Nol was somewhat accustomed to Itlantean finery, having lived on Celestrus, but Garren and Olis craned their necks and stared in wonder as we passed through corridors and descended a staircase of transparent material that gave a view of the ocean beneath. Garren’s mouth hung open as an octopus passed close enough that we could have touched it had the glass been gone. He looked at me and then away, back to the shining walls and floors.
I felt sympathetic to their awe. I’d harbored no love for the Primusean estate. The halls and rooms had been beautiful, but cold and sweeping and too empty and echoing. This house surrounded me like a pleasant dream, smelling of growing things and fresh water.
My mother personally accompanied Garren, Nol, and Olis to the guest rooms, which were all quite lavish, with round, plush beds, thick curtains, and panoramic views of the kelp forests that surrounded us. Sunlight played over rugs on the floors. The air smelled like spice.
“I hope you will be comfortable,” she said, her voice low and polite as they stepped through the doorways and gazed around them.
Nol thanked her, and Olis remembered herself and did as well. Garren ignored her completely, muttering under his breath as he touched every glittering thing in sight with a mixture of suspicion and disbelief on his face.
“Aemiana,” my mother said to me when the others were settled. “Your childhood room is here, and I have had it prepared for you again in hopes that... well, in anticipation of your return. Come.”
My childhood room. A memory tugged at me, a vision of a blue bed, a fluffy round rug, and a toy-sized city of glass with domes and arches that glittered and flashed in the light of the sea that spilled over it from the window. My small hand, touching the cool sides of one of the arches, and a lullaby playing. Something warm and excited swelled beneath my lungs, making me breathless. I remembered.
I followed her, nearly tripping in my eagerness.
The room did not match the picture in my head. The bed linens were gold and white, and all the furniture and furnishings fitting for a grown woman, not a child. Disappointment washed over me, although the chambers were exquisite.
My mother studied me. “It is not as you remembered,” she observed.
I stepped to the glass that overlooked the kelp forest. “I remember a toy city.”
She was silent a moment. “A gift from your father. I had it removed... after. It was difficult to look at it.”
“Removed where?” I didn’t know why I wanted to see this childhood object so much, only that it mattered to me that I confirm this memory lingering in the recesses of my mind.
She made a vague gesture with her fingers. “There is a storage room. I can have a servant check to see if it is still there, if you’d like.”
“Please,” I said, the word too vulnerable as soon as it left my lips.
She paused, and then nodded. She looked at me a long moment. Her chest rose and fell with a breath, and I thought she might say something else about the memories, or my childhood. But all she said was, “You should bathe and find something more suitable to wear.”
With that, she left, and I was alone.
~ ~ ~
I bathed in the washroom located off my bedchamber, soaking in a marble tub beneath a skylight of tinted glass. Murals of seashells covered the walls, and every drip and splash I made echoed as if I were in a cave. The fish that swam lazily above cast shadows across the steaming water as I scrubbed my hair and skin, washing away any last vestiges of my captivity and journey back. The warm water unknotted my muscles, but not the feeling in my stomach whenever I thought of Laimila, Merelus, or Kit, or the task of getting the Dron to see the senate—what was left of the senate—or facing my mother daily again.
There was much to accomplish, and little time.
When I’d finished washing hastily, I dried my skin and hair with a silky towel and found clothing laid out on the bed for me. A deep green tunic made of a shimmery fabric, paired with a silver bodysuit. Slipping into the clothes was like stepping into a cool lagoon, but I yanked them on without savoring the feeling. I needed to see Merelus. I needed to see Kit.
A quiet knock sounded at the door, a whisper in the cool silence of the room that wiggled between my thoughts and brought me back to the present. The thought dissipated as I crossed the room and pulled the door open.
Tallyn stood in the hall, freshly washed and dressed in clean, dark clothing that befitted his station as a tutor. Damp hair hung in his eyes.
I drew back to admit him, and he stepped inside. “You’re ready. Good.”
“Please take me to see Merelus.” I didn’t want to waste words or time.
Tallyn held up a hand. His expression softened, but he shook his head. “First, I wanted to speak with you about our next move with the Dron.” He spoke quietly, as if fearing someone else were listening.
“We should contact Annah,” I said, matching his whisper with mine. “She’ll be able to help us.”
“I was thinking the same.”
“And my mother?”
“Annah can give us direction on that,” he said.
“Annah will say not to trust her.”
“Perhaps we should listen.”
I paced to the window and then to the bed. “We’ll need a reason for them to meet Annah. We’re in a Graywater house. My mother and sister will both be watching. Perhaps even the servants.” I thought of Cress and Coral. I didn’t have a good history with my mother’s servants.
Tallyn appeared to have the same thought. “We will need to be cautious about your safety even here,” he reminded me.
I pressed a hand to my forehead. I’d forgotten to tell him earlier. “Tallyn. At Primus, while we were trying to escape, Coral tried to kill me. That’s why Merelus is so sick; he was shot instead of me. He took the poison for me.” I paused, a lump squeezing my throat. “She said she works for a group named Tempest—”
“Merelus told me,” he said. “Before he lapsed into a coma, he recounted the events to me. But of course, we immediately began searching for you. There’s been no time to pursue that information further.”
