by Stina Leicht
Suvi winced. “I didn’t mention which dialect.”
“Oh, goddess, I’m sorry,” Ilta said.
“It’s all right,” Suvi said. “At least you’re the only one I have to worry about anymore. The Hold isn’t exactly populated with thought-readers.”
“I do try to not act like I can hear,” Ilta said.
“I was able to adjust to Piritta. I’ll get used to you,” Suvi said, remembering her former souja. “At least you don’t interrupt my thoughts with a constant commentary on courtiers’ mode of dress.” Oh, Piritta. I do miss you, my friend. Suvi changed the subject. “What about our new gunsmith?”
“I don’t know yet,” Ilta said. “He should be here soon. The good news is we’ve three volunteers interested in apprenticing. None are metal-speakers, but they can help with the labor.”
“Excellent,” Suvi said. “Dylan and Dar should have the last of the equipment we traded for. Do you think one forge will be big enough?”
“It’ll have to be,” Ilta said. “What do you think about Kuznetsov?”
“She seems excited about the prospect of experimentation,” Suvi said. “I don’t think she got much leeway for creativity in Zhelezokholm. I suspect one enthusiastic boy won’t hinder her much. She’s old enough to know how to manage herself and him if necessary. Nonetheless, Acrasians aren’t terribly open when it comes to foreigners. If problems evolve, I’ll leave it to James to sort out. Freeson was his idea.”
“I’ll talk to James. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“And the surgery?” Suvi asked. “How are you doing?”
“We’re busy. I delivered another baby yesterday. My eighth. A girl,” Ilta said. “Everything is working out well enough. I’ve one assistant. Kaija Westola and Sergeant Wiberg have been helpful when they’re not traveling with Nels. But we need an assistant for Kaija. Unfortunately, she keeps driving them off.”
“Really?” Suvi asked.
“Have you ever met Kaija Westola?”
“I can’t say that I have,” Suvi said.
“She’s one of the best surgeons I’ve ever worked with,” Ilta said. “Unfortunately, she’s a grumbletonian with the personality of a wet bear in Nälkäkuu. She doesn’t bother me because I understand her. But Kaarina refuses to be in the same room with Kaija, and well … she punched Cassian in the face. Not that he didn’t ask for it. But still.”
Suvi paused. “Don’t bears usually sleep in the winter?”
“Not wet ones. Not unless it wants to freeze to death.”
“Oh.”
There came a knock on the door. Jami answered it, and Valerri, Suvi’s servant, entered with a tray of food and wine.
“Would you like to join me for lunch?” Suvi asked.
Ilta stood up. “I can’t. I told James I’d treat his eyes this afternoon.”
“How is that going?” Suvi asked.
“As well as can be expected,” Ilta said. “If he were kainen, he’d have been treated sooner. He wouldn’t have to worry about becoming blind. I could’ve stopped the progression, but now? All I can do is slow it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Suvi said.
“Me too,” Ilta said. “At least I can give him another year or so of sight, a few days at a time.”
“All right,” Suvi said. “I’ll see you later.” She got to her feet and gave her a hug. “Are you free for dinner? I’d like some company.”
“I am,” Ilta said, and hugged her back. Then she gathered her basket and left.
SUVI
THE HOLD
GRANDMOTHER MOUNTAIN
NEW ELEDORE
THIRD OF VERIKUU, 1783
MIDNIGHT
Clár Oibre Rúnda, with her charcoal-black hull and matching sails, was difficult to spot in the dark. Watching the two-masted sloop of war glide to her berth next to Otter, Suvi briefly wondered how many ships the Waterborne had that were similarly designed. Probably quite a few, she thought. Although honorable, not every movement the Waterborne made was above the waterline—as Dylan would phrase it. Useful. Maybe we could have a few of the same sorts of ships one day? If New Eledore survives.
That’s a big ‘if.’
The Eledorean corvette and the Waterborne ship were of similar size. Side by side, they looked like two beautiful sisters—one light, one dark.
