A frown marks Chitt’s brow. “When we reach Lestari, I’ll do what I can to find them.”
“Why?”
“That’s another question for Mathura.” The ambassador pats my upper back in an overfamiliar gesture. “You had the same grave stare when you were a boy . . . and the same affinity for weapons.” He eyes my sword with a side smile that sends a jolt through me.
I gawk after Chitt as he returns inside. I have seen that smirk a thousand times from someone else . . .
Holy gods, I just met Brac’s father.
3
KALINDA
I wake to find I am alone in the cabin. Out the open doors, our party congregates along the bow. Deven braces against the portside rail, wearing a dazed expression. I meet him on deck, achy but rejuvenated.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“It’s been an odd day.” When no one else is looking, I stroke his hand. His distracted mood peels away, and he smiles. I want to wrap my arms around him, but propriety must be upheld. Deven points past the bow. “We’re here.”
The afternoon sun lights up a far-off wall. The towering pile of stones shoots up from the sea, many times higher than our vessel’s mast. While squinting, I make out a passageway in the barrier. A low, arched bridge, like a strand of a spider’s web, spans the gap.
“What is it?” I ask.
“A breaker. Indah said it encircles the whole island. It fortifies against intruders and errant waves.” Deven sounds impressed, as am I. This wall in the middle of the sea is remarkable.
A dark line on the northern horizon draws my attention. Admiral Rimba stands on the lookout deck on top of the cabin. I call up to him. “What’s that behind us?”
The admiral swivels around and stares past our stern. The line comes into focus—a tremendous wave advances toward us at an alarming pace. He shouts from above, “Sailors, full ahead! Passengers to the cabin!”
“Good Anu,” Deven breathes.
We grip the rail, and Enki’s Heart races for the island. Seawater mists our faces, and the wind blasts my hair behind me. The crew scrambles to the water cannons. The other members of our party and Ambassador Chitt make their way down the rail from up deck, hand over hand. Deven and I try to let go of the rail and cross the deck into the cabin, but the ship dips and soars over every roller, and the prow splashes up more surf. Despite our increased haste, the tidal wave continues to gain on us.
Natesa gapes at the towering wave. “Where in the skies did it come from?”
Indah pushes her forward. “Everyone inside!”
Deven and I stagger across the deck and into the cabin with them. Out the front window, the protective breaker grows higher and taller. Past the guard bridge, I glimpse the safety of a cove.