I supposed there was still room for double-crossing, but Gunther had assured us that wasn’t the way things were done here. It was the only halfway-positive thing he’d had to say about the whole island.
Gunther glanced in my direction. “Clark and Addie, you will stay. The rest of you will be safe in the hall. No one will harm you.”
Xavier’s features were bland, but hurt flickered in his eyes. A wave of compassion crashed over me, in spite of myself. He may not have been far from the truth in the captain’s quarter’s when he talked about atoning for his mistakes for the rest of his life. Though I was proud to be one of the two people in the world Gunther trusted the most right now, I still felt sorry for Xavier being excluded.
Locke looked as though he would object, but he met Clark’s eyes. Clark nodded, and Locke reluctantly agreed in a bizarre exchange.
Since when does Locke care whether Clark approves of something?
A guard came to escort the three of them out and the president’s sons in. They were identical, from their red, curly hair and blue eyes to their sneering mouths. With their entry, I put together what should have been obvious.
“Anton, you remember your brothers Kaspar and Finn.”
It took me a moment to figure out who the president was talking to. The president’s sons sat across the table from us. Their builds were similar to Gunther’s, but where his muscle was lean, they had a little more bulk to them. I couldn’t tell their ages, really. They could have been a year older than Gunther or a year younger.
“My name is Gunther. And my brothers’ names are Clark and Xavier.”
The president smirked. “And yet, it’s Ms. Kensington you chose to stay with you.”
All three of our heads snapped up at that. I was certain we had never said my name.
“Yes, I know who you are. I even know who is after you, probably better than you do.”
“What do you know of the Court of Yomi?” I asked before I could stop myself.
There was no reaction from the men across the table, as though I hadn’t spoken at all. Being intentionally ignored would have been aggravating enough if the president’s two sons weren’t looking me over like something to be purchased at the market.
Clark repeated my question and got an answer. Naturally. Blood rushed into my cheeks.
“I know plenty,” the president said, “but that’s not the group I was referring to. You’re in possession of the most powerful amulet in the world, and you think only one person has their eyes on it? Tell me, what does the name Spectrum mean to you?”
I started to say it meant nothing to me, but that wasn’t quite true. A memory surfaced of standing outside my father’s office the night of the disastrous ball. The men there had threatened something having to do with Spectrum. Still, it meant nothing I could articulate. I shook my head, which the president deigned to notice.
“Surely she noticed some similarities between her father’s position and my own?”
“Yes, she surely did, and incidentally, is quite capable of speech on her own,” I said, barely resisting the urge to roll my eyes.
Once again, the men pretended as though I hadn’t spoken. My hand twitched toward the overlooked dagger in my boot, but I settled for glaring daggers at him. I opened my mouth again to ask if he was sure he wasn’t the deaf one, but he spoke over me.
“Son, have you not instructed your companions on the customs of our country?”
Gunther didn’t speak.
“Anton?”
Gunther looked at his father with a polite, expectant expression.
“You said he was deaf and dumb, Father,” one of the sneering boys said. Whether Gunther saw him or not, he didn’t react. Clark, on the other hand, shot forward in his chair.
“Watch yourself,” he said, a lethal quality evident in his tone. Even unarmed and one man against potentially three opponents, I believed his threat.
“How dare you threaten us in our own castle?” the older boy’s tone was laced with arrogance.
“Enough,” the president’s voice was quiet, but his sons took heed. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Gunther’s calm ones the entire exchange.
“Gunther,” he said, finally using the name Gunther had chosen as his own.
“Yes, President?” Gunther asked with a distant cordiality.
“Did you or did you not instruct your companions on the protocols of our country?”
“Did I tell them that Picaro was a backward, small-minded place that had yet to understand the inherent value of human life or basic decency? I did, yes. I did not, however, and will not instruct my dear friend, Adelaide, to sit still and look pretty. Now, you asked for this meeting. I assume you have something to say.”
“How is it you can hear me?”
“I understand everything you say,” was all Gunther said. “Continue.” His eyes were steel, resembling the icy orbs of the man next to him more than I would have thought possible.
The president nodded. For a man who lived on power, he was acquiescing more to Gunther than I would have thought possible. Though Gunther had foregone his gloves, his hands were safely hidden under the table right now. I wondered what the man would think of what I suspected was his handiwork. And where was Gunther’s mother? Shut up somewhere, unseen and unheard, to match this place’s ideals of a woman? Complicit in his abuse? Or had he lost her, as I had my own?
Anger burned through my veins at Gunther being put in the position of having to sit so close to the man who had mutilated him as a child and forced him from his home. He had known this was going to happen and had chosen to come anyway. Admiration and gratitude crashed over me for this man who had become a brother to me.
After several long moments of silence as the president simply stared at Gunther, his expression neutral, the man spoke. “Provisions are scarce, which is why, as I’m sure you know, we guard them so strictly. I will need the day to arrange this. Assuming we can manage what you ask, I will send an envoy to your ship at first light.”