Her relief at seeing her friends safe was mixed with anxiety. She had missed Dylan, of course. He had been one of her closest confidants since her first posting in her father’s navy—years before she’d become queen, but the news she had for him wasn’t positive. She hoped this wouldn’t spell the end of the only positive political alliance New Eledore possessed. Her chest ached with that thought, and she told herself for the hundredth time that a queen could ill-afford self-pity.
When Dylan spotted her waiting, he secured the sloop to the dock with one last rushed knot and scrambled down the short rope ladder. Smiling, he held his arms out wide. “Suvi! You met us at the dock in person?”
“Of course, I did!” She grabbed him in a tight hug, her face hitting him in the chest. He smelled of fresh air, ship tar, salt, and spices. “You certainly took your time getting up the river.”
He lifted her into the air like an indulgent big brother, and she couldn’t help letting out a girlish squeal. That was when she noticed the white mark on Dylan’s forehead. She held her questions for later.
He set her back on her feet. “Sailing only at night has its disadvantages.”
“Why bother? Didn’t you travel the whole way from the coast by the Kristallilasi River? The Acrasians don’t have any fortifications west of Trecoli, not on the river. They haven’t resumed moving westward, have they?” Suvi asked.
“They haven’t,” Dylan said. “But there were complications.”
“Complications? Are you hurt?” She pointed to the white mark. It was the size of a thumbprint. She’d never seen anything like it before. “Should I get a healer?”
An embarrassed expression passed over Dylan’s features. “Not now,” he muttered.
“My turn.” Dar dropped two seabags onto the dock with a thump that echoed off the cave walls, and held out his arms for a hug. “River navigation isn’t any fun. The wind is always in the wrong direction this time of year. Do you know how often we had to resort to towing Clár like a barge?”
“Why didn’t Dylan make some wind?” Suvi asked, and released Dylan.
Dylan said, “Even I don’t have power enough to pilot a boat the length of the Kristallilasi.”
In the midst of changing targets, Suvi spotted a shaggy brown Eledorean pony eating oats from a bucket on Clár’s deck. She wrapped her arms around Dar. “Good thing you remembered to bring a horse.”
“Who says we did?” Dar said.
“Then where did that come from?” Suvi asked, stepping back from Dar and pointing to the pony.
“Oh. That’s Anu,” Dar said with a grin.
“Did you steal Anu?” Suvi asked.
“Why, dear lady,” Dar said. “What are you implying? Waterborne are merchants—”
Suvi said, “I know. I know.”
“—we’d never ever do—”
“—any such thing,” Suvi said. “I know.”
Dar leaned closer. “Poor Anu was living in an Acrasian work camp north of Wyeth. She was pining for Grandmother Mountain. How could we refuse?”
“I see,” Suvi said. “And that didn’t have anything to do with your need to travel only at night?”
Dylan said, “Not as much as the noise Dar made when he stole her.”
Suvi said, “I thought you didn’t—”
“I was quiet!” Dar made his defence to Dylan. “The dogs were the noisy ones. Can I help it I don’t speak Acrasian guard dog?”
“Information that would’ve been good to know before you wandered into an Acrasian work camp,” Dylan said. “Filled with armed Acrasians, I might add.”
“Admit it,” Dar said, giving Dylan’s cheek a kiss. “It was
fun.”
“It may have been fun,” Dylan said.
“Come on, you two,” Suvi said. “It’s cold out here.”
“What about poor Anu?” Dar asked.
Suvi motioned to one of the troops guarding the river gate. “She’ll be fine. Private Olhouser will see her to the stable,” Suvi said, linking her arms through both Dylan and Dar’s elbows. “Now, let’s get your things to your rooms. I’ve a bottle of Kaledan port that needs drinking.”
“Oh?” Dar asked.
“We should take care of this rather unfortunate circumstance, Dar,” Dylan said. “For the sake of friendship.”
“I admire your noble selflessness,” Dar said. “A trait I find I share.”
A little over half of an hour later, she was once again sitting in front of the fire in her rooms, this time with a glass of port. Anu was happily munching oats in a clean stall with the few horses kept in the Hold, and Dylan and Dar’s baggage had been taken to the apartments next to hers.
