not one, but two writers, a husband-and-wife team. And one young lady, who did not want us to use her name or image, as she was a minor in attendance without permission, rather scandalized in an oyster costume that opened to reveal a large, luminous pearl; together with her friend, who carried a raffish cutlass, they formed a visualization of her favorite Argonin line, “Oysters give pearls, but only if you are armed with a knife and willing to use it.”



The last was a feature in the official publication of the Domain’s premier school for the training of military officers. Five cadets were featured as the year’s most promising graduates.

And the Argonin line was given as the favorite quote of a cadet by the name of Penelope Rainstone.

Iolanthe’s heart thumped. Who was Penelope Rainstone?

Her question was easily answered by the resources in the reading room: Penelope Rainstone was the regent’s chief security adviser, specializing in external threats to the Domain.

Iolanthe went back to the original article, which painted a glowing portrait of the young Commander Rainstone’s loyalty, brilliance, and perseverance. It would seem she had the makings of a perfect soldier, but then in the interview section, when she was asked whether she would ever break rules, she said, I enjoy order and orderliness as much as the next soldier. But we must remember, rules and regulations are often made for peacetime and typical conditions, whereas we, the future officers of the Domain’s security forces, are being trained for war and chaos. In extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary decisions must be made.

In other words, should the need arise, she would not hesitate to break every rule in the book.

Iolanthe’s hands clutched the edge of the table. But there was nothing to do but ask the help desk the next logical question. “Show me everything you have of Horatio Haywood and Penelope Rainstone together.”

And there they were, in a special supplementary section to The Delamer Observer, posing together at a reception held at the Citadel, for the year’s top upper academy graduates from across the Domain.

The caption read,