She turned, seeing Ship Lord Ell-Nurin approaching along the wharf with a purposeful stride, flanked by at least twenty armed sailors. He stopped a few yards short as the sailors fanned out on either side and the three men closed in protectively about the women.
“Belorath was slow in relating all details of your voyage,” the Ship Lord said. “Including your remarkable facility for Keschet. Traver Hultin liked Keschet too and he did deal mostly in silks, but he smuggled tea and his daughter was fat. Also he rarely shut up about his single visit to the palace, how he had met the King’s daughter and been greatly impressed with her knowledge of his favourite game, though he was a rather poor player as I recall.”
Ell-Nurin dropped to one knee, keeping his gaze fixed on her face. “On behalf of the Ship Lords’ Council, I bid you welcome to the Meldenean Isles, Highness.”
They put her in a well-appointed room on the topmost floor of a tall building overlooking the harbour. Iltis had stepped forward to prevent her being taken, Harvin and Benten close behind, but she put a firm hand on his chest. “No, brother.”
“Is it true?” he asked her in a whisper, eyes tracking over her face. “Highness?”
She patted his broad chest and smiled. “Don’t linger here. Take the others and go, far away like Murel said. Think of it as my first and last royal command.”
They left her alone for four days. Servants brought food, bowing and leaving without a word. Later, equally silent maids brought dresses. They were fine but simple, the colours muted. Suitable for an execution? she wondered.
Ship Lord Ell-Nurin arrived on the evening of the fourth day as the harbour lights came to life below her, the multiple god-crowned towers of the city fading to dim grey spear-points. The Ship Lord came alone, bowing low once again, face absent of humour or false respect, something she found stirred her gratitude.
“You have everything you require, Highness?” he asked.
“Save my freedom.”
“A salient matter we’ll get to shortly. I thought you might like to know your subjects refused to leave. They were offered passage to the Realm in accordance with our agreement but steadfastly declined to take it.”
“They are unharmed I trust.”
“We quartered them downstairs, quite unmolested I assure you.” He rose and went to the veranda, standing aside and indicating for her to join him. They stood regarding the darkening city for a time, Ell-Nurin’s eyes frequently returning to her face. After a moment she took the scarf from her head and stepped closer to him, angling her head to display the full spectacle. “Please, my lord. Feel free to take a good long look.”
“My . . . apologies,” he said as she stepped back, tying the scarf back into place. “I merely wished to confirm . . .” He paused, grimacing in discomfort. “I saw you once. It was after the war, you came to the Varinshold docks to present rewards to one of your brother’s ships, returned from a long exploration of some kind.”
“The Swift Wing,” she recalled. “The first Realm vessel to sail as far as the southern ice wall, though it took them five years to do it.”
“An impressive feat, but one accomplished by Meldenean sailors near twenty years ago.” He turned back to the city as more and more lights appeared in the blocky mass of shadows. “How do you like the view?”
“A pretty place.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “You’re about to tell me about my father’s terrible crime and the greatness displayed by your people in building beauty from the ashes of destruction.”
“Tales of your perception are clearly not exaggerated. However, I was also going to ask if you could offer any reasonable explanation as to why he did it.”
“Your raids were becoming more than a nuisance,” Lyrna said simply. “He couldn’t afford the Realm’s trade to be adversely affected, not with a long-dreamt-of war to plan.”
“So he was planning it even then? Our city was burned to the ground in service to a war not destined to take place for over a decade?”
“I suspect he had it planned before he even finished building the Realm. It was the glorious summit of his reign.”
“Utter defeat was glorious?”
Utter defeat was the point. “A young man’s dream turned into an old man’s desperate gamble. Perhaps, my lord, you would do me the courtesy of answering a question of mine. Just how did he persuade the Ship Lords to carry his army to the empire’s shores?”
“A lot of gold, a ship-load of bluestone and a promise: Untesh was to be ours when the war was won. One of the richest ports in the Erinean given over to the Isles. The Council thought it worth the risk, plus if it failed, they would have the pleasure of witnessing the ruin of the army that destroyed this city. All decisions taken before I secured my own Lordship, I hasten to add.”
