All the Stars and Teeth(31)
The woman smiles as she steps away from the table. “I’ll be back with those drinks.”
Only when she’s out of earshot does Ferrick lean forward. “Was that something … illicit?” Quiet horror laces his words.
Never has anyone rolled their eyes with as much dramatic flair as Bastian does now. “If you don’t lighten up, mate, others will smell your fear. You reek of it. And take off that bloody hood already, would you? You’re drawing more attention to yourself.”
Ferrick balls his only hand into a fist in his lap. “Aren’t either of you worried? Technically, Amora, everyone considers you a fugitive. With as many Curmanan mind speakers as your family has staffed, surely the other islands will have been alerted by now.”
A drink slaps down on the table. We all still as the woman unloads the other two, then a platter of petit cakes that makes my mouth water at once. They look incredible—tiny and decorated with slick pink-and-lilac fondant, or with tiny sugar flowers dusted with glitter. The woman leaves without another word, carrying her half-full tray to another table, and I pop a cake into my mouth immediately.
Bastian reaches for the ale and takes a long swig before sighing into the golden liquid. “Haven’t you any sense of adventure?” He eyes Ferrick from over the mug. “Any at all? Or was it all hiding in the tip of the pinkie finger I chopped off?”
Ferrick bristles. I set one hand on his good arm as I reach for my mead with the other. It’s bright gold and crisp. When I lift it to my nose I’m nearly knocked back. The sweetness barely masks the intensity of the alcohol.
“Ferrick’s right to be concerned,” I say. “You said we were here for information; to figure out a way to reach Zudoh. So why all these riddles?”
Bastian runs a finger around the rim of his ale before taking another sip. “We are here to find a way to reach Zudoh. I’ve friends who can give us the information we need, but let’s just say they’re highly sought after, and not huge fans of staying in the same place for long. The riddles are for their benefit, not yours.” He lifts the ale to his lips again, but this time his eyes flicker up to look at me from above the rim. “I’m on your side, Princess. I’ve no magic, remember? I’m perfectly aware that you could kill me in a second flat if you chose to, and I quite like myself alive. All I want is Kaven gone.”
“You’ve mentioned that,” I say. “But what I don’t understand is why the leader of a rebellion against Visidia would steal your magic. How are you involved in all of this?”
Bastian sets his mug down but keeps one hand cupped around it. His lips are a tight line. “If you’re implying that I’m part of the rebellion…”
Ferrick tenses beside me, but I shake my head. “If the rebellion wants to end the monarchy, they also want me dead. You’d have tried to kill me last night, or back in the prison when I was weaponless. And you never would have told me you were Zudian.”
Ferrick looks as ill as he did back on Keel Haul. It’s clear he’s mentally processing the news as his forehead scrunches. “I’ve never met a Zudian before.”
“And I’ve never met someone who could regrow a severed limb,” Bastian muses. “Alas, we both exist.”
I lean back to take another petit cake, easing the tension. “I thought Zudians hated Visidians? My father told me they took issue with the way the Montaras ruled.”
Bastian shakes his head. “Zudoh was banished because of Kaven. Because he wanted the throne to burn even back then. Most of my people have nothing to do with this; they’re only afraid of what Kaven will do to them if they bow to the crown.”
“More afraid than of what my father will do to them if they don’t?” I ask, and a shadow passes over Bastian’s face.
“King Audric is a vague threat—someone we only hear about, but rarely see. Kaven is the one who holds power over Zudoh. His magic is as strong as it is dangerous; he doesn’t focus on using it protectively, like the rest of us. Instead, he wields his magic like a weapon. I escaped from Zudoh when I saw the chance, but it wasn’t until after he stole my magic and took control of my home. Kaven’s the one people see, so he’s the one they fear. Not your father. The two can’t even be compared.”
The cake is metal as I swallow it down, jagged and painful.
“So … Zudoh doesn’t hate Visidia?” Ferrick leans back in his chair, arms folding across his chest.
Bastian leans back as well, and lifts the ale to his lips. “If they do, it’s only because Visidia didn’t step in to stop Kaven earlier. Without him, Zudoh would be thriving. But he’s the reason we’ve been cut off from trade. From travel.”
They have every right to their anger. A person’s magic is part of their being. If Father truly knew there was a man out there who had somehow learned to steal it, wouldn’t he have stopped them? Why would he ignore it?
“We’ll put a stop to him swiftly,” I affirm, taking a long sip of my mead. “Before his reach stretches any further in my kingdom.”
Bastian’s quiet for a moment, then eventually lifts his drink to mine. “I’ll drink to that.” He nods expectantly to the ale before Ferrick, as well.
Ferrick sighs and relents to it. I’ve never seen him drink, but he downs half the mug in two gulps before setting it back on the table. “I’m not okay with this,” he points out, “but I’ll do what I can to help.”