The Princess
Nell falsely assured the pirates — for that’s certainly what they were — that she had somewhere to go before heading determinedly up a road that she supposed led to her new life. Jacob handed her a heavy purse of coins before allowing her to leave. Perhaps she wasn’t the accomplished liar she believed herself to be, but no matter.
She resolutely avoided thinking about her family, her home, or anything that wasn’t ahead of her. If she considered everything she had lost, she might just hurl herself right back into the sea. So, onward it was. A few people looked at her askance, and she realized her clothing was not the sort worn here. She would have to remedy that first.
It was oppressively hot here, but the citizens appeared to favor long-sleeved shirts and leather, nonetheless. With a sigh, Nell walked into the first shop she saw. The shopkeeper didn’t glance at her until she approached, trying out another lie.
“My mother sent me to fetch a new outfit. She said whatever you recommend is fine. She’s working, you see, and I’ve gone and muddied up my clothes again…” She trailed off, looking the plump woman in the eye without blinking. The woman eyed her purse before nodding.
“Of course, Dear. We’ll see what we can find to fit you. You must be around twelve?”
Nell nodded, not about to look that gift horse in the mouth. The older people assumed she was, the more she would be able to get by with. Eventually, the woman had picked out a few outfits and named a sum. Nell had no idea if she had overcharged her and didn’t want to let on how unfamiliar she was with the currency. Before she did anything else, she would need to do a little digging into the local culture.
After leaving the store outfitted in a casual dress, of all the ridiculous things, she ducked into an alleyway to experiment with her bracelet. She pressed a few buttons and appeared near a building down in the long, narrow space. That was good. She tried a setting for a little further out, but the crystal flickered and refused to comply. She sighed. She wo
uld have to make do with that until she could devise a way to fix it, which would be difficult with her limited knowledge and no one to advise her.
That was just one of the mounting number of problems to tackle. The foreign world loomed before her, as impossibly vast and unknown as her future. Nell looked toward the ground of the alleyway, wondering if it wouldn’t be easier to simply curl up there and let fate overtake her. In the end, it simply wasn’t in her to give up like that. She lifted her chin, putting her doubts firmly behind her. She would find a way to survive here. There was no other choice.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
CLARK
We convened to discuss things back on the ship.
“Spectrum,” I began. “SkyBlue Industries is controlled by them. What do we know about them?”
Addie was the first to speak. “My father works with them in some capacity, maybe answers to them. Redshaw might be in the same predicament as SkyBlue Industries.”
“They own nearly everything on this side of the world,” SuEllen added. “We deal a lot in the black market by necessity, and Spectrum is like the ghoul in the night behind every major corporation west of the Ever Falls.” Her face scrunched up. “And east, apparently. That feels… troubling.”
“The Court spoke of them with disdain but also fear,” Xavier chimed in. “They didn’t speak freely around me, but even I could pick up on that much. They’re enemies.”
“But what do they want with the necklace?” Addie asked.
“Power. What every man wants,” Locke added. “In light of this knowledge, I now believe your father knew they were after you and wanted us to get to you first.”
“Do you believe that, Clark?” It was the first time she had addressed me without disdain in a while, and I could tell the answer meant a great deal to her.
I deliberated over my words. “It makes sense. I never understood why he would let us escape, but your father is a shrewd man. He knew I would go after my brother and Locke would come after you.” I didn’t think I needed to announce in this room full of people that I would have come if it had only been her.
Her jaw worked, and I reassessed my last thought, barely suppressing a sigh. I had managed to make yet another bad call with her.
When everyone headed to their respective cabins, Addie went to Gunther’s instead. Xav and I followed, ignoring the irritable look she shot us.
“Do you think he’ll give us what we need?” Locke asked.
“I do,” Gunther responded. “He has many faults, but the man isn’t stupid.”
I hadn’t imagined he was, given that he had produced a son like Gunther. But then, Gunther seemed to have developed kindness all on his own.
“It’s money for his company,” Gunther continued. “SkyBlue controls the shipping industry, among many others. Besides, killing a native without provocation wouldn’t look good, even for him.”
“Is that why you wanted me with you today, Gunther? The similarities between my father and yours?” Addie asked.
I subtly signed behind her back, and Gunther glanced at my hands a few times. Addie spoke quickly when she was aggravated, but she wouldn’t appreciate my assistance.
“Yes and no,” Gunther said. “I wanted you there, because you’re one of the people I trust most in the world, but also the only person who would come close to understanding.”
She moved to hug him, and I fought down an irrational surge of jealousy. Not because I thought there was anything going on between them, but because she was so freely affectionate with him. If I had tried to hug her, she would have slapped me.
I wanted to hug my brother, also, but I waited my turn. Sitting in the room with the man who had mutilated his hands had been too much to ask of him. If I known that was how this would go, I never would have agreed to it. Gunther likely knew that and had withheld the knowledge intentionally.
