To the Eternal (Away From Whipplethorn Book Five)

by Hartoin, A. W.

  “I think bissabovas must be different. I felt no bad intentions. They didn’t like the guards though.”

  “Interesting,” said Leanna.

  “I thought so,” I said. “Where are Fidelé and Rufus?”

  She lifted up the bed skirt to reveal a little nest made of some of my new underwear. “Why the underwear?”

  “It’s the softest. They hid when the dressmaker came.”

  “The dressmaker came?”

  Leanna nodded. “She brought three more ball gowns and a bunch of day dresses.”

  “Are the ball gowns better?”

  She bit her lip. So I guess they weren’t and there were three. Too many for our short stay. “Do we have fresh water? I have to soak my wing.”

  Leanna filled the basin and brought it to me. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking I have to get in flying shape soon.” I squeezed some more of Lrag’s spell in the water and said a quote about resolve that Victory had taught me. Everything by Shakespeare worked as a spell.

  Our doubts are traitors,

  And make us lose the good we oft might win,

  By fearing to attempt.

  My image rose up, defiant and angry, but buffeted by unseen winds. My hair whipped around and lashed out at what was tormenting me. Leanna started biting her nails as she watched. “Are you afraid?”

  I nodded. “But it won’t stop me.”

  “Stop you from doing what?”

  “Escaping.”

  I went to the ball that night in a dress that was even heavier than the last one. I had to have two maids follow me around, carrying my train. My new mask was made of yellow taffeta and amethysts. It was gorgeous, but it made my cheekbones ache. Maybe that was the doge’s plan, to make me so tired and sore I couldn’t escape. I hadn’t figured out how to make a run for it yet anyway, so I decided to enjoy the ball, which was a more formal affair with organized dancing where everyone stood in two rows and performed patterns with specific dance steps and arm movements. I didn’t know the dances, so I got to mingle among the non-dancers, trying to gather information. The doge wasn’t going to let me leave any time soon, but Gledit, in the short amount of time I got to see him, confirmed we were only supposed to be in Venice for three days on our way to Rome. That was the order from the empress and Max. It’s what Gledit’s message had said when he told the doge that I was coming. The daughters had things planned for the next week and we didn’t know why.

  I spent half my time at the ball trying to talk to the doge about leaving, but he always changed the subject. He laughed and blubbed around, giving orders and chastising the nobles for low profits. The rest of my time was spent avoiding eating seafood appetizers and reading lips. Lots of the nobles were talking about the doge’s pick for his replacement. The tide had turned toward a third party. A temporary replacement until the nobility calmed down, someone who had no aspirations to the post. There were plenty of candidates and they weren’t all bissabovas. The rest of the conversations were about me. No one knew how long I’d be staying, but they weren’t happy that I wasn’t making the rounds to the other palazzos to visit the rest of the nobility. They couldn’t decide if I was rude or what. Plus, they didn’t see why I needed guards. Neither did I, but I wasn’t concerned about who was paying for them. The bissabova were, in a big way. Unlike the first ball, there were uniformed guards mingling with the guests. They were subtle, but I could tell they were watching me. Everyone else knew it, too.

  The guards weren’t only ones watching me. The red troll kept an eye on me at all times. He was impressive, standing nearly as tall as the sea serpents and three times as wide. His wife had been oiled so that she gleamed in a green velvet gown that barely constrained her muscular body. She wasn’t keeping an eye on me. She was much more interested in fashion. I’d met both of them the night before and their names were the only names of the nobility that I remembered. Lutrud and Albreda were polite. I sensed nothing but goodness and a certain intensity from Lutrud. He never tried to speak to me, but I had a feeling that he wanted to.

  Just to see what would happen, I would leave The Room of the Fireplace every once in a while. The guards would converge. One time, I had twenty in the next room with me. Getting away wasn’t going to be easy. After three hours of talking about trade and my fire, I’d had enough. Tiepolo’s family kept coming over to me and whispering about Tiepolo’s qualifications to become doge, as if I had anything to do with it. I didn’t know what the empress thought about the election if the doge did retire. I wouldn’t say one thing about the empress’s health or when I thought Max would take over. They loved Max’s brother, the archduke. Since he was a murderous dirtbag, I tried not to talk about him, but they just wouldn’t let it alone.

