For a moment, the man’s voice becomes too soft to hear. There’s a faint ringing in my ears as I imagine Valoria on the brink of death. Valoria, hurt and scared in the face of a Shade’s unrelenting hunger, the way Evander once was.
Digging my nails into my palm, I force myself to refocus on the conversation.
“...the details aren’t exactly clear, mind, as I heard all this from my second cousin who works as a lady-in-waiting for Queen Jasira,” the man says proudly, his chest swelling a bit. “Karthia’s new queen sent ours a message just yesterday, asking for help in sending a distress call to her missing friends. But the best part ishowshe sent the message. Want to know?”
His soldier friend nods, looking stunned. “I... suppose...”
“A metal bird with working wings that took it all the way across the sea!” The man grins. “I just hope this new Karthian queen lives long enough to make an appearance over here. I’d like to shake the hand of anyone who can make metal creatures strong enough to fly over the sea. That’s a fine mind.”
“Not likely.” The soldier scoffs, shaking her head. “You knowwhat they say...” She lowers her voice to a whisper after casting a furtive glance at Kasmira and the crew. “Getting a Karthian to change is harder than teaching rocks to dance. This new queen isn’t the leader they’re used to, which means she doesn’t stand a chance at living out the year.”
I dig my nails harder into my palms, fighting the urge to screamshut up shut up shut upas more images of a bloodied Valoria clutched in a Shade’s claws flash through my mind. She must really be in danger to have sent a distress call—I doubt that’s how she wanted to introduce herself to the world.
“Karthians are impossible,” the soldier’s companion agrees in hushed tones, disappearing momentarily into his ale. “This queen had better hope the Ezorans don’t get wind of her troubles, or soon she’ll be fighting them off along with her own people. What a mess.”
A chill sweeps through me. The man is right. The Ezorans getting wind of Karthia’s new queen could mean trouble, and theydefinitelyknow, thanks to that loudmouthed sailor from theParadisegossiping at the tavern in Lyris. The Ezoran woman who was there that night, watching from the shadows, even heard me confirm it.
The man pushes away his glass and stands. “Queen Jasira’s delegate should be contacting the Karthian ship captain with the message tomorrow, but since she’s here, and I’m here...” He shrugs. “Might as well pass along the news myself, right?”
“Don’t bother,” I tell the man swiftly as I stride past him. “I heard everything.”
Rushing toward Kasmira, I kick someone’s discarded trousers out of my way in my haste to reach her. We have to go to Valoria. Now. We can worry about the possibility of the Ezorans setting their sights on Karthia later.
If there are mages working against our queen, aiding in a brewing rebellion, she needs the strongest and best at her side to stop them. Ordinary guards will only suffice against ordinary dangers. I was King Wylding’s prized necromancer, and while Jax and Simeon are smart and strong as can be, I’m the only necromancer close to Valoria who’s killed a Shade. Make that several. And Kasmira... I used to think she was the strongest weather worker in Grenwyr, but after seeing her handle a storm created by several of her fellow mages, I’m sure of it. She might be the strongest in all of Karthia. Valoria already has the best healer at her side—our friend Danial—but she needs more than that. She needs her most capable mages to fight for her with the power and control we’ve worked so hard to master.
“Sparrow!” Swaying like we’re back in rough seas, Kasmira throws an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. “Dvora and I have a bet going. Suppose I can—?”
“Valoria’s been attacked by a Shade!” I cut across her, my mouth going dry. “Shade-baiters did it on purpose, just like—just like before.” I swallow hard, thinking of the massacre Hadrien and his pet necromancer Vane caused in a similar fashion. “She was hurt badly, from the sound of things, and worse, there’s a rebellion forming against her. We have to go—” My tongue sticks on the wordhome, so I amend, “To Karthia.”
My words seem to have a sobering effect on the entire crew. Just like that, Evander’s dreams—and Evander himself—seem a little dimmer, a little more out of reach. But Valoria, my dear friend, comes first.
A stillness hangs over us, the air turning so heavy it’s as if we’re at a funeral, not in a tavern where some of us are half-undressed with drinks and darts in our hands.
“Of course we do!” Kasmira declares at last, sounding ready to go to battle on the spot. “If Valoria needs us, we’re as good as there.”
Dvora nods in agreement. “Anyone who tries to hurt our queen is going to regret it.” She clenches her fists at her sides, somehow looking fierce even without her blouse. “If they’re still alive when we’re through with them, that is.”
I nod my agreement, lost for words. It’s a sickening feeling, imagining that one of the people we fought for—whoValoriafought for—could be angry enough to kill her when she’s only been on the throne for weeks, not even months yet. There’s no change she could be making, no law she could be passing to justify these attempts on her life.
“Go grab your bags, everyone,” Kasmira says, clapping her hands to startle the weariest of her crew into greater alertness. Eyes flashing as she sweeps her gaze over us, she says firmly, “The moment you’re all on board, we sail.”
***
Paying no heed to the guards roaming the nighttime streets, I rush to tell Azelie what I’ve learned. To my surprise, the suggestion that she stay here in Sarral, where there aren’t any rebellions to fear, makes her eyes shine hard as glass.
“Oh, no.” She crosses her arms, frowning. “You can’t offer me a chance to finally belong somewhere and then just take it back.” Opening my mouth, I start to say the offer still stands, but she raises her voice over mine. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for something like this!Fifteenyears!I’m not waiting any longer. I’m getting on that ship with you.”
After agreeing to meet her on board, I hurry to grab my bag from the bedroom where I’ve hardly slept at all. As I sling the bag over myshoulder, I notice Meredy’s father’s journal waiting on the bed. She even turned down my blankets.
I want to hit something, but since this isn’t my room to destroy, I settle for ripping the blankets off the bed and throwing the pillow as hard as I can against the far wall. Breathing hard, I pull a crinkled piece of paper from my bag. It’s the drawing of me, Meredy, and Valoria that our new queen did before any of us knew how bad things were going to get. Before Meredy and I witnessed a massacre and realized Hadrien was behind it.
Opening my door, I tiptoe down the hall to Meredy’s room, the drawing in hand. Unlike when I hesitated to say a final farewell to her back in Karthia, there’s light seeping through the cracks around her closed door, leaving no question that she’s inside.
That’s when it hits me: She has no idea what’s happened to her friend.Ourfriend. If she did, she’d surely want to come back and protect her with us—and that’s exactly why I can’t tell her what I just learned. This is her chance to be happy, after all.
I drop the crumpled paper—tears, smudged ink, and all—right in front of her door, just in case she’s the least bit scared or regretful when she realizes we’re gone. Just to let her know I’ll still be waiting.
IX
