by Jeff Wheeler
“Ah, Raj Sarin,” Adam said with a smile. “I miss him. Do you still practice the Way of Ice and Shadows?”
“I do,” Cettie said. Raj Sarin, Fitzroy’s Bhikhu bodyguard, had taught her the series of fluid movements. It helped her concentrate and had already proven useful in dangerous situations.
“Do you think you could throw me to the ground?” he asked, arching his eyebrows.
She deflected the question lightheartedly. “Why would I even wish to try, Mr. Creigh?”
“Mr. Creigh?” he said archly, noticing her change to the formal.
They passed under the nearest archway leading to Vicar’s Close. The shadows dimmed the sunlight and made her momentarily blind. Then she heard Fitzroy call her name.
The two of them stopped at once. Fitzroy was pacing within the web of arches separating the abbey from the village. When her eyes adjusted, she could see his hands clasped tightly behind his back, one of the indications that he was nervous or worried.
“I’ve already bid good-bye to Anna and Phinia, but I wanted to see you before I returned to Lockhaven,” Fitzroy said, placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her forehead.
She embraced him, holding tight and wishing they had more time together. “Must you go so soon?”
“Indeed I must. I’m sure you noticed the tempest?”
“It was unmarked,” Adam said.
“It was Lord Welles, the Minister of War,” said Fitzroy with an agitated tone.
A dark feeling entered Cettie’s heart. “Are we at war?” She had suspected it would be a ship from that ministry, but the minister himself?
“No,” Fitzroy said in a reassuring tone. He squeezed her shoulder and then clasped his hands behind his back again. “He came to see Sera. I’ll let her explain it. She’s back at the dormitory, waiting for you. While Welles said he was coming to forewarn her, I fear he had other motives. We both know the ministries are not fully transparent with each other.”
More secrets. So many secrets stood between everyone. Secrets under the cloak of the Mysteries. Secrets under the cloak of government.
“I will return as soon as I can,” Fitzroy said soothingly. “Meanwhile, help Sera prepare for the Test. I’ve only had a few days with her, and thanks to Welles, she has burdens now she didn’t have before. I fear her father’s faction is intent on dooming her.”
“She would make an excellent empress,” Cettie said, and she meant it. She never let anyone else do her thinking for her, and even though she was small in stature, she was fierce in her sense of right and wrong.
Fitzroy’s mouth quirked into a smile. “I agree. But her own father would do anything to prevent it, and there are other powerful people who would not want a leader so sympathetic to the plight of the poor.” He sighed. “I must be off. Word travels quickly in this realm. I’ll come soon, before the Test, unless my duties prevent me.”
“I love you,” she told him, enjoying the feeling of warmth and security that filled her breast when she said it.
“And I you,” he said with light in his eyes.
“How is Mother? Is her health still improving?”
“Yes, she joins me at more state functions these days. Your sisters both seem to be doing well.”
“And Stephen?” she asked gently, knowing it was a tender subject. “How does he fare at home?”
“I worry about Stephen still. But I trust he will mature.”
That was a point of sadness for Cettie. The oldest of Fitzroy’s children had not pursued a career yet. His passion had been for the Mysteries of Thought, but he had no desire to become a vicar. He enjoyed writing poetry, but that did not earn him any money. He’d tried working at the law offices of Sloan and Teitelbaum and promptly quit because he found the work tedious. His lack of ambition for anything but his birthright made Cettie uneasy. How could he hope to govern an estate when he could not govern himself?
Cettie could see the hurt and disappointment in Fitzroy’s eyes. He had tried to raise his son patiently, but his guidance and suggestions had fallen on deaf ears. Fitzroy’s own father had ordered him to join the Ministry of War to force his obedience, to separate him from a girl he loved. But Fitzroy was a much more tenderhearted man. Sometimes Cettie couldn’t help wondering if his softer approach simply didn’t fit his son’s need for discipline.