  Excusing myself after Tiepolo’s mother asked me if I had a portrait of the archduke in my bedroom at the palace, I marched out of the room and was blocked by five guards.

  “Your Highness, may I help you?” asked the tallest guard.

  “I want to go back to my apartment,” I said.

  “The ball isn’t over.”

  “Thanks for the tip.”

  He frowned. I got to see it since the guards were the only ones not wearing masks. I sighed and said, “I know it’s not over. I’m tired.”

  The guard wasn’t sure what to do with that, but Tiepolo came out and ordered my chariot to be brought around. He helped me on, lugging my train aboard himself, before snapping the reins.

  “When will I be leaving for Rome?” I asked since he couldn’t really avoid my question.

  “What’s Your Highness’s hurry?”

  “I have a job to do in Rome. My family is at stake. My sister must be seen. We have to negotiate with the French rebels for my parents.”

  “All in good time.”

  I felt animosity coming off Tiepolo in waves, but why? What did he care if I went to Rome or not? “When?”

  “The doge will decide,” he said. I almost couldn’t understand him. His jaw was so tight it made his lips hard to read.

  “What if you were the doge?”

  He snapped the reins hard and the flying fish surged forward. I nearly fell over as we leaned into a turn. My palms sizzled and I had to force them not to give him a fire facial.

  “Are you sure you’re Austria’s allies?” I asked.

  We pulled up in front of my apartment and he yanked back on the reins. I hit the railing and nearly tumbled over. My weighty dress held me back and I looked at him with loathing. “I don’t like you.”

  Tiepolo didn’t blink. “You need more perfume.”

  “What are you trying to cover up? My scent of flowers or is it the happiness?”

  He didn’t answer and nudged me off the chariot. One of the ten guards rushed over to help me. Ten. How many would I have tomorrow? Twenty? Thirty?

  The guard opened my door and I rushed inside. “Leanna, we have got to get out of here.” I looked around at the empty chamber. “Leanna?”

  She wasn’t there. I found Rufus and Fidelé curled up behind a floor-length tapestry.

  “Where’s Leanna?” I asked them.

  Rufus scampered up my dress. It was good for climbing, at least. Fidelé jolted left and right, lashing his tail and hissing. I hadn’t seen him so upset since Ibn Vermillion got dragged off by the rabid crowd in Paris. I ran to the door and yanked on it. Locked. They locked me in. The doge was insidious. First, the dragons, then my sister, Horc, and Gerald. Leanna was gone and I’d be surprised if Gledit had access to me anymore. I had no clue what happened to the anubis. Fidelé ran in a circle around my enormous dress. I snagged him when he reached the front. “I guess it’s just us.”

  My reptiles hissed.

  “We’ve got to find a way out of this place.” I put my hand on the tile door. It was solid and very cold. I sniffed it and dug at the mortar with my fingernail. As I suspected, the door was metal, not wood. I could burn my way through, but it would take too long. Every guard in the palazzo woul
d be at my door before we made it through. I’d never have the chance to find my entourage, much less get them out. I’d have to bide my time. If Gledit had been there, I’d have kicked him in his leafy butt. Stupid protocol. Look where it got us.

  Chapter Ten

  CORSETS ARE A pain. They take two people to assemble. One to wear the thing and one to lace it up. I couldn’t get my corset on without Leanna. I thought this was a great reason not to wear one and enjoy breathing for a change, but it turned out that my Venetian dresses had to have a corset under them or I couldn’t button them up.

  Leanna had washed the dress and cloak I’d left Vienna in. I put that dress on and was so comfortable, I wanted to roll around on the floor in happiness. I was seriously thinking about it when my door opened. Tiepolo marched in with a breakfast tray and he was snarling. “What are you wearing?”

  “Clothes.” I glanced at my reptiles hiding under the bed and pulled down the coverlet. “What’s wrong with you? I’m the prisoner.”