“I’m so sorry you had to go back there, Gunther.” She spoke again when they were far enough apart that he could see her. For someone I had initially thought selfish and inconsiderate, she always managed to keep my brother’s sensitivities in mind. Sometimes, I wondered who she might have been in another life, one where her family was whole and her father present.
“It will be over soon,” he said. “You’re the one who should be careful. On Picaro, a man only acknowledges a woman has spoken if he thinks her a potential marriage mate.”
Addie’s face slackened with shock, then she laughed outright. “Hey, I could do worse than Sven, I suppose.”
My brother chuckled, and I was absurdly grateful to her in that moment. Gunther was right. As the Levelians would say, thank HiLa’s memory this was almost over.
“We know what you’re trying to do,” one of the twins said to Gunther as soon as we entered the room from the day before.
Gunther only looked bored. He hadn’t spoken much last night. Xavier and I had stayed up late, not wanting to go back to our own cabin and leave our little brother alone. The dark circles under his eyes were the only sign of his discomfort at being here. The president had not yet made an appearance.
Addie laughed outright. They turned to look at her.
She smiled. “Oh, I just found the idea of either of you claiming to know anything at all outrageously amusing.”
One started to respond, but the other put a restraining hand on him, probably reminding him they were supposed to be ignoring her.
“You think you can come back and take our place at the top of SkyBlue?” said the second twin.
“I assure you, I have no desire to stay on this island a single second past what is strictly necessary,” Gunther said, looking like he was barely suppressing a glare.
They let out disbelieving snorts. My own muscles tensed with the effort of not beating a lifetime’s worth of apologies from his worthless family. No, I wouldn’t think of them as that. He had made it clear, Xav and I were his brothers, not those two sniveling brats.
“Don’t worry, boys. Whatever it is you so strongly feel the need to overcompensate for,” Addie said with a pointed look, “Gunther won’t be claiming your family. He already has a family, one conveniently not overpopulated with posturing creeps.”
That might have been the nicest thing she had said about me recently. I chuckled.
Both boys flushed with anger. They were standing closer to Addie than I was, but surely, they wouldn’t try anything. I wanted to go stand by her, but I wouldn’t undermine her when they clearly already thought she was inferior. She stared them both down, managing to make it appear they were beneath her though they were easily a head taller than she was.
“You look angry,” she said, “which is odd, considering I was under the impression you couldn’t hear me.”
I didn’t know why she was needling at them, if it was in defense of my brother or her own treatment, but I was starting to worry she would push them too far and I would have to hurt them. Not that I would mind, but it might affect negotiations. Gunther was watching now, too, shoulders tensed.
One of them balled his hands into fists, sputtering with anger, and the other stepped closer.
“You’d be a fun one to tame, wouldn’t you?”
Addie laughed. “What, with your vast knowledge of the opposite sex? I’ll let you in on a little secret. Women prefer men, not little boys so scared they have to silence female voices to feel like men at all.”
The closer twin was on her, pinning her against the wall, before I could blink.
“I’ll show you ‘man’,” he said.
Gunther and I were both out of our seats in a flash, but it wasn’t necessary. Addie had her curved dagger in her hand and was holding it against the boy’s throat.
“Careful, sweetheart,” she said, her voice icy and dripping with condescension. “I killed the last man who touched me without permission.”
She could have been bluffing, but something in the way she said it made me believe her. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. Her haunted expression and sleepless night
s could have been explained by her time in the cell, but this made much more sense.
“Back away. Now.” There wasn’t a hint of a tremor in her voice or her hand.
That’s my girl. The possessive thought escaped before I could stop it. The other boy stepped closer.
“I wouldn’t,” Gunther called.
The boy turned around to find Gunther and I both standing, arms crossed, daring him to move. In the first sign of intelligence I had seen from either twin, they moved away just in time for the door to open again.
“What’s going on here?” the president asked.
Addie’s dagger had already disappeared. She raised her eyebrows at the twins.
“Nothing,” they mumbled at the same time.
“Then let’s carry on. We don’t have much time. Show the other three to where they may purchase supplies.”
The twins left with only a backward scowl. Addie, Gunther, and I sat back down.
“The Court is closing in,” the president said, “and I won’t have a battle on this front.”
“Why bother warning us?” Gunther asked, breaking his own rule about asking questions. “You could have just given us what we needed, and we would have left as quickly as possible anyway.”
“I’m not finished,” his biological father said, evading the question. “The Court may be closer, but Spectrum is even more dangerous. They own significant companies in every major kingdom and empire in the world.”
“If that’s true,” Gunther said, eyes narrowed with suspicion, “that would include SkyBlue Industries. Again, why are you warning us.”
For the first time, the older man’s eyes looked tired. He glanced down at Gunther’s hands. “I only ever wanted to make you stronger. I can see that you did become strong, but it wasn’t at my hands. In that, I failed. I owe you a debt.”
“Consider it paid,” Gunther said. “I want nothing more to do with you, not out of your own obligation or happenstance. Tell your sons their inheritance is safe, and you can go back to thinking me dead.”
The Tempest Sea Page 19