“Well, a tree leans with the wind. But if it is properly staked, it will grow straight.” He winked at her. “Eventually. I would appreciate it if you’d give Anna some more of your time and influence, Cettie. I’m happy she’s found a place here, but I do worry about all of her friends. They can be distracting.”
She loved that he trusted her to act as his helper. To listen to his opinions and counsel.
“I will do my best,” she answered loyally.
“Then you will succeed,” he said, tapping the side of his forehead. They embraced again, and then Fitzroy shook Adam’s hand in a firm, respectful way. “I look forward to hearing about your career, Adam. You will do noble work, of that I have no doubt.”
“Thank you, sir,” Adam said with a brief nod.
They watched as Fitzroy strode toward the Aldermaston’s manor. That was where he went to come and go. Cettie did not understand how he could leave Muirwood that way, but she accepted that she would understand in the future. Some final Mysteries, it would seem, were only explained to those who had passed the Test.
“Sera is probably anxious to see you,” Adam said with a smile. He offered his arm again and then led her to the porch of her dormitory. She waited at the doorstep after they bid each other good-bye, watching as he left down the crowded way toward the main square. How easy it was to admire him when he couldn’t see her. When the stakes weren’t quite so high. Once he disappeared into the masses, Cettie opened the door and went inside.
Sera was pacing, of course. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was holding an unfolded letter in her hand. It appeared she had been reading it over and over.
“Is everything all right?” Cettie asked. Sera startled with surprise. She instantly put the letter behind her back.
“Goodness, I didn’t hear you come up the walk,” her friend said, fanning herself with her hand. She tried to laugh, but it sounded overly giddy. “I’m so glad you’re here. There’s much to tell. Did you see Fitzroy before he left?”
“Just now,” Cettie answered, watching as Sera moved toward the window seat, still concealing the letter. “What were you reading? Is it from your old governess?”
Why did Sera look guilty all of a sudden? If it had been Sera’s old governess, Hugilde, she would not have been quick to hide it.
Sera’s look was almost wild. But then her hand dropped, and Cettie could see the letter more clearly. “No.” She grazed her teeth against her bottom lip. “It’s from Will. Will Russell.”
That was a surprise. Cettie had known about Sera’s fascination with the young man who had taken lessons with her and her tutor Commander Falking when she was twelve. They had corresponded together, with the permission of those supervising them, until Sera’s father found out. He’d blustered about, insisting that Will return the letters Sera had written to him. As punishment for the boy’s refusal, he’d practically banished him to the night- and ice-shrouded land of the Naestors to get his schooling in the Mysteries of War. All the letters Sera had received had been confiscated and destroyed. Little wonder she was so keen on keeping this one secret.
“There is a tempest at the docking yard,” Cettie said, shutting the door behind her. “From the Ministry of War. My father told me Lord Welles had come with some news.”
“Yes, it was Lord Welles and Commander Falking.” Sera was still pacing, her mood full of energy and wariness. Those emotions seemed to fill the whole dormitory. “Falking brought the letter, but he didn’t give it to me himself. He’s such a goose. He pretended to have dropped it, although his maneuver was plain as daylight, and anyone could have found it.” She stopped pacing for long enough to look Cettie in th
e eye. “I haven’t heard a word from Will in four years. Not since he was sent to the far north for his schooling.”
Cettie wanted to read the letter herself, desperately, but she wouldn’t ask for it. She listened patiently instead. It didn’t take much to persuade Sera to keep talking. The princess folded up the letter crisply and then stuffed it into the pocket of her dress.
“Will said that he’s finishing his schooling. He’ll likely take the Test before we do. I think they end their curriculum sooner up north, but I’m not certain. Then the ministry will give him his first post. He said he would be coming to the City in the near future. He’s nervous, of course. My father may have already forgotten about him, but I doubt it. He can harbor a grudge forever! Will is concerned he may be sent to a distant outpost on another world. That he may never see me again.” She shuddered, and Cettie knew what she was thinking. If another war broke out with Kingfountain, the men affiliated with the Ministry of War faced the greatest danger. And it wasn’t without precedence for the court of Kingfountain to instigate the trouble. “When he comes to the City, he will bring the letters I wrote him all those years ago. He will give them only to me, not to my father. All he asks is that I allow him to keep one. Just one.”