He remained silent for a time, his foxlike face drawn with a mix of sadness and worry. “Will you fight?” Lyrna asked.
“What choice do we have?”
“Several. The Isles are rich in ships. Gather your people and flee, find refuge in Alpiran lands. The Emperor may be willing to forgive past indiscretions in return for such a sizeable and capable fleet. Or sail far away to a new land. The crew of the Swift Wing spoke of vast tracts of empty coastline in southern waters. It was one of my brother’s more lofty ambitions to send settlers there, if ever the treasury could yield enough coin to fund it.”
“Is that what you’ll tell your people when you return home? Leave the land of your fathers and just run away?”
“Does that mean you intend to release me?”
“The time when we could be select in our allies is past. Since your father’s crime we have not been idle, knowing that sound intelligence is the best defence, we sent spies to every port in the known world.”
“Hence Captain Belorath’s mission to capture the encoded book.”
“Quite. It was not easy placing an agent so close to the Council-man’s son. Luckily his greed worked to our advantage. We’ve also long maintained spies in your Realm, though I’m sure this is no surprise to you. They tell us the Volarian campaign is far from complete. Alltor still holds out against siege, slavers are afraid to journey beyond Varinshold’s walls and their armies find burnt crops, dead livestock and spoiled wells everywhere they tread. It seems you may still have some kind of Realm to return to, Highness. Though I can’t say for how much longer.”
“Then return me there. When I’ve won back my Realm our strength is yours. You have my word.”
“And I believe it, but it seems time is our enemy.” He took a small roll of thin paper from his sleeve, holding it out to her. Another code, simpler than the Volarian cypher.
“VF sailed from Varinshold,” she read.
“A pigeon brought it this afternoon. We have spies, as I said. It was dispatched two days ago.”
VF: Volarian Fleet. “How long until they arrive?” she asked.
“With a fair wind, two weeks.”
“My lord, if there was anything I could do . . .”
“There is, Highness.” His gaze was fierce with conviction. “You can redeem your father’s crime and give these islands its Shield back.”
“So that’s the Wensel Isle,” Harvin said, peering at the small outcrop of rock rising from the waves a half mile distant. “Doesn’t look like much.”
“Show some respect,” Iltis snapped. “You are privileged to look upon the birthplace of the Faith.”
“Not quite, brother,” Lyrna said. “Merely the site where the first catechisms were penned.”
Iltis bowed in contrition. “Quite so. Forgive me, my Queen.”
Stop doing that, she wanted to say, finding she much preferred his less-awed self. They had all begun to act much the same way since her identity became known. Murel was the worst, so stuttering and tongue-tied Lyrna felt tempted to slap her.
“I can’t see anything,” the girl said, leaning against the rail and peering at the rock.
“The Order House is carved into the rock,” Iltis explained. “The oldest in the Faith’s history and vault of the original catechisms. Even the Meldeneans respect its sacredness and leave the brothers in peace.”
The Sea Sabre had weighed anchor after a two-day voyage from the Isles, the seas had been kind up until this morning when the waves began to rise as they approached the Wensel Isle. Captain Belorath had advised that the waters surrounding the Isle were ever troubled, so many hidden reefs and conflicting currents making it a notoriously difficult channel to navigate. Is that why he chose it? Lyrna wondered, watching the waves crash against the rocky mound. Less chance of visitors.
Belorath strode up to her and bowed. “The boat is ready, Highness.”
“Thank you, Captain. The other matter we discussed?”
He nodded and beckoned to one of the crew who brought a canvas bundle and a small wooden chest, placing them at Lyrna’s feet with a clumsy attempt at a bow. Lyrna raised her gaze to the five people with whom she had suffered so much, realising any chance of friendship was lost for good. It had always been this way. Such things are not for us, Lyrna, her father had said as she watched the other children of the court run and play and laugh. We are not them and they are not us. They serve, we command and in commanding serve them in turn.
