“It wouldn’t be this warm in Kandala,” I say.
“It would be in Sunkeep,” he says. “We’ll have to ask Rian for some maps. I want to know where we are in relation to the other islands.”
Maps, I think, adding that to my list of things to ask for.Check.
“I know you don’t want to betray the king,” I say, “but is there anything you can tell me that might give me alittleleverage over Rian? Anything that might help us negotiate a way to get back?”
“I can tell you everything I remember about what Rian told King Harristan and Prince Corrick about Ostriary. Again, I don’t get the sense that he lied about very much at all. He claimed that decades ago, Ostriary and Kandala were engaged in the trade of steel and lumber, but that went sour, causing a rift between the countries.” He frowns a little, thinking. “That would’ve been under the reign of King Harristan’s grandfather, I believe. But six years ago, Kandalamusthave sent spies here, because Rian did have official documents from King Lucas naming the real Captain Blake-more as acting with the full authority of the king. The original Captain Blakemore was real—he just wasn’t Rian.”
I put a finger to my lips. “I remember on the night he arrived, Arella and Roydan came to talk to Corrick about discovering the names of unfamiliar cities among the shipping logs from Trader’sLanding. Those cities turned out to be the islands here. They said it wasn’t just steel and lumber, but explosives, too.”
“Yes. Between that and records from the docks in Artis, the king was able to confirm much of his story. It’s the only reason we came at all. During his first meeting with the king and the prince, Rian said that Kandala attacked and destroyed Ostrian ships after a deal went sour. He said that views of Kandalan royalty were not favorable here in Ostriary—to the point that some people were wary of a new agreement. They’d seen the damage Kandala had caused, and they didn’t trust our king. I believe Lieutenant Tagas was the one who spoke about it most earnestly. She said she was a girl at the time, and she watched the ships burn.”
Unlike my feelings for Rian, I don’t have much animosity toward his lieutenant. I remember Gwyn Tagas telling me about the way Rian sailed along the shores of the Ostrian islands, looking for survivors during their war. I imagine her telling Harristan about attacks on Ostrian ships, and I suspect she probablywasvery earnest.
I can also imagine it having a massive impact on the king. Many people in Kandala think Harristan is cold and distant, but he’s not at all. He always seems to feel the plight of his people so acutely.
I look at Erik, and the striking blue and purple of his guard uniform helps to remind me that I need to start thinking of him as Rocco again. “I bet King Harristan didn’t like the idea that Kandala might have been the aggressor,” I say.
He glances back at me. “No. He didn’t.”
I chew on that for a while. My thoughts keep burning with rage against Rian, but I try to push some of that away, because it’s not allowing me to think clearly.
And as soon as I tamp down some of that fire, I realize something else. “If everyone here thought Kandala was ruled by a vicious king who burned their ships and attacked their people over a bad trade agreement, Rian must have seen Harristan and Corrick as the enemy. No wonder he didn’t want to risk leading warships back.”
Rocco nods. “No wonder.”
But now I’ve found a thread to chase—and I kind of hate where it leads me. “No wonder he lied about his identityat all.” I make an aggravated sound. “No wonder he hated Corrick.”
Rocco says nothing to that.
I heave a sigh. “But you’re right. He must need steel very badly if he was willing to risk so much.”
“I agree, so that might be all the leverage you need.” Rocco looks up and around. “They have plenty of trees for lumber, but it’s possible they have few mines for iron ore here. Nothing like Trader’s Landing and Mosswell. They might need Kandalan steamships to transport it, too. Steel is heavy. I don’t know what kind of naval fleet they have left after their war, but Rian wouldn’t have sailed theDawn Chaserif he had access to more impressive vessels—and his ship wouldn’t have been able to manage much.”
“Well, those brigantines that were chasing ussank.”
“Yes, because they didn’t know the waters through Chaos Isle. Rian did. Another reason I need his maps in case we can find a way home.”
I peer up at him in the sunlight. “Why did you become a guardsman if your family was all sailors?”
He shrugs. “Same story you’ll hear from a hundred other men, probably. I didn’t want to do what my father kept telling me to do.” He glances over, smiling a little fondly. “Josef—my brother—saysthat I’m a fool for defying our father just to follow someoneelse’sorders. I tell him I’m actually brilliant because now I get paid for it.”
That makes me smile. “How long have you been doing it?”
“Six years now? Almost seven. I didn’t set out to join the palace guard in the beginning. I don’t think it would have even occurred to me. Far too grand for a sailor out of Sunkeep. I wanted to become a patrolman, so I did that for a year or so.”
Those words give me a jolt, and I nearly whip my head around. “You were a patrolman? In the night patrol?”
Rocco nods. “The guard captain doesn’t take raw recruits right into the palace, so he scouts the night patrol when he needs new guards. Sometimes the army, too. My name was offered, so I applied, and here I am.”
I’m staring at him.
“What?” he says.
“I just . . . ?I never thought about you being in the night patrol.”
My voice sounds hollow, and I have to fix my eyes back on the path, listening to my booted feet crunch with every step. My heart keeps thrumming in my chest. The night patrol killed my parents. I’ve hated them ever since I watched it happen. I know Rocco couldn’t have been involved, not if he was a patrolman that long ago. But still. This feels like discovering he used to kick puppies or steal from children.