  That stopped him cold. His jaw fell open, showing me all his needle-sharp teeth. “Your Highness isn’t a prisoner.”

  “You locked me in last night.”

  “That was for your protection.”

  “Like I asked you before, protection from what?” I held up a hand and a gorgeous fireball formed to light up the room. “I’m not the sort of girl that needs protection.”

  He set the tray down with a thump that spilled the tea. “You are in a new country. You don’t know the dangers that lurk in our canals.”

  “I’m always in a new country. And the dangers aren’t only in the canals.”

  Tiepolo clenched and unclenched his jaw before saying, “They’re taking you to St. Mark’s today.”

  “They?” I asked.

  “The daughters.” He said it with scorn.

  Just to bother him, I asked, “So which one do you think will be made doge?”

  He froze for a second before he slithered out the door and slammed it. I shared my brioche and tea with the reptiles before dosing myself with white willow and elderberry. My wing was a lot better, but it wasn’t up to hard flying.

  “What do you think, guys? How’re we going to get Iris and everybody?”

  Rufus glowed red hot. I smiled. Non-verbals weren’t smart? I didn’t think so. I’d use my fire. I just wasn’t sure how. Victory was out there somewhere. I needed him and the dragons, but they didn’t know where we were. Heck. I didn’t know where we were, really. Somewhere on the Grand Canal. Iris might still be in Palazzo Grimani or she might not. Was Rickard here or had he been carted off to some hospital? And then there were the humans in that hotel. I thought I could find it, but we had to move fast.

  I gave Rufus the last crumb of brioche and Fidelé lapped up the leftover tea. I stroked their scaly hides until they purred. A signal. I needed a signal that Victory would understand. He was brilliant in a scary way, so I could count on that pint-sized megalomaniac to act when I wanted him to. But what should I do?

  My door swung open. Ursula came in with her long tail over her shoulder. “Your Highness, you need to dress for St. Mark’s.”

  “I am dressed.”

  She contained her dislike for my simple dress and went to the wardrobe to pull out one of the luxe day dresses. “How about this? It’s so lovely. The violet matches your eyes.”

  “I can’t get that on by myself,” I said.

  “Of course not.”

  I waited, but she didn’t get it. “Um…they took my maid, Leanna.”

  Ursula looked around the room like I might be hiding a wood fairy in a cupboard. “Where is she? You must have one maid at a minimum.”

  “Ask your father.”

  The rest of the daughters barged in.

  “We have an audience with His Grace in a half hour,” said Stephania.

  “Why aren’t you dressed?” asked Vanda.

  I shrugged. “Your father took my maid.”

  Filomena swished her tail and almost took out a side table. “Father wouldn’t take your maid away. You’re a principessa. Why should he do that?”

  “You’ll have to ask him.”

  Ursula called out for a guard. One responded reluctantly and came to stand at attention in the doorway. “Yes.”

  “Where is the maid?”

  The guard’s eyes darted around.

  Filomena snarled, “Her Highness can’t dress properly without a maid.”

  I thought about suggesting that one of them help, but I didn’t want to wear that heinous dress or the corset.

  “I…I don’t know the whereabouts of anyone,” said the guard nervously. I would’ve felt sorry for him if he weren’t holding me prisoner.

  “You don’t know anything?” asked Vanda. She was the scariest, which is saying something when it comes to sea serpents. Her teeth were really long and extra pointy. She didn’t look like she had anything against biting.

  The guard stepped back. “Tiepolo said—”

  “Tiepolo?” asked Ursula. “Not the doge?”

  “The doge doesn’t speak to guards,” he said.

  I stepped closer and asked. “What did Tiepolo say about Leanna?”

  He took another shaky step back. “That Her Highness must be protected.”

  “From her own maid?” asked Vanda.

  He nodded. “Are you ready to go now?”

  “Yes,” said Trista, fluffing up some of her most impressive fins. “We’ll see the doge now.”

  The guard got shakier. “His Serenity is unavailable. You are to take the princess to St. Mark’s. You have an audience.”

  “We want to see our father,” demanded Vanda.

