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xxii

WHEN I BURST THROUGH THE DOOR, I FOUND Sebastianus pacing in the atrium like a caged tiger. The moment he saw me, he pulled me to him in a rough embrace. “Thank the gods. Did you find what you were looking for, my falcon?”

“No. And I think your uncle was there. But Ismene was just as surprised as I was.”

He released me with a look of horror on his face. “What happened?”

I described the garden, the presence of the three women, and my conversation with the gardener, whom I suspected to be Jovinian in disguise.

At my description of the man, Sebastianus shook his head. “That was certainly my uncle. You’ve described him perfectly.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I’m sure he wasn’t expecting such a challenge of wits.”

“I wasn’t sure what else to do once I realized the situation.”

“So now we have a serious problem,” he said grimly.

“He let me go, though. I just walked right out.”

“He let you go because he knows he can have you brought to him at any time.”

“I won’t let him find me. I’ll leave here and hide.”

He dropped his stick with a clatter and ran his hands through his hair. “Anna, by the lightning-blasted gods. This is Jovinian. Where are you going to run that he can’t have you found and brought to him? And where could you go that you won’t attract the attention of every man for miles around?”

He paused and made an effort to recover his composure. He leaned an arm against the wall.

I picked up the stick and handed it back to him. “I wish that Ismene had been able to tell me the information she intended to share. That might have made it all seem worth it.”

The expression of sorrow on his face nearly stopped my heart. “Would it have been worth it? Worth throwing away everything you and I have here?”

“Listen to me. I have something to tell you: something more important than all of this.”

He looked at me in confusion and despair. “How could anything be more important than this? Are you listening? I am telling you that he will come for you, and I will lose you.”

“Let’s go to your study. I need to think it through. Where is the copy of Geographica I brought with me from Corlivo?”

Sebastianus stared at me as though he suspected I had gone mad, but he followed me through the bright garden and into his study.

He shut the door. “What is this about?”

I cleared some space on the table, pushing aside a stack of parchment. “I think I know where the lost caves are.”

He leaned on his stick, his expression grave. “Anna, I appreciate your enthusiasm for this subject. But we have more immediate concerns. Let me be clear: Now that he knows you are here, Jovinian will send for you, and I won’t be able to stop him.”

I put my hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes, one blue, one cloudy. “What I mean is, I think I know exactly where they are, and it might present a solution.”

His brow creased. Through the open window, a breeze rustled the leaves in the orchard. In the distance, waves crashed against the cliff.

A strange excitement rushed through me. “Let me take you through my idea.”

“All right. I will listen to anything that might give us a solution.” He turned a chair around and sat astride it, strong arms folded across the back. “Go ahead.”

“Let’s start at the beginning. According to legend, Arcadius the Mighty created a great city in caves somewhere on the continent. No one knows where, but they are said to hold a vast treasure.” I went to the bookshelf. “The main evidence is in a collection of writings by Brunus, Arcadius’s scribe.”

Sebastianus rested his chin on his arms. “I know this. I’m the one who taught you who Brunus was.”

“Yes, but I’m going through it step by step.”

“All right.”