The Alcazar (The Cerulean Duology #2) - Amy Ewing Page 0,18

you thought to craft some . . . some replica of Saifa to seize power? What sort of heresy are you Kaolins capable of?”

“She’s not Saifa and she’s not a replica,” Leo said. “She has nothing to do with Pelago or Kaolin.”

“Then would you be so kind as to explain exactly . . . what . . . she is?” Eireen asked, clearly struggling to maintain her composure.

He pressed his lips together. “I can’t tell you that.”

Rowen’s nostrils flared. “You will both come with us.”

“Rowen,” Eireen snapped, but Sera stepped forward, her face oddly serene.

“Tell them we will go with them willingly,” she said to Leo. “Tell them there is no need for knives or violence. We can’t let them have Agnes, Leo. And we don’t want to put Phebe or Vada in danger either.”

“What is she saying?” Rowen demanded. “What language is that?”

Agnes felt her throat tighten, her stomach lurch. Was she just going to stay here and let the Misarros take them? But if she declared who she was, they’d only take her too.

“We’ll go with you,” Leo said. “No one needs to get hurt.”

“Excellent!” Eireen exclaimed. “The princess will be delighted. And with such an unusual guest as well.” Something raw and hungry flickered in her eyes. “I simply cannot wait to hear her story.”

There was an undercurrent of threat in her words that sent icy shivers up Agnes’s neck. But she felt glued to the bench. Eireen gestured them to the door—neither looked back at Agnes or Vada as they left, though Agnes saw Sera reach out and take Leo’s arm as if to steady herself. Rowen stalked after them and Eireen turned to Phebe.

“A thousand apologies for the interruption, mistress,” she said. “Do enjoy the rest of your evening.”

She left, and Agnes slumped, her heart pounding, her breath coming in gasps. She’d lost them. Her brother and her best friend in one fell swoop.

“They’ll let them go, though, won’t they?” she said. One look at Vada’s and Phebe’s faces told her the answer. She knew it anyway. Once they knew who Leo was, and especially once they’d seen Sera . . .

“No,” Phebe said gently. “I don’t think they will. I don’t think they will harm your brother, but I fear for what will become of your silver friend. If they believe her some Byrne or Kaolin trick . . .” She trailed off. “I should have seen this coming. I should not have had you come here. Rahel is a silly girl prone to infatuation. And used to getting what she wants, when she wants it.”

“So what do we do?” Agnes asked again. But she knew the answer: Ithilia. They must get to Ithilia. It had been calling to her all her life. She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes.

“I know what you are thinking,” Vada said. “But you must be patient. They will be leaving tonight and we will not be able to find a boat to Ithilia until morning.”

“We?” Agnes blinked up at her.

“You think I would be leaving you to make your way alone? I promised I would get you to Ithilia. I swore on my endexen.” She touched the fang hanging at her throat, from the shark her grandmother’s grandmother had hunted and killed, the most precious thing she owned. “Vada Murchadha does not break a promise.”

Agnes flashed her a watery smile. “Tomorrow, then,” she said.

“Tomorrow.” Vada squeezed her shoulder.

“You may not need to wait at all,” Phebe said. Fear and exhaustion were etched across her face, but there was a determination there as well. “When it was four of you, that was too many, but with only two . . . you can sail, can you not?” she asked Vada.

Vada snorted. “I have been sailing since before I could walk.”

Phebe’s mouth set in a thin line. “Good. Because I have a boat.”

6

Leo

LEO WONDERED IF SERA WAS AS TERRIFIED AS HE WAS.

“Tell her to put that headdress back on,” Rowen commanded once they were out of the house. “She’ll cause a riot in the market, whatever she is.”

“She can understand you,” Leo snapped, then cursed himself for letting his fear and irritation get the better of him.

“Really?” Eireen said. “How fascinating.”

Sera quickly hid beneath the strands of beads, her fingers digging into his arm as they walked down the hill back toward the market of Arbaz. He wished he’d just agreed to go with them right away—maybe they wouldn’t have taken Sera. He was certain that Rowen