Cettie stared at Sera, feeling the emotional turmoil she was in. They had been so young back then, so naïve, and now they were on the cusp of adulthood, at the age when every decision they made seemed powerful enough to propel their lives in a different direction.
“Are you going to answer him?” Cettie asked, keeping her expression and her tone neutral.
“I don’t even know how I could get him a reply,” Sera said, shaking her head. “Perhaps it’s a poor idea. It’s been four years, Cettie. I don’t know what . . . if anything . . . he—I don’t know! I’m rambling. This isn’t the only news. Cettie, Lord Welles came to warn me. He is a very political man. He was the prime minister twice, how could he not be! No doubt he covets the role still. But he came in secret to share with me that my father is coming to Muirwood.”
“The prince regent is coming here?” Cettie asked in dismay. She’d never met Sera’s father in person, and after all the stories she’d heard about him, she had no desire to do so.
“Yes.” Now Sera looked even more nervous. “He wants to send me away. You remember when I took that Mysteries of Law class about the trading we do with other worlds? All that talk of the covenants and laws sometimes got tedious, but I loved learning about other places.”
“Yes, everything you told me about the mirror gates did sound fascinating,” Cettie said, “but why not close them off temporarily? Why risk another war?”
“Because the only way to close them is to destroy them,” Sera said. “They’re all made from natural rock formations. You’ve studied the Mysteries of Wind—how long does it take for a natural bridge to form? Thousands of years?”
“At least,” Cettie said.
“The Leerings on the gates alert us when something passes through one of them. Still, it wouldn’t be smart to leave one of them open near any of our major cities. The ministries destroyed all of those gates years ago.”
Sera always came alive while talking of matters of state. It was one of many reasons Cettie thought her particularly well suited to the duties of an empress. “Interesting, to be sure, but how does this relate to your father’s visit?”
“Kingfountain has reached out to us again. They want to understand our secrets, how we make the sky cities float and the sky ships fly. Lord Welles thinks they may also have heard about your storm glass, and as you know, that’s a secret we don’t even share among our own people. You see, a deeper alliance may ensure peace long enough for us to resolve some of our differences and trade some of our most valuable secrets.” She bit her lip and winced. “I might as well move along to the point. The prince of the court at Kingfountain is seeking a wife. My father intends to marry me off to him. There, I’ve said it. Sorry I’ve been such a goose.”
Cettie could see why her friend was so rattled. “A marriage alliance with Kingfountain? Surely it’s just a ploy to stop you from becoming empress here.”
“Of course it is!” Sera said with a huff. “He’d expect me to give up my rights in this world to become, possibly, a queen in that one. Father cannot force me to leave Muirwood, but it’s clear he will do his best to convince me to leave willingly before I’ve passed the Test. Now that my grandfather is dead, my father will not stop his tricks until I am out of his way.”
“And he cannot make you leave?” Cettie asked, coming closer and touching Sera’s arm.
“How could he? I have sanctuary.”
“Yes, but doesn’t the right of sanctuary only apply to someone who has passed the Test?”
Sera shook her head. “A student cannot be forced to leave either. If you pull a cake from the oven before it’s done baking, you’ve ruined it. There are protections and covenants that were strengthened centuries ago under Empress Maia. No, Father cannot make me leave. But he’s hoping to disrupt my thoughts and throw me off. And now there’s this letter from Will . . . I was already having trouble focusing before all this, Cettie. What am I going to do?”
Sera pouted prettily as she fished into her pocket and withdrew the letter. Cettie could almost feel the war raging inside her friend, could sense her desire to keep the letter a secret. To share it with no one, not even her best friend.
