“We found it on the landing beside the Crystal Stream,” the guard reported.
“No one told me this!” Skylan said, growing angrier still.
The guard shrugged. “We thought he had gone for a swim with his admirer. We did not think that he could possibly be in any danger.”
“This woman must be a follower of Aelon, sent here to lure your young friend out of the palace,” said the Queen.
“How could she know her way around? How could she know of secret passages?” Skylan demanded, glowering.
“Our city is open to all,” said the Queen. “Any Aquin may enter and find welcome.” She sighed, sorrow darkening her eyes. “And now one has betrayed us. Her people ambushed your friend and took him captive.”
“I blame myself, Your Majesty,” said Commander Neda. “I saw this woman among the guards and the thought came to me that there was something not right about her. I was busy at the time and I did not pursue my doubts.”
“I am the only one to blame,” Skylan said impatiently. “Farinn is young and naïve. I should have warned him to be careful. Instead I wished him joy of his conquest! And since I am to blame, I will go to this City of the Fourth Daughter where Farinn is being held prisoner and bring him back.”
He glared at the Queen. “Unless, of course, you intend to give into their demands, Your Majesty. In which case, there will be war between us.” Skylan rested his hand upon the hilt of his sword.
The Queen’s eyes flashed with anger. She rose to her feet. “Our course of action will be determined by what is best for our people, Vindrasi. Not by threats of violence!”
Acronis walked over to stand beside Skylan. “Apologize,” he said.
“But—” Skylan sought to argue.
“You were in the wrong,” said Acronis. “What if the situation was reversed? What if your people were being threatened? Put yourself in her position.”
Skylan could not possibly understand a people in love with peace, a people who had never known war. He could, however, understand what it meant to decide the fate of those who looked to him for leadership. Queen Magali had been placed in a terrible position and he was, in some respects, responsible.
“Your Majesty,” he said in a softer tone, “I do apologize. Before you make any decision or reply to the terms of Priest-General Raegar, I ask to speak to you and the commander of your forces in private. I believe that I may have a way out of this dilemma, a way that does not involve bloodshed.”
Queen Magali gazed at him and then shifted her gaze to Aylaen. “You are the wife and head of the household. What do you say to his proposal?”
Aylaen reached out to Skylan and took hold of his hand. She smiled at him and said softly, “My husband and I—we stand together.”
* * *
The Queen dismissed the court. The Aquins left to carry word of the crisis to the rest of the population. Fear and unease flowed through the city, as neighbor told neighbor. Queen Magali could hear the murmurings that washed like the waves upon the shores of her palace. She stood at the window gazing out upon her city.
She had asked for a moment alone to consider her decision. The Vindrasi, Skylan, had proposed a plan that used the ploys of Aelon’s followers against them. He and a group of warriors would disguise themselves as Aelon’s followers.
To the Queen’s surprise, Commander Neda was in favor of the Vindrasi’s plan. “I believe it will work, Your Majesty.”
“But this Skylan is a man. How can he disguise himself as a warrior?” the Queen asked.
“I have heard a rumor that the Priest-General has ordered that men be trained as warriors and taken into the army,” said Commander Neda.
The Queen was astonished. “Is this true? Are they mad? Who protects the children?”
The commander shrugged. “I do not know, Your Majesty.”
“Leave me for a moment. I must think about this.”
In truth, Queen Magali didn’t need to think about it. She knew what she had to do. She was trying to find the courage to do it. As she stood at the window, her husband came to stand by her side. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. Queen Magali rested her head on his chest and he clasped his arm around her.
“Our way of life, that has endured for so many centuries, is ended,” she said sadly. “No matter what the outcome of this mission, there will be war.”
“Peace ended with the death of the Sea Goddess’s daughter,” said King Tai. “We tried to close our eyes to the truth then, but the flames now burn too bright for us to ignore. We must open our eyes and look ahead with courage.”
“My store of courage is very low, I fear,” said the Queen. “I would put my faith in the gods, but I have the feeling the gods are putting their faith in us.”
“Perhaps that is not such a bad thing,” said King Tai, striving to be cheerful. “Mortals and gods should work together. The world belongs to all.”