She kicked off her slippers and dug her bare toes into the thick rug. “How was your journey?”
“The river portion of the trip was dull, for the most part,” Dylan said. “The Acrasians haven’t made much progress colonizing Eledore.”
“My brother’s efforts do seem to have lessened their enthusiasm.” Suvi detected guilt in Dylan’s face at the mention of Nels, and frowned.
Dylan looked away. “What’s wrong?”
“You convinced him it would be safe to meet with Cousin Edvard, didn’t you?” Suvi asked.
Dylan held up his hands. “As I recall, I tried to talk him out of it. I merely supplied passage to Norman Island.”
“You did what?!” She jumped to her feet. “Dylan Ardan Kask! I don’t know that I’ll ever forgive you!”
“It was safer than letting him do it himself,” Dylan said. “Do you know how much the Acrasians are willing to pay for his head right now?”
She began to pace. She reached the end of the rug and whirled. “That doesn’t give you an excuse to—”
“Look,” Dylan said. “He’s only doing everything he can to keep you alive.”
“He’s reckless and—”
“I know what you’re doing. Don’t think I don’t,” Dylan said. “You’re angry with him, not me. And in all honesty, you’re probably not even angry with him. The person you’re actually angry with is King Edvard. But you can’t scream at him. So, you’re taking it out on me. I wish you wouldn’t.”
Suvi sighed. “Shit.” The mantel clock ticked nine times before she fell back into her chair. “I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted. Please don’t do it again,” Dylan said. “Now, what’s really bothering you? You can tell me.”
“And me,” Dar said. “I promise not to tell a soul. Unless it’s something really juicy.”
“Dar, you’re not helping,” Dylan said.
Dar held his hands in the air. “It was a joke!”
Dylan said, “Some things aren’t funny. Particularly when it involves leaders of foreign countries.”
“Right,” Dar said. “Shutting up now.”
“I am sorry,” she said. This is Dylan and Dar. You can say what you feel. “I’m—I’m terrified.”
Nodding, Dylan said, “Any sensible person would be.”
“Every door has closed against us,” she said. “And I’m running out of options. Let alone ideas.” Tears blurred her vision and a painful lump formed in her throat. She struggled to voice things she didn’t dare say even to her brother, Nels. Especially Nels. “I—I’m failing my people—have failed. Oh, goddess, I don’t know what to do.” She began to sob. “I’m so tired of everything going wrong!” She took out her frustration on the padded arm of the chair.
Dylan stood up. “Come here.”
She held him tight and cried in a way she hadn’t dared to do in front of anyone in more than a year. It felt wonderful to not have to worry about what anyone thought.
When she’d finished, she fished a handkerchief from her sleeve, stepped back, and blew her nose. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Dar said. “I honestly don’t know how you keep from constantly weeping.”
“Suvi is a strong one,” Dylan said.
“No, I’m not.” She moved back to the chair, her face heating.
Dylan let her compose herself before continuing. “I take it your search didn’t go as well as planned?”
She waited, attempting to find the right words, and gave up. “The swordsmith, Trygve Blomgrin, is still missing. I was able to trace him as far as Ytlain, but he took a ship for Zhelezokholm a month later. The vessel never reached the city. Pirates are being blamed.”
Dylan frowned. “My father isn’t going to be happy to hear that.”
“I found seventeen water steel blades,” Suvi said.
“That isn’t what you promised,” Dylan said.
“I know. I—” She sighed. “I didn’t lie to your father. I’d do anything to get them to him. I know you need them. I know why.”
“The soulbane problem is getting worse. We’ve lost six ships in the past eight months,” Dylan said.
Suvi said, “If I had them to give, I’d—”
“I’ve two options,” Dar said. “But you’re not going to like either of them.”
Suvi said, “As long as they don’t involve letting down the only ally that Eledore has left, I’m open to hearing them.”
“The first,” Dylan said, “is a proposal my father pulled together in the eventuality that you wouldn’t be able to meet your agreement.”
“Now I really feel terrible,” Suvi said.
