Daybreak (53 page)

A steady rumble built up behind him. He could almost feel the villagers standing straighter, hear the resolve in the way their arms tightened across their chests.
 

Colderoy’s beady eyes flicked over them worriedly.

“You don’t even have to go, councilman,” Thelred added. “Simply hand over a ship, and I’ll captain it myself.”

“Any man who’d let a cripple guide his ship
deserves
to have it sunk,” Colderoy scoffed, drawing a round of laughter from the other councilmen.

But Thelred didn’t care. He knew he had them trapped. “Well if you aren’t going to send anyone to investigate, then I suppose you’ve got no choice. The shipbuilders will be settling here, under the council’s protection — as is the right of all citizens of the High Seas.” He nodded to Colderoy, who glowered from his chair. “Now that we’ve got that settled, I suggest we get back to work. Dig your hands out of your pockets and put them to good use, councilman.”

Thunder echoed his words. The shipbuilders made their demands at a level that drowned out anything the council might’ve said.

After a few unsuccessful moments of trying to scold them through his mustache, Colderoy finally gave up.
 
He hauled himself from his chair and squinted his dim little eyes at Thelred before waddling off down the hall.
 

The councilmen followed quickly. They tried to stay ahead of the shipbuilders — who swarmed behind them in an angry rush. The guards blocked the archway and fended them off with the butts of their spears.

Thelred wasn’t looking forward to fighting his way through the crowd, but he didn’t have a choice. It was late. There would be another daylong meeting tomorrow. His leg burned so furiously that he knew he needed to put it up for a while — especially if he wanted any hope of making it down before lunch.
 

And the only way to his chambers was through that arch.

He’d just reached the back of the crowd when one of the shipbuilders saw him. “Make way! Clear
out
, you lot! Let our councilman through.”

They parted at his bellowing and cheered Thelred as he passed. “I’ll do whatever I can,” he promised over the noise. “The council can’t toss you out. You’ll have a home in the castle for as long as you wish.”

The guards dragged him through the last swell and into the hallway beyond. Thelred began the long journey to his chambers, his leg aching worse than ever. All of the days he’d spent sitting around had pushed his blood to the end of his knee — pressuring the nub from behind. The leather cap of his wooden leg pressured it even more. Thelred thought he might be able keep time by the throbbing.

Though the council was well aware of his leg, they’d assigned him chambers at the top of the castle — more than likely with the hope that he would eventually become too exhausted to travel down for meetings. But he refused to let them win.

He groaned to think of all the ridiculous laws they might pass if he wasn’t there to stop them.
 

Thelred was dripping sweat by the time he reached the third floor landing. Part of it was the damp heat of the evening, but mostly it was from the strain. He had to pause outside the door to catch his breath.

No sooner had he managed to work the latch than the door sprung open from the other side, stumbling him forward. Eveningwing managed to catch him before he fell, but Thelred was no less startled.

“Where in high tide have you been?” he snapped as the boy helped him over to the bed. “You were supposed to go to the Bay and come straight back.”

“I meant to. But I got distracted.”

That wasn’t at all surprising. A winged creature should’ve been able to cross from one end of the Kingdom to the other in no time at all, but Eveningwing always seemed to take forever. On this particular occasion, he’d left just before the ships from Copperdock came hobbling in. So Thelred had been trapped in the chaos for weeks with no way out.

“Well, I hope you enjoyed yourself, because we’ve got a mounds of work to do. I’m up to my neck in trouble —”

“I’ve been to Copperdock,” Eveningwing blurted. His trousers were only half-laced and completely crooked. He pawed nervously at the grayish feathers that sprouted from his elbows as he spoke. “I just wanted to stop for a day — to see Kyleigh and her Kael. But …”

“It was burned?” Thelred guessed.

Eveningwing shook his head. “The castle was. But the village was just … empty. It looked strange. I searched for Kyleigh and her Kael — but I didn’t find them. They were gone.”

Thelred grimaced as he bent to untie the straps on his leg. His mind was racing, but he knew how excitable Eveningwing could get. He didn’t need him to go bursting out the window before they’d had a chance to come up with a plan. “Were there any soldiers in Copperdock?
Swordbearers
,” he growled, when Eveningwing’s head tilted to the side.

