“Danielle!” she said, waving at Lady Oberon like she was having the best time ever. “That dress is so becoming.” And then, hardly missing a beat, said, “I almost cut the bastard’s throat the other day, when he came to see us in the Pit. He was sniffing around Harper, and I’d had enough, but then I heard about this party and couldn’t resist finding out what it was all about.”
Hal all but stopped dancing. “He’s keeping you in the Pit? Women and children in the Pit?”
“Don’t raise your voice, dear. It’s His Majesty’s private little prison. It wasn’t so bad, once we evicted most of the vermin.”
Except for the human vermin, Hal thought. “No killing will be necessary, because we’re getting you out tonight. Now I’d better move on, or people will gossip about Thanelee Matelon, endlessly dancing with someone young enough to be her son.” He stepped back and bowed. She curtsied, and he watched her walk away, cloaked in her usual dignity.
If we survive this, I won’t make the mistake of underestimating her, ever again, he thought.
42
MOTLEY CREW
The rooftop garden at Fellsmarch Castle had been one of Ash’s favorite boyhood haunts. It was planted deep with memories of time spent with his mother in sociable silence, planting, weeding, pruning, and harvesting, in tune with the rhythms of nature. Here he could bask in sunlight all year round, above the politics and drama of life in the capital.
Here he’d read, and dreamed, and grown the herbs and medicinals important to the healing trade.
Now he was back in the garden, planning the impossible with an improbable crew.
They sat in a circle in the garden temple, in the light from the waxing moon. Adrian sul’Han, runaway prince. Evan Strangward, Carthian pirate and weather mage. Sasha Talbot, a member of the queen’s Gray Wolf guard. Finn sul’Mander, wizard and healer. Hadley DeVilliers, wizard and commander of the Fellsian navy. Julianna Barrett, queen’s councillor for intelligence and diplomacy.
He’d hoped to include Rogan Shadow Dancer as well, representing the clans, but he’d left on some mission or other to the upland camps or the coast. That might be just as well. Shadow was a bit of a loose cannon.
They’d all been sworn to secrecy. They all looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.
It was no wonder they’re wary, Ash thought. They don’t know you. He’d been closest to Finn, and even he had become a stranger since they were boyhood friends.
It was his job to win them, and he’d never practiced being charming.
“Thank you for coming,” Ash said. “Once I explain what this is about, each of you is welcome to opt in or opt out, no questions, no hard feelings. I just ask that none of this be shared outside of this circle. Agreed?”
When everyone nodded, he continued. “As you know, my sister Alyssa was taken captive by the empress Celestine of Carthis in an attack on the port of Chalk Cliffs. We assume she’s being held prisoner somewhere in the east. I plan to rescue her.”
Talbot flinched, then pointed at Strangward. “Why is he here?” she said, in her blunt fashion.
“Strangward is a weather mage and a skilled pilot with an intimate knowledge of the Desert Coast. We’ll need him.”
“Huh,” Talbot said. She shifted on the hard temple floor, wrapped her arms around her knees, and fixed the pirate with a suspicious gaze. “What’s in it for you? Why would you risk your life to save our princess?”
“I am here to stop the empress, free my homeland, and save my own skin,” Strangward said. “It seems to me that the best way to do that is to join in on a rescue of the wolf princess.”
“Before we get into the weeds on this, are we sure Lyss isn’t being held in the keep at Chalk Cliffs?” DeVilliers said.
“Corporal Talbot saw her being taken aboard the empress’s flagship just off Chalk Cliffs,” Ash said.
Talbot nodded. “Plus, she left a message on the beach,” she said.
Finn’s head came up. “She did? Before she was carried off, she had time to write a note?”
Talbot reached into her uniform tunic and pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded and refolded many times. Carefully flattening it, she held it up for everyone to see.
AG + BdT
Finn squinted at it. “What does that even mean?” he said.
“Alyssa Gray plus Breon d’Tarvos,” Talbot said.
DeVilliers raised an eyebrow. “The busker?”
Talbot nodded. “Plus, there was an arrow pointing out to sea. That means they were carried off by ship.”
“How do you get that?” Finn said. “That looks more like a lover’s inscription. Saying they ran away together.”
“Well, she didn’t have time to write a whole story,” Talbot said, scowling, folding the paper up again.
“Even if we assume she was alive on the beach, and carried away aboard ship, how do we know that she is still alive?” Julianna said.
“She is,” Talbot said, without hesitation. Then added quickly, “Captain Byrne says so. He says that he would know if the line was broken.”
“Can he tell where she is?” DeVilliers said. “That would help a lot.”
Talbot shook her head. “He says that her bound captain might, if she had one. His primary connection is to Queen Raisa, and now—” She paused, took a breath, and looked down at her hands. “It would help if Lyss had a bound captain of her own.”
The mysterious connection between queens and the captains of the Gray Wolf guard had existed for more than a thousand years. After the magical disaster known as the Breaking, Queen Hanalea the Warrior was the first to take a bound captain, who happened to be a Byrne. Ever since, it had always been a Byrne.
Bound captains were magically compelled to defend the Gray Wolf line at all costs. They had the ability to anticipate threats and counter them, and to track their queens, even over long distances. When Ash’s sister Hana was killed in the borderlands, her bound captain, Simon Byrne, died fighting at her side.
The ritual that bound captain to queen was a closely held secret, known only to the captains, their queens, and the presiding speakers.
“In order to do that, we’d have to involve Captain Byrne,” Ash said. “I can’t imagine that he would approve.”
“He might,” Talbot said. “I’ve been reading up on it in some old texts. The captain’s first allegiance is to the Line, not to an individual queen. In order to save the Line, he might give the go-ahead. Anything we can do to improve our odds, we should do.” Talbot raised her chin, meeting Ash’s eyes unflinchingly.
Hmm, Ash thought. Obviously, she already has a plan. I’m going to have to find out more about this.
Julianna shifted her weight and glanced at Finn, then back at Ash. “Speaking of the queen, has she approved this idea of a rescue mission?”
“No,” Ash said. “I haven’t asked her.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I know it’s unforgivable—to leave again after being gone for so long, especially since she’s so worried about Lyss. It’s a terrible thing to do to my mother. But it’s the right thing to do for the realm. The only way to succeed with this is to launch a quick, surgical strike—in and out before we’re noticed. I’ll understand, though, if that’s a deal-breaker for anyone.”
“How’d you choose us?” DeVilliers said.
“I’m trying to keep this operation secret. Most people in the realm still think I’m dead—nobody will miss me. That’s why I’m not inviting the High Wizard, the captain of the Queen’s Guard, or the general of the army. If they disappear, people will notice, and wonder what they are up to—not to mention the effect their absence would have on the war effort.”
“So we were chosen because we’re unimportant?” DeVilliers said, tilting her head back and looking at him down her nose.
“Unfortunately, some of you are very important,” Ash said, “but you all have skills that we need for success. For instance, you are the best ship’s master this side of the Indio, and Talbot, you’re a member of Lyss’s personal guard, and you know Lyss better than anyone. Finn, you are an academy-trained wizard and apprentice healer, and we’ll need all the firepower we can get against these bloodsworn warriors. If you’re willing to take time away from your new calling.”