The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire, #1)(104)

“That man is trying to kill me, Phalue,” he said, his voice hysterical.

I said nothing, only lowered my staff, hoping Phalue would take my meaning. She glanced at me and then back to her father.

“Protect me,” he said, grasping at her tunic.

She smoothed his hair from his forehead with the tenderness of a mother with her child. “I’ll protect you. Don’t worry. No one will hurt you.”

“Then . . .” He looked from me to his daughter and back again. “Then why aren’t you doing anything?”

“I am doing something. I’m letting the Shardless Few depose you.”

His face went pale. “You’re my daughter,” he sputtered. “Are you betraying me?”

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t seem to know what else to say.

The beat of many approaching footsteps sounded. I stepped to the side, out of the way. I was an observer in this, nothing else. More than anything, I wanted to get back to the caves to see what had happened with Mephi.

A horde of men and women appeared in the doorway. Some wore armor but most were in only their clothes, with knives and staves in hand. It was a ragged army. What they lacked in finesse, they made up for in numbers.

Ranami pushed past them. When she saw Phalue, she hesitated.

“I’m taking over the governorship,” Phalue said to her father. “It’s time.”

While everyone was focused on the governor and his daughter, I watched Gio. He’d slipped his knife back into its sheath but I could see the line between his brows. This hadn’t been his plan. Phalue wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be imprisoned. A prickle ran up my spine, settling in at the back of my neck. I’d wager anything that one of Gio’s rebels was heading to the palace prison right at this moment, a dagger in hand.

Before I could stop myself, I was taking a step toward Phalue and her father, my hand on my staff, setting myself between them and the rebels. It was only one step, but Gio noticed. “It appears Nephilanu has a new governor,” I said, because both Ranami and Phalue seemed distracted. Someone had to force the issue before Gio could find a way to spin this. The people behind Gio cheered.

“Round up the survivors,” Gio told them. He fixed me with a glare before turning to help them. Oh, the rebel leader would try again, I was sure, but for now he had no choice.

“Take my father to the prison,” Phalue said to the soldier standing in the doorway. “Treat him as well as I was treated.”

I hazarded a guess that was well indeed, but any prison would be a vast downgrade for this man. Even the bed in this room was elaborately carved, the windows hung with richly embroidered curtains. He was used to his comforts.

As soon as he’d been led from the room, Ranami went to her. “I thought you were imprisoned.”

Phalue took Ranami’s face in her hands and kissed her cheek. “I was. But it gave me time to think. Tythus let me out.”

Ranami buried her face in Phalue’s chest, holding her close. “I’m just glad you’re out. That everything still happened as planned.”

Not quite as planned, but this wasn’t any place to tell her that. I gave Gio one last glance and then tapped Ranami’s arm. I was nearly done here – I could go back to the rebel hideout and check on Mephi. My boat was still hidden in the harbor nearby, ready for me to take it out to sea. The Ioph Carn would still be looking for me, and each day the blue-sailed boat traveled farther away. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve done what I’ve promised. I believe you have information for me.”

Ranami gave Phalue’s arm a reassuring squeeze and then turned to me. “Yes, though I warn you it may not be what you expected.”

“I don’t care.” I didn’t. I’d done what she’d asked. I’d done what those men and women had asked, rescuing their children. There had to be something at the end of this road, some reward.

“The boat made landfall at Maila according to reports we’ve received.”

My mind went blank. Maila was on the north-eastern edge of the Empire. It would take weeks to get there. I’d only been on this island for three days, and I’d been sure I was close. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s not an ordinary boat,” Ranami said. “And there may be two of them. We’re not sure. But what we are sure of is that one of them is moored at Maila.”

I’d heard the stories. Maila was surrounded by jagged reefs. No one went there, though every Imperial navigator knew where it was – so they could avoid it. Why would a boat land there? Why would this boat land there? What she’d said finally registered. “What do you mean it’s not an ordinary boat?”

“There are stories. I don’t know how true they are, but it’s said the boat is made from the wood of a cloud juniper.”

“Don’t tell me lies; you owe me the truth.” Yet when I looked at her I couldn’t detect any falsehood. Cloud junipers were all under the care of the cloudtree monks. Cutting one down would be more than just blasphemous. It meant incurring the wrath of an entire religious order. Either the boat was older than the monks or there had been a cloud juniper they hadn’t known about. Around us, the rebels moved, pulling the curtains from the window, taking the gilt vases from the floor. Phalue directed them, going through the room and searching out its needless luxuries. I struggled to think.