“No. Not that I saw.” He leapt onto the bed when Thelred went silent, and pressed in uncomfortably close beside him. “What does this mean?”

“How should I know?”

“I know you know.” The pupils in his strange yellow eyes narrowed into points. “That’s your
I-know-something
face.”

“The King’s found out about Kyleigh, again. He’s sent Midlan after her — that’s only a guess,” Thelred said quickly, when Eveningwing lurched for the window. “I don’t know for certain. But if that’s the case, it’s a good thing.”

Eveningwing leaned closer. His voice dropped to a whisper. “The King’s chasing our friend. And it’s a good thing?”

“Yes. It means that Crevan will be so focused on Kyleigh that he’ll leave the seas alone. She knows what she’s doing.” He grabbed Eveningwing around the arm when he lurched again. “She kept Midlan off our backs for years, and I have no doubt that she’ll be able to do it again. Flying off after her won’t be any help at all. Do you understand me, hawk?”

His eyes flicked to the window before he nodded stiffly.

“Good. Kyleigh’s given us a chance, here. We’d be fools to waste it. We have to get the seas together while Midlan is distracted, but I can’t do it on my own. Did you manage …?” Thelred couldn’t say it. His face burned and his stomach turned sour at the very thought. His ears began to ring in anticipation of the squealing and the incessant
I told you so
’s, but he knew he had no choice. “Did you manage to convince Aerilyn to come out here? I’ve spent weeks with the council and haven’t moved them an inch. She’s the only one who knows how to talk to these blasted people.”

“I went to the Bay.”

“And?”

“She wasn’t there.”

“What? Are you sure?” Thelred slumped when the boy nodded. “Where could she have possibly …? And what about the child?”

“The giantess had him. She said all was well.” Eveningwing seemed about to say something else, but his eyes cut away suddenly, and he bit his lip.

Thelred didn’t have time for this. “What is it?”

“I spoke to the Uncle —”

“Oh, good gravy.”

 
“— and he says he’s angry with you for leaving him there to wither all by himself.”

“Yes, I’m sure he is. But did he happen to tell you anything useful? Does he know where Aerilyn’s gone?”

Eveningwing’s hands twisted in his lap. “He told me not to tell you. He says it will only get her into trouble with the captain.”
 

“She’s already in trouble,” Thelred said evenly. “Lysander ordered her to stay put. But instead, she’s wandered off to do Kingdom knows what. That’s mutiny. Just tell me where she’s gone, and perhaps Lysander can find her before she gets into
real
trouble.”

Eveningwing’s face twisted around the words for nearly a full minute before he finally burst out: “Aerilyn and the masked woman went to the forest!”

Thelred sat back. “What in Kingdom’s name are they doing there?”

“She wants to speak to the Countess.”

It wasn’t possible. No one could’ve
possibly
been that stupid — not even Aerilyn. He’d blasted well told her from the beginning that it wasn’t possible for the Countess to have been involved with any of the trouble in the seas. It wouldn’t make sense for her to betray Crevan. She had no stake in their fight. The council was only using her for a distraction.
 

 
But apparently, Aerilyn hadn’t listened. “Is she mad? She’ll be killed! None of this would’ve happened if Lysander had just … go find him!” Thelred thrust Eveningwing off the bed with the heel of his boot. “Lysander should’ve been back days ago. Go find out what’s taking him so long, and bring him straight here. No more distractions, no more wandering off. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep this up. I’m at my wit’s end.”

Eveningwing nodded hurriedly and shrank into his feathers. He bolted out the window and disappeared into the night.

Thelred fell back the moment he was gone.
 

He felt as if the seas had just collapsed and the rubble fallen across his chest. The pressure shortened his breath and made his leg pound all the harder. If he’d had the strength, he would’ve flung that wooden crutch out the window. He would’ve liked nothing better than to have it gone.

His leg was just another reminder that he was trapped — stuck on an island while the Kingdom fell apart.

*******

Thelred woke at dawn, his stomach churning. He slid from bed and limped down to the main floor, steeling himself against the fact that he would have to nod to everybody who wished him a good morning — and there would be dozens. The soldiers would already be well into their pacing and the servants about their chores.

