realized that she knew. She’d kept waiting for him to admit what he was doing, but he never did. It was another one of his blasted secrets.
Even when she’d shifted for the first few times on the Isle of Moon, he had come to keep her company in the form of a seal. He’d always been there for her. Every month.
Except the last one. Where the hell was he?
And why was this stupid barge going so terribly slowly? She needed to do something to find Brody. But what?
Once again the water called to her, and she was tempted to shift. If she swam really fast, she could beat the barge to Ebton Palace. Wouldn’t that give her sisters a shock! They thought she could shift only when the moons were full.
It had bothered her for years that Brody could shift whenever he wanted while she couldn’t. So, in the privacy of her bedchamber, she’d used her bath time every evening to train herself. For the first week, she’d only succeeded in getting her feet to morph into flippers, but now, she could become a seal whenever and wherever she wanted.
She hadn’t told anyone yet. She had wanted Brody to be the first to know.
With a groan, she turned and paced toward the back of the barge. Why had the purple and green stones tumbled from the chalice when it had tipped over? Those colors meant nothing to her. Now a blue stone—that she would have liked. Brody had the prettiest blue eyes she’d ever seen. Or at least she could have picked black and white, since he spent most of his time as a furry black-and-white dog with a black patch surrounding his left eye.
She stopped at the rear end of the barge and planted her hands on the railing. Instead of worrying over a few silly stones, she should deal with reality and figure out what to do. She wasn’t a child anymore, in spite of what her sisters thought. In a few months, at the Autumn Embrace, she would be twenty years old.
Something bumped against her skirt, and with a jump she glanced down at the furry black-and-white cat rubbing against her legs.
“Oh, you gave me a start.” Her eyes narrowed on the cat’s face as it looked up at her. Blue eyes. Just like Brody’s. Her heart leaped up her throat. “Brody, is that you?”
“It’s called a cat,” a wry voice announced, and she glanced up to see Colonel Nevis Harden approaching. He smiled at her. “The sailors keep her onboard to catch mice.”
“I see.” To hide her embarrassment, Maeve leaned down to rub the cat behind its ears.
“I heard something interesting this morning.” Nevis stopped beside her at the railing. “Apparently, on the way to Vorushka, you asked several farm animals if they were Brody.”
Maeve straightened, her face growing warm. “I had good reason to suspect the cow. He was black and white spotted.”
Nevis’s mouth twitched. “So are a lot of cows. I take it the pig was black and white, too?”
She gritted her teeth. “Yes. But I fail to see why this is so amusing. Brody has been missing for almost two months, and no one seems the least bit concerned.”
Nevis’s smile faded. “We are concerned.”
“Then do something!”
“Such as?” Nevis gave her a frustrated look. “Brody can shift into a bird or beast. He can fly over mountains and swim across oceans. How on Aerthlan would we ever find him?”
“But he could be in trouble. He might need help.”
“If he’s in trouble, he can shift into some sort of creature and escape.” Nevis folded his arms as he leaned against the railing. “Try not to worry. I’ve known Brody a long time. It’s not uncommon for him to disappear for a few months.”
“But he—” Maeve stopped herself before saying that he’d always made time to see her on the night of the full moons. That was their secret time together, and she didn’t want anyone else to know.
“But he always comes back,” Nevis finished for her. “And he usually has some important information. He’s simply doing his job as a spy and investigator.”
Maeve knew what Brody did for a living, but not much more than that. “Do you know where he came from originally?”
“Not sure where he grew up.” Nevis dragged a hand through his hair, and for a few seconds, the scar on his forehead was visible, one he’d received years ago from his best friend Leo’s lightning power. “Brody told me once that