Elam smiled. “That may well be, Dev,” he said. “But I still have faith in miracles.”
Another several silent minutes passed, and then the dining room door opened to reveal Lian, bloodied to her elbows. Her face was streaked with tears. “I’ve—I’ve done all that I know to do,” she said, her voice quaking. She didn’t say anything more. The look on her face made the rest clear.
Wince was standing in a pool of blood. He wasn’t sure whose blood it was. There were a number of corpses strewn about the floor. The blood might have belonged to one of the Amber Mew’s sailors who had stumbled out, wounded but still breathing. The blood might have belonged to the pirate captain himself—Gemma had done a number on him, even before she’d gotten him outside, and Queen Isbit had brought more of him back in with her. And goddess knew that the blood might be Gemma’s.
As far as Wince could see, he and Tollan were standing in the middle of the only conscious members of Yigrisian society, every damned one of whom was loyal to the woman bleeding out in the private dining room. If Under took it upon themselves to riot, he had to figure out a way to keep Tollan safe. He wasn’t sure that the two of them could sail the Heart’s Desire on their own, but to Wince’s mind, that was the smartest, safest route out of this tinderbox.
He glanced to the side and saw Queen Isbit’s eyes glittering with anticipation. He sighed, turning away from the animal desire she exhibited as she waited for Lian’s word. It was clear to Wince that no matter what happened to Gemma, Queen Isbit had things positioned right where she wanted them. A shudder ran through him, his hands clammy with nerves.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement by the inn’s front door. He moved toward it just as a heartbroken wail came out from the dining room. The cries of everyone in the room created a song of grief in rounds, and Wince was the only one who saw two things: the look on Isbit’s face and the little girl who’d just slipped into the tavern.
She held her hands up in front of her in surrender. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “I’m looking for my Papa. I’m here to help.”
If Gemma never again woke up in a room she didn’t recognize, it would be too soon. She rolled onto her side, groggy, and felt wetness upon her legs and thighs. She struggled to sit up, but strong hands were suddenly on her shoulders. “Shhh,” Devery whispered into her ear. “Don’t move too quickly.”
She was finally able to focus on his face, and what she saw there drew her up short. He was pale and haggard, his eyes red rimmed, his face both tear stained and blood spattered. As she met his gaze, a sob slipped from between his lips, and he clutched her to him. “Aegos, Gem. I thought I’d lost you.”
Trying to get her bearings, she looked around the room. She was on a long dining table. Towels and rags and blankets lay beneath her, all soaked in blood. She was naked to the waist, and the hem of her shirt was blood soaked, too. Devery was with her, and against the wall was his daughter, Katya.
“What’s going on?” Gemma asked.
Devery sat down on the edge of the table. He looked down at her with so much love that she averted her gaze. “You were dying,” he said, “maybe even dead. I don’t know. A piece of the baby was lodged in your womb, and you were losing blood. Lian fished it out, but …” His shoulders began to tremble.
Gemma looked at the girl who was staring at her own feet. Katya’s right hand was stained with blood. Gemma suddenly knew what had happened. Now that she was aware of it, she could feel the mage work running through her. “Come here, Katy,” she said softly.
Gemma lifted the bloody hem of her shirt to reveal a small handprint atop her navel, around which lay an intricate mage mark burned into her skin. “You saved me.” She couldn’t think of the right words to say. Her heart was full of gratitude and awe. Gemma brushed her fingers along the white streak in Katya’s hair. “Thank you, mite.”
“You’re not angry with me?” Katya asked.
Gemma laughed before she could help herself. “Why would I be angry? You saved my life.”
“I mean about before. Because of the fires. I was only trying to keep Under safe. Aunt Elsha was going to trap you all and have you killed. I added the fire so she couldn’t get to you, but I thought you’d be angry if …” Katya stared at her feet.
“You did all that?” Gemma stared at this child of the man she loved. She had always seen the potential in Katya—but this was something different. Suddenly, the idea of a mage queen leading Under struck Gemma like a runaway cart. Katya was a gift she could give Yigris, more than any heir she could produce. “You’re perfect, Katy,” she said, smiling.
Gemma sighed as she wrapped Katya in a hug. She was sure she was smearing blood all over the girl’s pretty dress, but she didn’t care. “Now you listen close, mite,” she said. “What you did saved people’s lives. You saved Yigris, you saved the Guild, and you saved me. So that makes you the heroine of three of my favorite things.”
Katya looked up at her and grinned crookedly, but her smile quickly faded. “Aunt Elsha said she’s going to kill you and Papa. Grandmother said that you ruined him, and Aunt Elsha’s going to have to kill you both so that she can destroy Under forever. Grandmother wants me to go with her to the palace with Aunt Elsha and be queens and make Yigris suffer for what it’s done to us. She said Yigris will be a new Vaga with three mage queens. But I …” She looked at Devery. “Papa, I don’t want to be a queen, and I don’t want to make people suffer. I don’t want you to …” She started to cry, and Devery picked her up.
“It’s all right, Katy. Nothing bad is going to happen to me or to Gemma. I won’t let it, and I know you won’t, either. You traveled all the way across the city to protect us. You’re as brave as the Queen of Under herself.” He smiled gently at Gemma, but his eyes were sad.
Katya threw her arms around his neck. Then Devery said, “But I need you to be a little braver, still.”
Katya drew away from him.
“I need you to go back to your grandmother before she discovers that you’ve sneaked away. If she finds out you’re gone, she’ll tear the city apart looking for you. All of the people you saved will be in danger again. You have to keep pretending just a little longer.”
The girl’s bottom lip poked out, but then she nodded, trembling. “And then we can be together as a family? You promised. You said that you and me and Gemma would be a family.”
Devery’s face was awash with emotion as he looked at Gemma and then back at Katya. “That’s not up to me, Katy. We need to give Gemma some time to understand everything that’s happened.”
Katya wriggled free of Devery’s grasp and threw her arms around Gemma. “I’ll be a good girl!” she said earnestly. “I’ll help with chores, and I’ll be quiet, and I’ll—”
Gemma laughed and kissed her on the cheek, squeezing her tightly. “It’s been a pretty full few days, mite. I have a lot to think about, but … I love you, and I’d …” She looked up at Devery, whose face had gone stark and still. She sighed. “I’d like nothing better than to be a family.”
Katya met her gaze with utter seriousness, and a shudder ran through Gemma. She felt as if the little girl were weighing her sincerity. “I love you,” Gemma said, putting all of her hopes and fears and weaknesses into those three words. It was the truth, but as with all truths, it was bigger than any words could contain.
Devery stared at her, his blue eyes wide with disbelief. She shrugged. “We’ll figure it out,” she whispered. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he nodded.
The little girl squealed, wiggled loose from Gemma’s grasp and hugged Devery’s waist as he stood and tried to hush her. “All right, Katy. You said that Grandmother is planning for you both to go to the palace. When will you go?”