“You are not to leave the palace grounds,” Farah had told Ellina. “I have positioned a brigade of guards on the bridge. They have been instructed to prevent you from crossing it. They will use force, if necessary.” Farah had paused then, waiting for a reply, but when Ellina said nothing Farah merely nodded. “I hope you give them no reason to harm you.”
Farah was not wrong to block the bridge. If she wanted to prevent Ellina’s escape, that was the most obvious path out of the castle.
But not the only.
One morning, Ellina slipped outside. A pair of guards stationed at the palace entrance saw her leave. They exchanged a glance but made no move to stop her. Where, after all, could she possibly go? The bridge was blocked. The castle was surrounded by water. This prison was an isolated island.
It was a half-day’s journey to the base of the mountain. There had been a path here once, crumbled now, huge sections missing where the rock had eroded or fallen away. The trek was exhausting, all rocky hand-holds and unsteady footing. When Ellina finally reached the water, she stood there, staring into the foamy white waves. They roared against the mountain. Saltwater sprayed. Gulls cried and swooped and dove.
Ellina was not a strong swimmer. Her only practice had been in a calm everpool, and as she gazed out across the bay, Ellina knew this water would be different. More dangerous. Deadly, even. But that was not what held her back.
She watched the waves gather and fold. Pound the rock, spray high, retreat. At a glance, the cliffs seemed impenetrable. The water was no match. But Ellina knew how over time the water would wear the rock. The waves would erode it, break it into sand and dust. This brought to mind one of Venick’s lessons. She remembered him leaning over the writing desk, tapping a finger to a page. The force of an attack was not what mattered most, he had said. Planning mattered. Patience and persistence mattered.
Ellina knew she could brave the freezing water and escape. She could do itnow. Once out of the city, she would find Venick and Dourin and continue what they had started. They would form a plan and gather their own soldiers. They would stop her sister and the southerner conjurors. The vision was tantalizing. Painful, even, the way she ached for it.
Or she could stay.
As Ellina stared at the waves and thought of things likepatienceandpersistence, she realized how unique a position she was in. A mole in an enemy’s kingdom. It was a spy’s dream. She could listen and watch and wait. She could gather and relay information about Farah’s plans, her motives, her line of attack. Ellina had observed the southern army. She had seen what the conjurors were capable of. The northern resistance was weaker, but Ellina could tip the coming war in their favor. With the right information, they couldwin.
Ellina would find a way to make contact with the northern resistance. She thought of the everpools, the many secrets of those waters, and a plan began to form. She would pass her information to Dourin. And Venick…
Ellina squinted up into the bright sky. Venick might be a problem. If he ever learned what Ellina had done—that she had joined her sister in exchange for Irek’s safety, that she was planning on risking herselfagain—he would never accept it. Ellina doubted he would care that her position as a spy here was valuable. Venick’s honor would never allow it, especially when he had begged her, again and again, to stop endangering herself for him. If Venick knew what Ellina planned, he would come for her. And then Farah would kill him.
No. Venick could not be allowed to know. For the first time, Ellina thought kindly on the lies she had told in the stateroom. It was better if Venick believed them.
She turned away from the ocean. She barred her heart against the desire to dive into that freezing water and swim until she reached Venick or swim until she drowned. As Ellina climbed the steep rock back up to the palace, she held him in her mind.I am sorry, she said to him.Forgive me, she said to him. One day she would escape. Maybe, one day things would even be righted between them. But not yet. Her position here was a gift, aweapon, and she knew just how to wield it.
