Zariah laced me into the corset the gown required, along with the curving panniers that would support the heavy skirts. The bodice sported high epaulets that stood up on their own, and the metallic gold frontispiece molded over my breasts in a sunburst. Sculpted gold plates over my hips gave way to a fall of golden silk, shimmering and flowing, while a panel of patterned pieces draped down the center of my skirts.
Overall, the gown gave the impression of a golden statue of a warrior queen come to life—and once upon a time, I would have donned a gold wig and painted my skin with metallic gold paint. As it was, I had my ladies pile my own wild hair of vines and blossoms into an intricate coronet of braids, my new crown of diamonds and gold nestled in them.
Some touches of gold glitter to my lighter makeup palette completed the look. I examined myself in the full-length mirror. Ejarat gilded by Sawehl’s sun. It would do—and it would help make up for the fact that my own personal sun would soon sail away.
I walked down to meet them at the docks just before sunrise, my ladies with me, but no one else. Though I’d continued to make sure no birds had flown to Yekpehr with messages to betray our plans, it still seemed wiser to keep as much secrecy as possible.
Ambrose appeared along the way, walking easily, his staff barely touching the ground, Merle riding on the faceted emerald topping it. He gave me a nod of greeting with a raised brow, and my ladies fell back at my gesture to give us privacy.
“So, wizard,” I said, “is all going according to your master plan?”
He slid me a canny look, the ancient forest in his gaze. “Your Highness is presuming both that there is a master plan and that I am the originator of it.”
“Yes, and?”
Laughing, he shook his head. “I told You before, like You, I am a passenger on this ship captained by Conrí. Will he sail us to our longed-for destination or run us aground on the rocks? It remains to be seen.”
Ambrose had spoken of Con that way before, back at Cradysica, before the battle. Conrí has the courage and determination to set sail, the willingness to take the chances that You and I flinch from, because we can see all too well how difficult the journey will be. Not at all a reassurance that Con would succeed.
“But you have seen aspects of this, in the prophecy,” I pressed. “You knew he’d need My hand.”
“Aspects, yes.” He turned the staff thoughtfully, Merle picking up one foot and then the next to remain facing us, listening with a cocked head. “The future is difficult to predict because it hasn’t happened yet,” he confided.
“This is exactly what I’ve always said,” I replied, though I’d have liked a different answer.
Ambrose shrugged cheerfully. “It’s like looking down a raging river and spotting a boulder that divides the current. The boulder might be more or less fixed, but a great deal else can change by the time you reach that location.”
“I keep feeling like there’s something more I need to do, more than donating a body part to the cause.”
“That’s hardly all You’ve contributed.” His very blandness sharpened my attention.
“So is My part in the tale over?” I pressed. A side note in the hero’s epic journey, the lonely witch queen left to the island she could never leave.
Ambrose didn’t say anything until we’d nearly reached the docks. Finally he shook his head, sliding me a rueful look. “The trouble with attempting to nudge the future in a particular direction,” he confided, “is that so much depends on the motivations of the people involved. I trust that You will follow your heart and do…” Merle cawed and Ambrose nodded. “Yes, whatever You think best.”
“People always make that sound like a simple decision,” I complained, “and it never is.”
“Nothing is ever as simple as ‘people’ make things sound,” Ambrose observed.
The Last Resort and the fishing vessel from Hertaq sat side by side at the end of the dock, the former outshining the latter like a jewel beside a rock. If I hadn’t been informed—by my own people, not just Kara—that the fishing ship was seaworthy enough to make it to Yekpehr, I’d have seriously doubted. As it was … it didn’t inspire confidence.
I didn’t see Con anywhere. Ambrose, Merle, and my ladies all wandered on down the pier, inspecting the ships