Stormcaster (Shattered Realms #3)(105)

AG + BdT

Finn squinted at it. “What does that even mean?” he said.

“Alyssa Gray plus Breon d’Tarvos,” Talbot said.

DeVilliers raised an eyebrow. “The busker?”

Talbot nodded. “Plus, there was an arrow pointing out to sea. That means they were carried off by ship.”

“How do you get that?” Finn said. “That looks more like a lover’s inscription. Saying they ran away together.”

“Well, she didn’t have time to write a whole story,” Talbot said, scowling, folding the paper up again.

“Even if we assume she was alive on the beach, and carried away aboard ship, how do we know that she is still alive?” Julianna said.

“She is,” Talbot said, without hesitation. Then added quickly, “Captain Byrne says so. He says that he would know if the line was broken.”

“Can he tell where she is?” DeVilliers said. “That would help a lot.”

Talbot shook her head. “He says that her bound captain might, if she had one. His primary connection is to Queen Raisa, and now—” She paused, took a breath, and looked down at her hands. “It would help if Lyss had a bound captain of her own.”

The mysterious connection between queens and the captains of the Gray Wolf guard had existed for more than a thousand years. After the magical disaster known as the Breaking, Queen Hanalea the Warrior was the first to take a bound captain, who happened to be a Byrne. Ever since, it had always been a Byrne.

Bound captains were magically compelled to defend the Gray Wolf line at all costs. They had the ability to anticipate threats and counter them, and to track their queens, even over long distances. When Ash’s sister Hana was killed in the borderlands, her bound captain, Simon Byrne, died fighting at her side.

The ritual that bound captain to queen was a closely held secret, known only to the captains, their queens, and the presiding speakers.

“In order to do that, we’d have to involve Captain Byrne,” Ash said. “I can’t imagine that he would approve.”

“He might,” Talbot said. “I’ve been reading up on it in some old texts. The captain’s first allegiance is to the Line, not to an individual queen. In order to save the Line, he might give the go-ahead. Anything we can do to improve our odds, we should do.” Talbot raised her chin, meeting Ash’s eyes unflinchingly.

Hmm, Ash thought. Obviously, she already has a plan. I’m going to have to find out more about this.

Julianna shifted her weight and glanced at Finn, then back at Ash. “Speaking of the queen, has she approved this idea of a rescue mission?”

“No,” Ash said. “I haven’t asked her.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I know it’s unforgivable—to leave again after being gone for so long, especially since she’s so worried about Lyss. It’s a terrible thing to do to my mother. But it’s the right thing to do for the realm. The only way to succeed with this is to launch a quick, surgical strike—in and out before we’re noticed. I’ll understand, though, if that’s a deal-breaker for anyone.”

“How’d you choose us?” DeVilliers said.

“I’m trying to keep this operation secret. Most people in the realm still think I’m dead—nobody will miss me. That’s why I’m not inviting the High Wizard, the captain of the Queen’s Guard, or the general of the army. If they disappear, people will notice, and wonder what they are up to—not to mention the effect their absence would have on the war effort.”

“So we were chosen because we’re unimportant?” DeVilliers said, tilting her head back and looking at him down her nose.

“Unfortunately, some of you are very important,” Ash said, “but you all have skills that we need for success. For instance, you are the best ship’s master this side of the Indio, and Talbot, you’re a member of Lyss’s personal guard, and you know Lyss better than anyone. Finn, you are an academy-trained wizard and apprentice healer, and we’ll need all the firepower we can get against these bloodsworn warriors. If you’re willing to take time away from your new calling.”

“Of course,” Finn said. “I will need to ask permission from Lord Vega, but—”

“We need to ask forgiveness, not permission,” Ash said. “If my mother forbids us to go, then it’s treason to disobey. Plus, if word leaks out to the empress’s spies, it will put all of our lives at risk, Lyss’s most of all.” As he said that, he was ambushed by a memory of the day of the attack at Oden’s Ford, when he’d wanted to tell his mentor, Joniah Balthus, that he was leaving, and Lila talked him out of it. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

“What about me?” Julianna said. “I want to help, but I’m not sure my skills fit this kind of mission.”

“Besides,” Finn said, taking her hand, “your absence will be noticed.”

“Hang on,” DeVilliers said, “let’s hear the plan, and then we can figure out what kind of crew we need.”

The “plan” was embarrassingly sketchy, given that they had little information about what they would find on the other side of the Indio. DeVilliers and Strangward were the only ones among them that had been anywhere near the Desert Coast. Strangward had no memory of being to the Northern Islands, but he had studied the history of the Nazari Empire and knew the Desert Coast as well or better than anyone.