“Now that Primus is gone, do you think Tempest will still seek my harm?” I asked. “The entire system is in shambles.”
“I don’t know. We need to be cautious.”
I sighed. Was there any place in the sea that didn’t hold danger for me?
“How will we get the Dron to Annah without arousing suspicions from anyone who might be watching?” I asked. It was better to focus on what could be done than what I couldn’t know.
“She will be eager to see you now that you’ve safely returned,” he said. “Perhaps we can invent some excuse to get your mother away should she seek to attend this reunion.”
I had the answer. I loathed it, but I had it all the same. “We could distract her with plans for a party to celebrate my safe return?”
Tallyn smiled. “Brilliant.”
“Is it in too poor of taste, given everything that has happened? Shouldn’t we be in mourning for Primus?”
“No,” he said. “The rich always have their parties, even in times like this. It is a perfect idea, and it should give us many opportunities to move about the city under the guise of preparations.”
“It’s settled, then.” I took a deep breath. “Now, please let me see Merelus.”
~ ~ ~
Merelus lay still on the bed, his chest rising and falling shallowly. Tubes snaked across his chest and into his nose and mouth. His skin was the color of ash, and his cheeks were sunken. Lyssia sat beside him, her hand on his. She looked up solemnly when we entered.
My heart jumped into my throat at the sight of my old friend lying there, looking almost dead. I sank down across from Lyssia and began to shake.
“Merelus,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry to see you like this.” I looked at Lyssia. “Can he hear us?”
“The physician says it’s possible.” She smoothed wrinkles from the sheet, her movements brisk and efficient as she worke
d. “I speak to him often.” She leaned forward. “Father. Aemi is here. She’s back. She’s safe. I helped save her.”
“Yes,” I said. “Lyssia was exquisite.”
A flush touched Lyssia’s cheeks. Her lips tipped in a soft smile.
“Thank you for everything,” I murmured to him. “You’ve been so kind to me, always. Without your help, I never would have gotten to where I did. I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be alive. I’ll never forget it.”
It felt wrong to say those things, as if I were admitting that he was going to die, but I didn’t want to leave them unsaid. Lyssia continued to stroke the sheets above her father’s arm, her expression thoughtful, almost peaceful. I’d never seen her so calm.
We sat there together, and I tried to think of something else to say, but my mouth was dry and my mind empty of everything but the memories of him growing weaker and weaker as we fled before the invading army and the destruction it wrought. Sadness and helplessness clung to me like a net, trapping me.
Finally, Tallyn stirred from his place at the door.
“We should contact Annah,” he suggested, and I nodded.
It was time to put things in motion.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I SOUGHT OUT my mother in her study and announced my desire to have a gala to celebrate my return while Tallyn sent contact to Annah secretly. My mother watched me shrewdly as I spoke, and my heart beat fast against my ribs. Did she suspect that we had other plans? Sweat broke out across my skin, and I forced myself to stand straight. She didn’t accuse me of anything, but I didn’t relax.
“I am surprised at your change of heart regarding these things,” she said, touching her fingertips together as she spoke. “But I think it could be a sound move, if done correctly. Not garishly, of course, given the tragic circumstances of our people.”
“No,” I agreed. “Everything is... chaotic. We need to be respectful. But even in times of stress and storm, people need to be able to remember who they are, and who we are. Graywaters.”
She smiled. I knew she would like that.
“How soon can we arrange it?” I asked.
She rang for a servant to give him instructions, and I suppressed a sigh of relief.
So far, this plan appeared to be working.
~ ~ ~
The Dron had assembled in one of their rooms, and they were waiting for me when I stole away to speak with them. They’d all bathed and changed into clothing that had no doubt been provided by my mother. Olis stood by the window, gazing at the view, and Nol sat with his elbows braced on his knees, wearing black silks, his eyes burning with bright fire. A shiver slid through me as those eyes connected with mine. Garren launched himself at me, bristling with restless accusations. He still wore his old clothing, I noticed.
“Are we to be prisoners, then? When will we speak with your senate?”
“You need to trust me,” I said. “Listen. My mother cannot be trusted. I have arranged for a meeting to take place between the three of you and a senator, my—” I avoided looking at Nol. “—grandmother.”
How did he feel about my political family connections, now that he knew about them?
“And when is this meeting?” Olis asked. “Time is slipping away fast. Do not trifle with us, Itlantean.”
“You need to stop referring to me as ‘Itlantean’ while you’re here,” I said sharply. “Too easy to slip up. And the meeting will be today. Say nothing until you are alone with her.”
Garren glared at me. “I don’t like this. I don’t trust you.”
I allowed myself a glance at Nol, and the intensity in his gaze sparked something in me.
“I’m a Graywater,” I said firmly. “We can be trusted to do what is in our best interest, and this is in my best interest.”
I didn’t look at Nol again.
~ ~ ~
An hour later, my grandmother Annah arrived, accompanied by an attendant. I received her in a round room with views of the sea through arching, gilded windows. My mother stood beside me.