When he managed to go the whole length of the hallway without coming across so much as a maid, he considered it good luck. There weren’t any servants hauling bulky items up the stairs, or any crowds to push through. He made it to the end of the next passage without a single door flying open in his face.

But by the time he reached the council’s chambers, his mood had begun to darken. What he’d thought was only luck had grown into a cold and empty silence. None of the lanterns were lit and the hearth fire had burned out. The chairs sat like stone and the tables cast hollow shadows across the floor — as if they’d always been empty.

Thelred stood for several long moments, his ears straining for any noise that meant he wasn’t alone. He’d just steeled himself to walk across the empty room when the sound of footsteps caught his attention.

It was so light and practiced a tread that he likely wouldn’t have heard it, had he not been listening so desperately. Thelred spun in the direction of the sound and saw a darkened figure slip down one of the hallways.

He followed as closely as he dared, grimacing against every creak and groan of his blasted leg. The man moved like a shadow down the hall. A mop and bucket hung from his hands and a strong, weedy scent wafted out behind him. Something that looked like resin glistened across his sleeves.

It’s only one of the servants
, Thelred told himself as the man ducked into the kitchens.
Perhaps it’s earlier than you thought. Perhaps they’re all still asleep
.

He clenched his fists at his sides and pushed through the kitchen door.

The man was waiting for him on the other side, standing a mere hand’s breadth from his chest — a forest man with a short crop of hair. There were bruises on his face and his lip was busted open. Thelred might not have recognized him, had it not been for his slightly crooked nose …

Or that horrible, dead-eyed stare.

“Oh, for the love of —
omft
!”

Thelred stumbled backwards when the forest man’s head collided with his chin. He was still reeling from the blow when someone else kicked him onto his knees — a second man with bruises and an identically crooked nose.

No sooner did the world stop spinning than the second twin wrenched his head back by the roots of his hair, forcing him to lock eyes with the woman who sat at the kitchen table.

There were bramble scratches on her face and leaves tangled in her hair. A tattered woodsman’s garb replaced her elegant gown. But her eyes hadn’t lost a single shard of their cold.

And she turned their full power onto Thelred.

“Hello, pirate.”

“D’Mere,” he spat. Blood coated his mouth and his lips were still numb from the twin’s blow, but he forced the words out. “What in Kingdom’s name are you doing here? The council —”

“Is gone. All of them. Every … last … one.”
 

Slowly, she got to her feet. There was a pair of rucksacks upon the table. One of their mouths was opened, revealing a number of large bottles tucked inside. Thelred was trying to get a good look at them when D’Mere stepped into his path.

“What do you mean, the council is gone? What did you do to them?”

“
Do
to them? I saved them. Midlan is on its way — they’ll be here by evening.” D’Mere glanced out the window as she spoke, and the pale dawn revealed the shadows beneath her eyes. “Crevan’s gone mad, you see. He burned Lakeshore, destroyed my castle. We barely escaped with our lives.

“He’s coming for the seas next, and it’ll all be the same: more burning and destruction, more innocent souls cast into death. I came here in the hopes that the council might listen to wisdom … and for once, it did.” She turned back to him, her gaze colder than ever. “When Midlan arrives, everybody inside this castle will suffer a traitor’s death. The council knows this — and rather than face Crevan in battle, they’ve decided to flee. They set sail last night, in fact.”

Thelred couldn’t grasp it. He didn’t want to believe her. “You’re lying,” he growled, baring his teeth as the twin’s grip tightened upon his hair. “The seas have a treaty with Midlan.”

D’Mere rolled her eyes at him. “If that were true, the council would have no reason to run. There’s nothing wrong with your
eyes
, pirate,” she added, glancing down at his leg. “You should’ve been able to see that the ship was on fire. You shouldn’t have waited for the rats to flee before you started to worry. Now, you’re the only one left — the last rat in the chancellor’s castle.”

She wasn’t lying. Thelred had only to look around him to know that the castle was empty. There was no way D’Mere could’ve slain them all, or sunk each of their ships. So the only explanation was that they
had
sailed away. They’d poured from the castle and slipped off into the night.