The Deepest Blue(76)

“Then what did you do?” Asana demanded.

“Oh, just took a few precautions,” Garnah said. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with. What you should begin focusing on is what we’re going to do with this information.”

“Garnah—”

“I destroyed his mind,” Garnah said cheerfully. “A very clever potion that mimics an illness, a brain parasite. But he won’t recover.”

“Then he’s worse than dead.”

“Your pet artist begged me to spare his life. He wasn’t more specific than that. I do believe he’s learned his lesson: be careful what you wish for. Or perhaps the lesson was: don’t stand between a queen and her family.”

Asana did not ask who the man was they’d destroyed. She didn’t want to know. Kelo learned the right lesson: don’t stand in my way. “I believe it’s time for a formal visit to the Neran Stronghold.”





Chapter Eighteen

There was a reason that no one ever escaped from Akena Island. And that reason is that it’s impossible, Mayara thought. But she wasn’t going to say that out loud, and besides, “impossible” had never stopped her before.

If you chase death, it can’t catch you.

Their plan was simple: first, they would reveal themselves near the cove. Draw as many spirits there, to the north side of the island, as possible. And then Lanei would lead Mayara, Roe, and Palia through the underground passages, some of which were submerged and some of which weren’t, until they all reached the south side of the island.

While the spirits searched for them in the north, they’d swim across the reef to the south, toward the deeper ocean. It was an illogical escape route, one that led toward the wild spirits and away from the islands of Belene, but that would be to their advantage, because the Silent Ones wouldn’t expect it. They’d be busy watching all the spirits flood into the cove on the opposite side of the island. From the other side of the reef, Mayara, Roe, Palia, and Lanei would compel a stray spirit to bring them to Yena.

Mayara thought it must have been tried before. But the piece that was new was Lanei: she knew the island’s caves better than anyone. She’d been using them for more than a year and knew the fastest routes and the best hiding places. She could lead them across the island, beneath the island, faster than any spirits or Silent One could anticipate.

Idea is we’ll be gone before they even think to look.

It could work.

Certainly it was better than Lanei’s original plan.

As they prepared, Mayara found herself daydreaming about Kelo. She wondered what he was doing right now, if he’d repaired his studio, if he was carving anything new, if he was thinking of her. Her heart was still holding out hope that he was home and well and waiting for her. He must know she wanted to survive and would do anything she could to get back to him. Including doing what’s never been done before . . . what not even Elorna had done.

Mayara peeked out at the cove. Today it was a riot of colors, every flower in full bloom so that it looked as if a painter had chucked pot after pot of bright paint over all the greenery. A few spirits were already there, playing with a breeze by the shore. “Roe, I think you should stay hidden. You’re the key to this working. You can’t take risks.”

Roe snorted. “Like I’m going to let you go out there without me. You’ve taken far too many risks on my behalf. From here on in, we do it together.”

Reaching over, Mayara squeezed her hand.

“Aw, how sweet,” Lanei said.

Both of them ignored her.

“Besides,” Roe said, still holding Mayara’s hand, “the more of us the spirits see, the more spirits will come. And it won’t work unless they come.”

“We can do this,” Mayara told her. “Look at what we’ve done so far: survived when it shouldn’t have been possible, with me untrained and you injured. And Palia . . . she shouldn’t have survived being trapped, but she did, and now we have the chance to do what no other spirit sister has ever done.”

“Nice pep talk,” Lanei said. “Just to be clear, though, if you get yourselves caught, I won’t help you. Succeed or fail, I win. Remember that.”

“Remember that we can’t trust you? Yes, I think we’ll remember that,” Mayara said.

“I’ll watch her,” Palia offered. “As much as I like her goals, she did set the trap that nearly killed me.” She patted Lanei’s shoulder with false friendliness and added, “You know, you really shouldn’t try to murder someone who has nothing left to lose. You’ve made me desperate. I’ll be watching your every move.”

“Your daughter still lives,” Roe reminded Palia. “And you’re going to see her again. Don’t lose faith now. We have a plan, and it’s going to work!”

“Are we going to keep giving speeches, or are we going to do this?” Lanei asked.

“Do we have a plan for attracting the spirits’ attention?” Palia asked. “Or should we just jump around, wave our arms, and shout, ‘Come eat me!’”

Roe crawled out of the hole above the cove. “Something like that. Follow my lead. I have an idea.” Mayara and Palia, with Lanei, followed after her.

Before them, the cove was its usual gorgeous paradise self: white sand beach, trees heavy with tropical fruit, brilliantly colored birds calling to one another, and a few monkeys screeching in the distance. Roe closed her eyes.