woman folded her arms across her chest.
“Leo McLellan,” she said, and Leo felt a shock run through him.
“No,” Vada protested weakly. “He’s a Byrne, he—”
“Oh, he’s a Byrne all right,” the woman said. “Those eyes, the nose, the chin . . . my god, he even has her hair, if not the same color.” She cocked her head. “But this Byrne was not raised on the estates of Culinnon or in the majestic streets of Ithilia.”
“I . . .” Leo didn’t know what to say and from the looks of it, neither did Vada.
The woman smiled and extended a hand to him. “My name is Phebe Ofairn. I believe you know my brother, Eneas.”
3
Agnes
THE SUN WAS SETTING, AND LEO AND VADA STILL WEREN’T back.
Agnes paced the length of the captain’s cabin as Sera stared out the porthole window over the bed, fascinated by the sights and sounds of Arbaz.
What was taking the two of them so long? Agnes fingered the letter in her pocket, the one her grandmother had sent her. She kept it on her at all times, right next to the photograph of her mother. They were touchstones reminding her of who she was and of her purpose. She took the letter out now and read it for the millionth time.
My dearest Agnes,
I hope this letter reaches you. I have friends at the University of Ithilia and received surprising (and welcome) news. Come find me when you arrive. I will say no more here except that I have longed to meet you.
Your loving grandmother,
Ambrosine Byrne
The date for Agnes’s interview with the Academy of Sciences was already set and mere days away. Agnes didn’t want to miss it—she couldn’t miss it; she had been waiting her whole life for this opportunity. But Sera needed to get home. Agnes felt terrible asking her friend if they could delay the journey even for just a day.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Sera’s voice made her jump. Agnes quickly put the letter back in her pocket.
“I was just worrying about Leo,” she lied.
“No you weren’t. You are thinking about that school, the one you are hoping to attend. You have an interview there soon, don’t you?”
Agnes was confused and surprised—she had barely spoken about the university, as if that would make real the possibility of failure.
Sera smiled. “Leo is more impressed by you than he lets on.”
Agnes felt her cheeks grow hot. “It’s not important,” she said. “The main thing is to get you to Braxos.”
“Agnes.” Sera stood and took both of Agnes’s hands in her soft silver ones. “This journey was never only about me. We are all changing, making new paths in our lives, me and you and Leo. You are my friend. I would never want you to miss an opportunity because of me. We will go to Ithilia and you will interview at this school and then we will continue on to Braxos. I would never forgive myself if you lost this chance. I would never want you to resent me after . . . after I’m gone.”
Agnes felt like a thorn was stuck in her throat. She wanted Sera to return to her people, but she was going to miss her desperately. She’d never really had a true friend before. She had Vada now, but Vada was something else—Vada was need and want, Vada was in her dreams at night and on the tip of her tongue in the morning. Vada was all sorts of things that Agnes had never felt before.
“You are the best friend I’ve ever had,” Agnes said. “I’m so glad I met you. Well, I’m not glad that my brother caught you with a net launcher and my father locked you up in a crate, but . . .”
Sera laughed. “How strange the way this all began. But you were always kind to me, right from the start. You made me believe that not every human was evil.”
“Chalk one up for humanity—we aren’t all bad.”
“Those Misarros were awfully frightening,” Sera said with a shudder. “I fear it may be even more difficult to get to Braxos now than we had thought.”
“But you said Errol knows the way,” Agnes pointed out. “So we have an advantage over everyone else.”
Sera nodded. “I wish he could tell us how far it is, how long it will take to get there. But he speaks in terms of swims and shoals. I don’t think he understands distance like we do.”
Agnes collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.