“Would you read it?” Sera asked with strained humility, offering the folded paper to Cettie. “I need your help. I need your advice. What should I do?”
It was an excellent letter. Mr. Russell was accomplished in penmanship and articulated himself exceptionally well. There was nothing salacious or provocative in it, but Cettie could see the young man was roiling with ambition. He had not returned those letters to the prince regent four years ago, and perhaps he’d been planning to make this sort of gesture ever since. There was just a touch of flirtatiousness in his request to see her before his assignment came.
It was evident from Sera’s wringing hands that she was taken in by the young man. Her feelings were clouding her better judgment.
“What do you think?” Sera asked, looking at Cettie closely, trying to judge her reaction.
Cettie was adept at appearing calm whenever she wished to. She was grateful her friend had trusted her. “It’s well written.”
“Isn’t it?” Sera said enthusiastically.
Cettie thought that Sera’s level of interest needed to be tempered. “Sera, you told me yourself he is the son of a merchant who lost his fortune. He has a deed. I don’t think the two of you would be a smart match.”
Sera bristled. “I don’t want to marry him, Cettie. I want to help him.”
“Why?”
“Because what happened to him is unfair. His father was ruined through no fault of his own, and now his son must bear the price. And Will also suffers because of what happened with my father. It was my fault that he got in trouble. I want to make it right. I feel I owe it to him.”
Cettie leaned forward and handed back the letter. “Are you sure that’s your true motive, Sera? There are always two reasons people do anything. There’s the real reason, and then there’s the one we think sounds good to others.”
From her expression, Sera was taken aback by Cettie’s words. She paced restlessly after slipping the letter into her pocket. “I don’t think it’s fair quoting Fitzroy against me.”
Cettie suppressed a smile and lifted her eyebrows inquisitively.
“Well, if you want to know the truth,” Sera continued, “I do like Will. In truth, I would also like to see him again. I know our lives are very different. But if I’m to become empress, I must understand all of my people. Will gave me a glimpse into a part of the empire I didn’t understand before meeting him . . . much like you’ve helped me understand life in the Fells. I care about him. I wish him well. You know that card game that’s so popular these days? Dominion. The person with the lowest rank must forfeit their two be
st cards at the beginning of the round to the one with the highest, and the other person gives them two cards of their choice. Most people give their worst cards to that person. It helps them maintain their own position while ensuring the other person never rises. The game is designed to prevent people from improving their status, just like our society is. What would happen if the player who needs to forfeit two cards were generous rather than greedy?”
Cettie thought a moment, wanting to be helpful but not overbearing. “I cannot argue that you’re not well meaning. The risk, Sera, is that you could give the impression that you feel more than you do. That you might cause a misunderstanding between the two of you. False hope. Tread carefully, Sera. That’s all that I’m saying.”
Sera brightened and walked up and squeezed her hands. “That’s why I have you, Cettie. You help to keep me from making mistakes.”
But in Cettie’s heart, she wasn’t sure the matter with Will was ending. Perhaps it was only beginning.
CHAPTER SIX
GAMES OF CHANCE
Of all the classes taught at Muirwood, Cettie’s least favorite was the dancing class taught by Mrs. Ajax. There were always new dances being invented in the City’s schools and at Lockhaven, and it was expected for young women to study dance all four years. The result was that there were more girls than boys in the class by the fourth year, and when the music started to emanate from the Leerings hidden behind the wall panels, Cettie was rarely asked to partner with anyone. Though she certainly had an aptitude for dancing, and a passion for it, no young man wanted to be seen standing up with a young woman who’d lived part of her life in the Fells. It only happened when Mrs. Ajax ordered it. During her first year, Adam had often rescued her from isolation.
Sera, of course, never lacked for a partner. Because of her station, she would attend state balls and be required to dance with dignitaries and visitors from faraway lands, so there was extra motivation for her to practice and excel.
