“Of course.” Reivan shook her head. I am tired, she thought. I should have realized the Siyee would have a better view.
“No matter. They are…” Imenja’s eyes narrowed, then she smiled. “They are hoping to distract us so we don’t notice an Elai girl swimming toward her home.”
“Imi.”
“Yes.”
“Has Imi left us? Did they convince her that we are the enemy, and that she should go on alone?”
Imenja shook her head. “Those Siyee do not know she was with us.”
“Perhaps she told them she was going east so she could swim this way without drawing their attention to us.”
“We can only wait and see. If she does not appear in the next few hours, we will know she has gone on alone.”
They waited in silence. The distant Siyee returned to shore without noticing the small boat.
“I hear her” Imenja said suddenly.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Reivan searched the water around them. Every splash caught her attention. Suddenly a head appeared above the edge of the boat. The girl grinned, though she was breathing heavily.
“Sorry,” she panted. “I couldn’t… get away… They insisted… I stay… eat… rest.”
“I understand,” Imenja said, smiling. She rose and offered Imi a hand. The girl took it and yelped in surprise as the Voice lifted her out of the water and into the boat.
“You’re strong!” she exclaimed.
“When I need to be,” Imenja agreed. She ordered the rowers to take them back to the ship, then sat down again. “They told you the way to Borra?” she asked Imi.
“Yes.” Imi grimaced. “They don’t like Pentadrians much. They warned me to keep away from you.”
Imenja nodded. “That is the unfortunate consequence of fighting against them in a foolish war,” she said with feeling.
Reivan looked at Imenja, surprised the Voice would express such an opinion in the presence of others. Then she remembered that they were speaking in Elai; the rowers could not understand them.
“I wanted to tell them they were wrong about you,” Imi said. “But I didn’t.”
Imenja patted her hand. “They will find out, in time.”
“I hope so.” Imi yawned widely.
“You’re tired,” Imenja said. “Lie down and sleep. I’ll wake you when we get to the ship.”
Imi nodded and stretched out on a seat. Taking a blanket, Reivan dipped it in the sea and then draped it over the girl to protect her from the sun. She looked up and found Imenja nodding approvingly. They exchanged a look of mutual relief, then fell into a weary silence.
* * *
As Mairae entered Juran’s room she mused that the scene that greeted her was becoming a familiar one. Juran was pacing and Dyara was sitting on the edge of her seat, her back straight and her forehead creased with a frown. As Rian followed Mairae to the chairs, Juran stopped pacing, looked at them both, then sighed.
“I have called you here to report on the situation in Si,” he said. “The gods decided that, since she was closest, Auraya should find and execute Mirar.”
Mairae drew in a breath in surprise, which drew Juran’s attention.
“She was closest,” Juran repeated. “None of us could have got there quickly enough.”
Poor Auraya, Mairae thought. Wasn‘t it bad enough that her former lover turned out to be an enemy of the gods? “So you’re about to tell us she’s feeling bad about it and we should give her our sympathies?” she asked dryly.
Juran winced. “No.”
Mairae blinked in surprise. “She isn’t? She’s made of stronger stuff than I thought. I suppose if she was angry enough she—”
“She didn’t kill Mirar,” Juran interrupted. “She let him go.”
“Oh.” Mairae looked at Dyara. The woman’s lips had thinned in disapproval. Rian was staring at Juran with what looked like both shock and anger. “Why?”
Juran shook his head. “Mirar opened his mind to her. He convinced her… of many things: that he smothered his own identity and invented Leiard in order to hide from the gods, that he didn’t intend any harm and means to leave Northern Ithania, that he does not deserve execution.” Juran sighed. “I cannot say if any of this is true. It may be that he is able to fill his mind with lies in a way that it appears he is offering up the truth. If he can or cannot is irrelevant. The gods ordered Auraya to kill him. She didn’t.”
The room fell silent. Mairae felt a pang of sympathy for Auraya, yet at the same time she was disappointed. It would not have surprised her to know Auraya