“Yes to whatever you want to do,” Kiela said.
He kissed her again. “Yes.”
She sank into his kisses. He tasted of the sea and of cinnamon.
Out in the waves, a mermaid shrieked—a siren-like scream, and Kiela and Larran broke apart. Beyond the merhorse herd, the mermaid was swimming dolphin-like toward them. She shrieked as she leaped out of the water.
“Ship!” the mermaid called.
That alone wasn’t unusual. A dozen fishing boats and a half-dozen sailboats dotted the water just beyond the harbor. A few were farther out, but the waters were calm . . .
Larran stiffened beside her. “Imperial.”
“What?” She didn’t see anything but Caltreyan boats . . .
He pointed just left of the sun, and she saw it: one of the empire’s warships, sailing straight for the harbor.
Chapter Thirty-One
“We need to hide the books,” Larran said, staring at the warship.
She loved that that was the first thing he said. “Yes.”
“I’ll make a false wall,” Larran decided. “Hide the bookshelves.”
She’d toyed with that idea as a long-term solution, but she hadn’t thought they’d need it so quickly. “Can that be done before they dock?”
The answer was no. She could see it in his eyes, but he refused to say it. “I can try.” He took her hand, and they hurried down the stone jetty toward the beach. “As a bonus, it will add insulation to the house, which should help in winter.”
She wanted to laugh. Or cry. After Radane, she’d thought that she’d be safe, but she should have known—Oh no, Radane!“They aren’t here for me and my little remedies.” How could they be? Word hadn’t spread that far that fast. No one beyond Caltrey knew or cared that she’d healed a few trees and a merbaby, and only Fenerer had been fussy about any of it. She doubted he had the contacts to summon a warship. “They’re here for Radane. We need to warn her.”
Together, they reached the beach.
“You warn her, and I’ll start on the walls?” Larran suggested.
It would take a bit of time before the imperials sniffed out the jam shop, but Radane was right there in the village bakery, exposed. “Remember to warn Ivor when you get to the top of the cliff,” Kiela said. “Please tell Caz and Meep to hide in the forest. Insist on no heroics. If the imperials don’t find what they’re looking for, they might start sniffing around for a consolation prize, and that’s when we’ll be in danger.”
Larran kissed her. “Be careful. Come to the cottage as soon as you can.”
She raced toward the village while Larran took the stairs two at a time. She ran past the fountain, which bubbled and burbled, to the bakery.Empty—no one at the tables outside, no one behind the counter or back with the ovens. “Bryn? Radane? Tobin?”
Voices came from the direction of the dock. Leaving the bakery, she jogged through the streets toward the harbor. Ahead, a crowd had gathered to watch the sparkling imperial ship with its three masts and red sails come into the harbor. Seagulls circled above it, and waves from its wake caused every anchored and docked ship to bob in an undulating rhythm. Kiela squeezed between the crowd until she reached Radane and Bryn at the edge of the dock.
Bursting through, she grabbed Radane’s hand. “What are you doing?” Kiela demanded. “You need to—I don’t know . . . Hide? Come up with a cover story?” She noticed belatedly that Bryn was holding Radane’s other hand, and they were standing very close together. She wondered what had transpired since they’d all built the bookshelves together.Stay focused. She shouldn’t be here.
“It’ll be okay,” Bryn said. “I admit I’d thought we’d have more time to spread the story that she’s been here for years, but Caltreyans like to—”
“It won’t work,” Radane said.
“You don’t know that,” Bryn said.
Radane shook her head. “I know that ship. Its captain—I have known him since I was eight years old. He is the man my parents wanted me to marry. As soon as he sees me, the lie will be exposed.”
Releasing her hand, Bryn repeated, “Marry?”
“Neither of us wanted it,” Radane said firmly. “We both agreed we were not suited for each other. But he would absolutely recognize me on sight.”
Kiela felt their plan crumble around them. Radane was right—if the captain knew her, then it wouldn’t matter how many townspeople swore that she’d been on the island for years. What would the imperials do when they saw Radane? Would they blame the Caltreyans for harboring her? And what would they do to Radane?This is worse than I thought.“What will he do?”