Annah swept into the room with a confidence that, as always, impressed me. She turned her face toward me, her sightless eyes widening slightly as she raised her brows. “Aemiana. I have been beside myself since your capture.”
I stepped toward her, and she clasped my hand in both of hers.
“I did not return alone,” I said quietly. “I would like you to meet those who accompanied me. Garren, Olis, and Nol.”
My voice faltered on Nol’s name, but only slightly.
Her mouth twitched slightly. Did she hear something in my tone?
“Verdus welcomes you,” she said. “Were you prisoners as well?”
A quiet knock came at the door, and a servant slipped inside and whispered in my mother’s ear. Her expression didn’t change.
“Excuse me,” she said to the room, and left in a swish of silken fabric.
“We don’t have much time,” I said to Annah. “These three are Dron emissaries here to discuss an alliance against Nautilus.”
She went still. “This is dangerous, Aemiana.”
“I know. But we have to try.”
“My daughter doesn’t know?”
“She doesn’t,” I agreed. “I want to keep it that way.” If my mother was not to be trusted, if she had been behind my father’s death, could she be involved with something even more sinister than family intrigue? Could she have something to do with Tempest, that mysterious organization? She had, after all, hired Coral.
Olis stepped forward. “Your Excellency, I am Olis, daughter of a leader among my people.”
Annah inclined her head. “I am honored to meet you.”
I slipped to the door while they conversed and stepped outside to check for my mother, or any other individuals who might be lurking or lingering. The hall was empty, and I waited a minute to be sure no one was approaching or watching. A movement stirred by a column, Annah’s attendant with his hands clasped behind his back. I spotted Tallyn a few paces beyond that. He nodded at me.
He was keeping watch too.
I went back inside.
“Aemiana,” my grandmother said as I entered. “I need to meet with these emissaries again, in my home, when other senators and key individuals can be present. But it needs to happen secretly.”
“I understand,” I said. “We’ll think of something.”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “After midday meal. I’ll be waiting.” She clasped hands with Olis before sweeping from the room to rejoin her attendant in the foyer.
I slipped out behind her and drew alongside her as she walked.
“I need to see Kit.”
“That’s impossible right now,” Annah said.
“Nonsense. Let me see him.”
She stopped, turned, and put her hands on my shoulders. “He is safe. He is not being mistreated. That is as much as you need to worry about at the present. Get the Dron to me, and then we can talk again.”
I wanted to argue, but she swept away and rejoined her attendant, leaving me standing there. Before I could protest or follow, my mother appeared at the end of the corridor. Frustration mingled with determination in my veins.
I’d have to come up with a reason to go into the city with the Dron that wouldn’t raise my mother’s suspicions, and I’d have to do it quickly.
~ ~ ~
I spent the afternoon planning our next moves in my room, complete with pacing and muttering. I discovered a pryor on the stand beside the bed, not the same as the one I’d had in Primus, but similar, and I flipped through it while trying to think. The sparkling images of light blurred before me as I gazed at them without seeing them.
When a knock came at the door, I leaped up to open it, expecting Tallyn.
Nol stood in the hall, hands clasped loosely behind his back. His eyes caught mine and held, and restless warmth spread through my bones and pooled in my stomach. Ever since he’d joined us on the Riptide, energy had been brewing between us, or perhaps that had started even ea
rlier. I was uneasy, but not in a way that made me want to move away from him. Rather, I wanted to do the opposite.
I shifted, composing myself. “Nol. I...”
“A servant gave me directions,” he said. “The others sent me to confer with you about the plans to speak with the senate. They’re anxious.”
“I’m shocked they allowed you to come alone. Surely Garren had a hard time passing up an opportunity to snarl at me.”
“It was my suggestion,” he said.
My stomach twisted as Nol continued to hold my gaze, almost as if he were asking me something. Inviting me to something.
“Come in before someone sees you,” I managed.
I let him in, and he stepped to the middle of the room and looked around, taking note of my lavish bed, the ornate furniture, and the windows that ran the length of one wall. “Your home... all this...” he said. “Was it unexpected when you discovered the truth?”
I leaned against the door, studying him. I felt safer with distance between us, less vulnerable. The air was too heavy now, too warm. “From slave to heiress, you mean?”
He half-smiled at me, his expression bemused. There was so little of that lean, smirking young man I’d known in the Village of the Rocks in him now. He was all muscle and hard edges, his smile hinted at the hardships he’d experienced and the new role he’d assumed. His eyes were wearier, darker, but also warmer when they looked at me.
“You must find our role reversal satisfying,” he said.
“I...”
Was he teasing me? His tone was light.
“Perhaps the old Aemi would have delighted in it a little bit.” I stepped away from the door, toward him.
“The old Aemi would have danced in circles around me singing it,” he said.
I went to the window, and he turned to watch me.
“A lot has happened,” I said. “Everything is rearranged inside me. I hardly know myself anymore.”
This was not exactly talk of my plans for the Dron and the Itlantean senate. Nol didn’t stop me from continuing, however. He merely lifted an eyebrow.
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