while. I would come to visit him every holiday, and it was always a hassle to get me back to school at the end of it. Somebody somewhere might have a mobile dry dock, but there wasn’t always a vessel available—and we couldn’t exactly ask to borrow the emergency boat. So sometimes they could launch me to the Mediterranean and take me to the coast of France. Other times I had to fly back most of the way.
“One day Vasudev had enough of the uncertainty—he also didn’t like me flying so far by myself. He decided to rig me a one-way portal here in Cairo, since most rebel bases had a translocator that could reach Cairo or Tripoli. So we came here and stayed a few days. And then we went to school together, so he could finish the portal’s other end.”
“He visited Eton?”
“Met Mrs. Dawlish and Mrs. Hancock—and Wintervale too. Wintervale and I squired him around the school—walked the playing fields, rowed a bit on the river.”
“He didn’t meet the prince?”
“No, he left before Titus arrived that Half. And it’s a shame you didn’t have the chance to meet him, while we were still in the desert.”
Did the timbre of his voice change? And was it sadness that once again darkened his eyes? The flame of a lantern flickered upon his face and threw his shadow on the wall, against a fretwork panel of arabesque patterns.
She set aside her plate. “What manner of man is he, your brother?”
Kashkari blew out a breath. “He’s a bit shy—our sister, his twin, has always been the vivacious, assertive one. When Amara spoke at the engagement gala, she said that during his first six months at the base he never said anything to her that wasn’t related to equipment production and maintenance.”
“Is that what he is responsible for?”
“He’s a marvel, a true wizard, when you need any devices built, improved upon, or invented from scratch. But don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s only fit for a workshop. He’s also a deadly distance spell-caster—taught me everything I know.”
And Kashkari had been quite the sniper.
“Do you think he and Durga Devi are a good match?”
“They are not an obvious match, but yes, I do think they are good for each other. He needs someone full of life to tear him away from his workbench once in a while. And he is a steadying influence on her, as she can be rash at times.”
Before she could reply, he reached into his pocket. “Will you excuse me?”
He moved away from the divan on which they’d been eating to read his two-way notebook. His expression changed.
Iolanthe rose. “Is everything all right?”
He looked at her, his face now blank. “Vasudev writes that they are married. As of five minutes ago.”
Iolanthe was stunned, and she wasn’t even in love with one of the parties. “I take it today wasn’t when the wedding was scheduled.”
“No, they’d never set a date.”
But she and Titus had brought Atlantis to the rebels’ doorstep. What was the point of waiting longer, when there might not be a tomorrow, let alone a next week?
“I’d better tender my congratulations,” he said.
Impulsively she stepped forward and hugged him. “I’m sorry it wasn’t meant to be. I’m sorry for all the pain this has brought you. And I’m sorry it will hurt worse before it gets better.”
He stood quiet and motionless in her embrace. She let him go, feeling a little self-conscious that perhaps she had overstepped the bounds of their friendship, which made it all the more surprising to see the sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Thank you,” he said. “You have always been a very kind friend.”
Something about his response disconcerted her. She laid a hand on his shoulder. “You get on with your reply. I’ll put up some anti-intrusion spells.”
Anti-intrusion spells were immaterial in their situation: even those that could hold off a determined housebreaker were of no use against the might of Atlantis. But she wanted to give Kashkari some space to grieve, without her standing next to him.
She went into the adjoining room and pulled out her wand from her boot. No lamps had been lit in this room, but as soon as her fingers closed over the wand, she remembered that she still had Validus. Titus had given it to her before the battle in the desert, hoping that the blade wand would be a magnificent amplifier of her powers.