“And don’t you forget it.”
The door opened. Kai cleared his throat meaningfully, and Arcus turned back to the window, shutting out everything but his own private thoughts. I stepped from the room.
As the guard relocked the door, I was filled with nearly frightening resolve: I would take my initiation vows, find the book, and free Arcus.
I would free him if it took my own life to do it.
TWENTY-TWO
IN THE DARKEST HOURS OF NIGHT, I snuck out of the castle by the servants’ entrance, used the guards’ shift change to slip past, and hurried to the wharf. I checked the tavern first, and when I didn’t find Jaro there, I headed to the seventh pier. A few sailors lingered, some working on their boats, some sitting in small groups drinking. Jaro sat alone, legs folded under him on the dock as he repaired a frayed coil of rope.
“Don’t you ever get enough of that?” I teased. “Canoodling with ropes?”
He grinned and looked up. “This is what I do when I can’t sleep.” He nodded to the east. “I feel a storm brewing—a day or two off, but still, it makes me edgy.”
I hesitated briefly, then told him what I needed. Jaro knew the exact bay I’d described, but when I told him he had to keep the trip a secret, his eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Water lapped at the docks in a soothing rhythm. “The less you know, the better.”
“Does Prince Kai know about this?”
“No, and you can’t tell him. I’m meeting someone and Kai won’t like it.”
Jaro folded his arms. “I’m not taking you unless you tell me who you’re going to meet.”
I took a breath. This was a huge leap of faith, but something told me Jaro could be trusted. I lowered my voice and whispered the essential facts.
He stood and glared, gesturing angrily. “What you ask is treason!”
“Shh.” I glanced around nervously. “I wouldn’t involve you if there were any other choice. I’m trying to prevent a war. Don’t you think that’s a good enough reason to bend the rules?”
“Bend them? You mean to break them into tiny pieces and set them ablaze!”
“True. But only to prevent a much larger catastrophe. Do you want to see your kingdom go to war with Tempesia? I can help prevent that. I just need your help this one last time and I won’t ask again.”
His lips were pressed so tightly together, they’d almost disappeared. He grimaced and looked away. Then he sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging, and my tense muscles unwound. I knew he was going to agree.
Without speaking, he threw off the lines of a small boat that bobbed against the dock. The smell of fish overpowered my senses as we pushed off. He piloted the tiny, single-sail craft in his effortless way, his beefy hands wrapped lightly over the tiller, while I watched the ambient light of cooking fires and lanterns casting moving reflections on the breakers. The moon played hide-and-seek behind clouds, flitting out now and again to lay bands of silver over the waves and shore.
On the eastern side of the island, Jaro steered the boat into the small, forest-wrapped harbor where an anchored ship threw its shadow over the moonlit water. Our little craft sidled up to the massive hull.
“Gamut,” I said just above a whisper. It was the password Arcus had given me, and it warmed my soul that it happened to be the name of one of my favorite people: the healer monk from Forwind Abbey.
“Who is it?” a voice whispered back.
“Tell Marella that Ruby is here to see her.”
Quiet footsteps led away, and then back. “Come aboard.”
A rope ladder knocked against the hull. I climbed to the deck. No lanterns were lit. Moonlight picked at the dark spines of the masts and the horizontal ribs of the yards, the furled sails bound tight like muscle on bone.
The planking rumbled with the approach of running feet. I spun around just before a small whirlwind collided with my stomach.
“Oof.” My hand came out automatically and landed on a tangle of braids. Two thickly lashed eyes blinked up at me above a mouthful of white teeth.
“Kaitryn?” It was little more than a gasp.
The girl’s excited voice chirped out of the dark as she stepped back. “Hooray! We’ve got you! Now we can sail home again!”
“What—”
“Not that I mind living on the ship. Square meals and my own hammock. But now that we got you, I suppose we’ll be leaving.”
“But how did you end up on this ship?”
“After I saw you, I started thinking about what you said, how I might find life on a ship better than life on the streets. There was a call for ship’s boys or girls on the docks at Tevros. I didn’t think I’d get a spot, but somehow Lady Marella—the one who was choosing us—thought I looked more trustworthy than the rest.”
“And was she right?”
She planted her small fists on her hips. “I haven’t stolen anything since I’ve been on board, and there are plenty of marks to choose from. There are barons and warriors aboard, did you know? Anyway, I listen at the captain’s door sometimes and that’s how I knew we were coming to get you.”
A quiet “hmph” came from somewhere in the dark. “Kaitryn, I don’t know how you can hear anything when you’re always talking.” There was a swish of skirts and the blur of a slim figure moving closer.
“Doreena?”
“It’s me, Lady Ruby.”
I stepped forward and hugged her, forgetting about my heat until she gasped. I let her go quickly. “Sorry. I’m just so surprised to see you! What are you doing here?”
“When King Arkanus was rounding up some warriors to come along, I heard word of it and begged him to let me come, too. I wanted to do everything I could to help you.”
I laughed delightedly. “I can’t believe it. How is your adventure so far?”
“I don’t like the storms, but the rest I’ve become accustomed to. I’m so glad to see you’re well.”
“I am, but I need to speak to Marella. Where is she?”
“She’s sick,” said Kaitryn. “We’re not to wake her.”
I turned to Doreena. “It’s true,” she confirmed. “It’s best we don’t bother her.”
“It doesn’t matter if she’s ill,” I said. “I need to talk to her.”
Doreena hesitated, then nodded and gestured toward the steps leading to the cabins. “Second door.”
As I crossed the deck and took the stairs down to the cabins, the calm swells of the bay nudged the hull, making the planking creak softly. I knocked on the door of the second cabin and, when I heard no reply, turned the knob and stepped in. As I crossed the threshold, a clench of prickly nausea rippled through me. Most likely just a memory of my first hours on Kai’s ship when I’d been too sick to see straight. This cabin was similar, after all: bed bolted to the floor, table, chest, wardrobe, washbasin, oil lamp turned low. It was dim enough that it took a second to notice the slight bump of a motionless figure lying on her back in the bed, her face chalky and angular.
“Marella,” I said in horror. “What happened to you?”
She chuckled, but it was a wan imitation of her usual breezy laugh. “Nice to see you, too, Ruby.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Of course it’s good to see you, Marella. And I’m so grateful you came all this way for me.”
“I’ve lost some weight, haven’t I?”
“I heard you were ill, but…” I moved to the bedside. Her cheeks were sunken, her waxen skin oiled with a sheen of sweat. Her lovely wheat-gold hair was lank and plastered to her head.
She swallowed and gestured to the pitcher. I poured some water and she took the cup and drank. “Thank you. Ugh, I’m so parched all the time.” She gave me the empty cup and I returned it to the table. “Sea travel disagrees with me. Violently.”
“My seasickness only lasted a day. I didn’t know it could be this bad. Shouldn’t it improve now that you’re anchored?”