  “The doge has left the building.”

  “Where did he go?”

  He shook his head and there was moisture on his scaly skin. “I don’t know his schedule. Please, please go to St. Mark’s, my ladies. The doge will have my head.”

  “You’ll have to go in what you are wearing,” said Stephanie like it was a terrible punishment.

  I fixed a sad look on my face. “If I must.”

  The daughters left my room and Fidelé started to creep out from under my bed. I scooted him back with my foot a second before Ursula turned around. “Did you hear me, Your Highness?”

  “Er…no. Sorry. I was getting my cloak.” I swung my old cloak over my shoulders to Ursula’s dismay.

  “I asked if you’ve seen your sister yet.”

  “Not yet.”

  Ursula’s expression hardened, making her as scary as Vanda. “We’ll see about that.”

  Yes! Yes! Yes!

  “That would be nice,” I said.

  Ursula made way for me to pass in front of her and I went ahead. The other daughters were already in the carriage, discussing what Tiepolo was up to. I glanced back to make sure Fidelé wasn’t creeping out again. The door was already closed and I caught Ursula whispering to the now terrified guard, “Inform him.”

  The guard nodded and I turned away quickly. Ursula touched my arm with a freshly painted claw. “Why haven’t you gotten in?”

  “I’d like to sit by the window, if that’s okay. I haven’t seen anything yet.”

  She smiled, showing me her short but dangerous teeth. “Of course. There is much to see in our fair city. Visitors, fae and human, come from all over the world.”

  I waved her in and while she was coiling up her tail, I looked around. No sign of where Iris might be. She’d give me a sign if she could. Of course, her gift was love, so her sign would probably be a hug. Not very useful.

  I didn’t really know what Victory’s gift was, except that he learned languages crazy fast. He learned Morse code in an hour and it took me two weeks to sort of get it. Of course. Morse code. I had fire and a weird human code that only Victory would bother to learn. Perfect.

  I squeezed in the carriage beside Ursula and asked sweetly, “Can we go through the courtyard? It’s so beautiful.”

  The daughters nodded and Trista gave the order in Ital
ian. We sped through the palazzo and I leaned out the open window like I was admiring the lone tree or something. I put a hand out where the daughters couldn’t see and concentrated on what Victory insisted I learn.

  .. .- - - - . - - / …. . .-. .

  I sent two simple words into the sky directly above the palazzo. “I’m here” No punctuation. Punctuation was a pain, even when using fire.

  Ursula tugged on my sleeve. She frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “It smells wonderful today. It’s all…earthy.”

  “I thought wood fairies liked wood,” said Stefania.

  “We do and dirt, too.” It sounded silly, but they bought it and went on to tell me how much they loved water, sea water, in particular. Duh. They’re sea serpents.

  I listened to the merits of the sea all the way to St. Mark’s, but my mind was on my message. Would Victory see it? Would the son of The Commander know how to launch a rescue?

  His Grace, the Cardinal of Venice, sat under a canopy in front of a medieval portrait of Christ on the crucifix. We were all under a human-sized canopy made of stone and marble. It seemed small inside St. Mark’s enormous interior, stunning with lots of gold covering the walls and ceilings. The mosaic figures shimmered in the dim light, so ornate and intricate. Horc would’ve been trying to figure out how to scrape the gold off and wondering how much it would bring. It wouldn’t matter to Horc that it was an ancient artistic treasure. It would to Gerald, who would lecture me endlessly about the history, and to Iris, who would think humans were the best things ever. They were the best things ever, especially compared to the cardinal.

  I’d only met one cardinal before, our benefactor, so I thought all cardinals must be the same. This cardinal wasn’t. I didn’t know what he was. Literally. His Grace wasn’t a sea serpent, as I assumed he would be. He was a large translucent lizard with suckers on his toes and protruding eyes that were hazy and didn’t really look at anyone. Gerald would’ve known exactly what he was. After ten minutes with His Grace, I knew the only thing that was important. He was mind-numbingly boring. Once you got used to seeing his blood spurting around in his veins, there wasn’t really anything else interesting about him.