“While there is a world…” Queen Magali said.
* * *
Aylaen’s wedding night was not exactly what she had dreamed it would be. With the wedding celebration abruptly ended, she and Skylan first consulted with the Queen. Skylan explained his plan. Her Majesty listened and said she would consider it. Skylan wanted an answer immediately, but he was forced to wait.
“Go be happy together while you can,” said Queen Magali, gently dismissing them. “Spend your wedding night together. We can do nothing until the morning anyway.”
Skylan fumed and again went over his plan with Aylaen as the warriors escorted them back to their rooms in the tower. When they arrived, Skylan was so preoccupied that he started to leave her, saying he wanted to speak to Commander Neda.
Aylaen caught hold of his hand.
“You are my husband,” she said. “Before you rush off to war, you have husbandly duties to perform.”
Reaching up, she removed the Vektan Torque from his neck and laid it on the table.
Skylan stared at her. His breath came fast. He shut the door. She lifted her lips to his and he kissed her and before either quite knew what was happening, the two of them were on the bed. Their bodies merged like their wyrds; afterward, she laid her head on his chest.
“Perhaps we made a baby then,” said Skylan.
“Perhaps we did,” said Aylaen with a sigh that she took care he did not hear.
They lay in each other’s arms, weary, but not wanting to end their joy by falling asleep. Skylan told her about his plan yet again. Aylaen listened and knew the pain of a woman whose man must rise from her bed with the dawn to take up his sword. This night might well be the only night they would ever have together. She interrupted his talk of battle by pressing her mouth over his.
Neither of them slept that night.
CHAPTER
30
Skylan rose well before dawn. When the first rays of the sun shone through the skylights, he and his small band of warriors set out. He was astonished and pleasantly surprised when Commander Neda told him she would not be leading this mission. He had foreseen arguing with the strong-willed woman. She said that she could not leave her duties at the palace, not in this time of turmoil. Her second-in-command, a woman named Manta, would lead the warriors. Skylan bristled at this. He knew considerably more about warfare than did people who had lived in peace all their lives.
“You are not going to war,” said Commander Neda coldly. “You are going to rescue a friend. There is a difference. We are not as soft as you seem to think us, Vindrasi. Who was it saved you from the kraken?”
Skylan had no answer to that, or rather no answer that would not have offended her. Realizing he was wasting precious time arguing, he gave in. Manta led Skylan and her warriors along the same route Farinn and Kailani had taken in case they should come across any more evidence. They found nothing, however, no signs of a struggle. Farinn had come willingly with his lovely captor.
“They were likely waiting for him here,” said Manta when they emerged from the sluice gate, pointing to the sea that lapped up on the rocks. “We patrol this area, but the abductors waited in the depths before surfacing to seize your friend.”
Skylan glanced back at the sluice gate through which the water flowed into the sea. “You do realize that any enemy that wanted to attack you could easily dive beneath those teeth and enter your city. You should post guards day and night with some means to sound the alarm if they are attacked.”
“All you Vindrasi think about is war,” said Manta derisively.
“You Aquins should start thinking about war,” Skylan stated grimly. “Because it is coming.”
Manta fell silent as she regarded the aperture with a thoughtful frown. “I will mention this to Her Majesty on our return.”
The six warriors under Manta’s command were armed with spears made of bone, and all wore armor with the serpent emblem of the City of the Fourth Daughter. Craftsmen had worked all night to make the armor, which was crafted out of whale skin. Manta explained that they did not kill the whales; the mammals were sacred to the Sea Goddess. When they found a dead whale, they honored it by harvesting its skin and anything else they could use. The armor fit over Skylan’s shoulders and chest and was laced under his arms. It was supple and lightweight, but surprisingly tough.
Since Skylan was bigger through the shoulders and chest than any Aquin warrior, the armor did not fit him well, leaving large gaps of unprotected flesh beneath his arms and exposing most of his midriff.
“He will fool no one,” Manta complained to Commander Neda. “He should not go with us. He imperils the mission.”
