about him. Before she had no choice but to understand that this man who had devoted his life to her mother meant nothing to the latter. He was but a cog in the machinery she’d built to keep herself and her daughter safe.1
She could never again love her mother with the purity and wonder of those more innocent days. Their relationship grew testy. Lady Callista was not happy with a daughter who was no longer adoring and biddable; Iolanthe grew ever more frustrated and distrusting.
Their last meeting had been downright antagonistic. Master Haywood had just lost his position at a third-tier lower academy for taking bribes from students for better marks, forcing him to accept a position as a schoolmaster in one of the most remote villages of the Domain.
Iolanthe had been furious with him, but the moment memories of her secret life had come back, all her fury transferred to Lady Callista. When Lady Callista had come for her a few minutes after midnight, Iolanthe screamed and railed. She was going to go to Master Haywood that instant and tell him everything. She didn’t care that his possession of the knowledge might threaten Lady Callista’s position or her own safety. There were gray areas in life, but this was not one of them. What had been done to Master Haywood was heinous, and she would not allow another moment of it to pass unrectified.
Lady Callista had listened quietly, seeming to pay attention, but then, with Iolanthe in midsentence, she’d raised her wand.
That was the end of that meeting. The memories of Lady Callista, old and new, had returned to their vault deep in her mind, and Iolanthe had awakened the next morning, aching and upset, and had thought it was only because of her despair over Master Haywood and her increasing distress over her own future.
“Are you all right?” came Kashkari’s soft voice.
She realized that she’d been staring at the ceiling of the cave. Something about the situation with Lady Callista bothered her—something besides her mother’s callous treatment of Master Haywood. But she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.
She sat up. “I’m fine. How long did I sleep?”
“About three hours.”
The cave, which opened to the west, was now filled with a golden light. She noticed the two-way notebook in Kashkari’s lap. “Have you heard from Amara and your brother, by the way?”
“Yes, from both—they are safe and regrouping,” he answered—but did not meet her gaze.
Was it because he did not want to reveal his inner thoughts as he spoke of the one he loved and the one she loved? Or was it something else?
“What about Mrs. Hancock? Anything from her?” Mrs. Hancock, special envoy of Atlantis’s Department of Overseas Administration stationed in Mrs. Dawlish’s house, had turned out to be a staunch enemy of the Bane and their secret ally.
“Nothing from her. I hope she’s all right.”
“I wonder if West has been discovered missing yet,” she said slowly.
West, a senior boy who bore an uncanny resemblance to the Bane, had been abducted from his resident house, setting off the chain of events that led to Titus and Iolanthe’s abrupt departure from school.
“That we don’t have to worry about, for now. Mrs. Hancock set up a number of otherwise spells. People at school believe him to be on extended leave. His family thinks he can’t get away from school for various reasons.”
Kashkari still didn’t look her in the eye. What was the matter with him?
He closed his notebook. “Do you know anything about the Commander’s Palace?”
She supposed it was natural enough for him to be thinking about the Bane’s stronghold, since it was their eventual destination. “Yes, a few things Titus told me.”
She related what she knew—the fortress’s location in the uplands of Atlantis, the rings of defense that surrounded it, the wyverns and armored-chariot-carried colossal cockatrices that crisscrossed the air above, ever vigilant on behalf of the Bane’s safety.
“And how did Titus learn everything?”
She brought up the rupture view that resulted from Titus’s interrupted Inquisition and the spy Prince Gaius, Titus’s grandfather, had sent into Atlantis many years ago.
“That’s remarkable,” mused Kashkari. “Atlantis receives no diplomatic delegations on its own soil and issues no visitor visas. And I hear that floating fortresses guard the entire coastline, watching for any approaching intruders. How did this spy get in?”
“I don’t know. I assume he snuck in somehow.”
As they would.
Kashkari nodded, seemingly deep in thought. Then he rose to his feet. “Shall we get going then?”
CHAPTER 6
TITUS POSSESSED A ONE-TIME VAULTING range