“It’s all right. Listen,” Dylan said. “He’s willing to sponsor your application for clan membership as an independent clan. He is willing to take your request directly to the Sea Mother. In exchange, he would like to form a close partnership.”
Suvi blinked. “Why would he do that? What could he gain? We have nothing.”
“Not nothing,” Dar said.
Dylan said, “You have several thousand acres of virgin ironwood forests north of Mehrinna which, should Clan Kask partner with your clan, could make us both a great deal of money.”
Eledore was the only source for ironwood in the whole of Västmark. That had been one of the reasons Eledore had enjoyed favored status with the Waterborne in the past. Before Uncle Sakari destroyed that relationship. It was also one of the reasons Eledore had once been known for her navy. “I see,” Suvi said. “And what prevents him from simply taking whatever he wants?”
“The Acrasians, for a start,” Dylan said. “If a member clan had a legitimate claim to those lands, there is very little the Regnum could do. All the Waterborne would stand united with you. And the Regnum of Acrasia cannot afford to anger the whole of the Waterborne Nations.”
“They need our whale oil,” Dar said.
“I thought the Waterborne as a whole didn’t take sides in wars,” Suvi asked.
“It’s rare, but there are exceptions,” Dylan said. “In this case, the ironwood alone would be reason enough.”
“The Waterborne don’t openly hold land,” Suvi said, already knowing this wasn’t the case.
“Not within the continent of Västmark,” Dylan said.
Dar said, “Dylan—”
“Suvi isn’t stupid, Dar,” Dylan said. “She’s been to Treaty Island. She’s lived there for a few months. She already guesses the homelands exist.”
Suvi noted that Dylan didn’t give the name or hint at the location. “And that information is safe with me,” she said, and paused. “That’s the other reason for the offer, isn’t it?”
“It would keep that knowledge where it belongs,” Dylan said. “Within the Waterborne Nations.” He paused. “This isn’t the first time such an offer has been made, you know.”
“I see.” Suvi nodded. “That’s why you’re the Waterborne Nations.”
Dylan shrugged. “Well?”
“And if I refuse?” Suvi asked.
“You’ve shown me the carrot. Where’s the stick?”
Dylan looked away. “Something will have to be arranged, one way or the other. Obviously, my preferences don’t feature in the matter.”
I thought as much. The pressure of ever-narrowing options intensified. Suvi swallowed her panic and asked, “And your second proposal? I’d like to know all my options before I give you an answer.”
“What if I told you that there’s a large cache of water steel swords that the Acrasians took out of the vault in Jalokivi? And what if I said I knew where they are located?” Dar asked.
Suvi sat up. “You do? How?”
“ ‘How’ isn’t the right question, is it?” Dylan said with a smile.
“All right,” Suvi said. “Where are they?”
“You’re not going to like it,” Dar said.
“I don’t give a shit,” Suvi said. “I’m desperate.”
“Novus Salernum,” Dar said. “In a closely guarded military depot owned by Consul Numerius of Acrasia.”
Suvi slumped. “Shit.”
“I told you you wouldn’t like it,” Dar said.
She bit her lip and stared into the flames. “Do you know exactly where this warehouse is?”
“We do,” Dar said. “Thanks to a very curious, and as luck would have it, chatty quartermaster. I bet you never thought you’d be glad of the Acrasian’s unreasonable fear of Eledorean magic.”
“What?” Suvi asked.
Dylan said, “The swords were recently collected and moved to a single location. Some were even removed from warehouses under the Brotherhood’s control. Strangely, the Brotherhood attempted to refuse the order.”
Suvi said, “So, the tension between Emperor Herminius and the Brotherhood has been worsening.”
Dar said, “Apparently, enough that a number of Wardens were executed.”
“Consul Numerius has the Emperor’s sympathy as well as his ear,” Suvi said. “What happened to the blades?”
“They were packed into crates marked FOODSTUFFS and stored in a restricted room. No one is allowed in or out. Our man decided to have a look, since the depot in question is his responsibility. He was rather disconcerted by what he found.”