Skylan was ready to argue, then found an unexpected ally in Commander Neda. “The Vindrasi will only cause trouble if he is left behind. Besides, you need the Vindrasi. He is the only one who can find out where they have taken the young man. Just tell him to keep out of the light.”
Because they had a long way to travel to reach the City of the Fourth Daughter, Manta and her warriors all wore the breathing masks, as did Skylan. He chafed at this, for the bindings on the clamshell attached to his back were tight and constricted his movement. He was constantly afraid he would tangle himself up in the tube that led from the clamshell to the mask and accidentally yank it out. His sword was useless under water. He tried swimming while holding a spear and nearly sliced open his foot. Skylan remembered with fond longing the shield wall, where a man stood on his own two feet, and battled in blood and died in the muck. He had to settle for carrying a bone knife, which he thrust into a leather belt he wore around his waist.
Manta and her warriors took to the water, gliding in gracefully, creating hardly a ripple. Skylan jumped into the sea with a great splash that made the women laugh at his clumsiness.
“We must go to my dragonship to talk to the fae child,” said Skylan before putting on the mask. “Do you know where it is?”
Manta knew the location. The dragonship had been the object of much curiosity among the Aquins. Most of the people in the city had swum out to take a look at it. The Dragon Kahg kept watch over it; the red gleam of the dragon’s eyes preventing people from approaching it. Skylan put on the detested mask and dove beneath the waves, following Manta’s lead.
The ship rested on a coral reef, slightly at an angle. When the Dragon Kahg caught sight of him, his red eyes swiveled in Skylan’s direction. Skylan motioned for the warriors to stay back. The Aquin warriors floated in the water, waiting for him. He searched for Wulfe, but could not find him.
The water was clear, gleaming with sunlight. The coral and the colorful fish and the waving plants were beautiful and Skylan thought that he would never be so glad in his life to be away from a place as he would from this realm, back into air and sunlight and dry land. He gave the Dragon Kahg a respectful salute as he swam past him. The dragon’s eyes followed Skylan with his usual stern glower. Skylan had no idea what the dragon was thinking.
Skylan was frustrated. Wulfe was never around when needed and always around when he wasn’t. The boy might be down in the hold, since he was apparently part fish as well as half beast. If so, Skylan wasn’t about to dive into the dark confined space beneath the water to look for him. He started to swim back to Manta and her warriors when something latched on to his leg.
Skylan’s first panic-stricken thought was of the kraken and he grabbed his knife, ready to fight, and kicking at it with his feet. Whatever it was wouldn’t let go. He looked to see a beautiful woman had hold of his ankle. Silver white hair flowed over her silvery skin. The woman was laughing at him and gesturing to other oceanaids, who clustered about him, grabbing hold of his arms and tugging him along.
The oceanaids carried Skylan to the other side of the reef, where he found Wulfe playing with a large sea-going turtle. Skylan stared in amazement for a moment at the enormous swimming turtle, then beckoned to Wulfe to come with him. The boy was pleased to see Skylan and swam to where Manta and her warriors waited.
Skylan swam to the surface, or tried to. The oceanaids had twined their arms around him, fondling him and playing with his hair. He did what he could to fend off the teasing faerie folk, pushing away their groping hands as gently as he could. He dared not offend them, for he needed their help. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, the Aquin warriors grinning.
He broke through the surface, blinking in the sunlight. Manta and her warriors surfaced with him. Wulfe bobbed up beside him. Skylan removed the tube from his mouth and tried to ignore the oceanaids, who were tickling his toes.
“Tell your fish friends to leave me alone,” said Skylan irritably.
“They’re not fish,” said Wulfe. “They’re fae, like me. And they’re only having fun with you.”
“I’m not here for fun,” said Skylan grimly. “I’m here because I need your help. Farinn’s been abducted and his captors are threatening to kill him. Your oceanaids see and hear everything that happens either on land or sea. Do any of them know where they took Farinn?”
“I like Farinn,” said Wulfe. “He sings for me sometimes. He says I’m going to be inside his song. I’ve never been inside a song before. The song is about you—”
“We’re not here to discuss a song!” Skylan said through gritted teeth. “Since you like Farinn, you need to help me find him. They’re going to hand him over to Raegar.”