Breakwater Page 11

  “I am not your charge anymore. I am an Ender. I can handle this,” I hissed at him.

  “You can’t; you don’t understand what you’re up against. You never have.”

  “And you’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  “I can’t. . . .” He shook his head.

  I shoved him away, or at least tried to. I pushed him, and he returned the favor, which slapped my back against the wall a second time, knocking the wind out of me.

  “Stop being so damn stubborn,” he growled, his cheek pressed against mine.

  “Then tell me the truth.”

  Again, he said nothing, his silence damning him. We wrestled against the wall, neither of us really able to get ahead of the other.

  “Let her go!” A thick silver-coated brush slammed into the side of Ash’s head, twice before he did as he was told.

  Belladonna stood beside us, her eyes narrowed and her hand raised. She clutched the handle of her brush. “Don’t you touch her, Ash.”

  Ash backed up and gave a curt bow, a red welt growing under one eye where I’d hit him in the tousle. “As you wish.”

  Breathing hard, I backed away, keeping Belladonna behind me. “You should be lying down, Ambassador.”

  “Of course, you are right, Ender Larkspur. Thank you.” She gave me a smile. Keeping Ash within view as we backed toward our room. I couldn’t take my eyes from his. Honesty seemed to be something he struggled with. Who was pulling his strings? Was it my father? Or was it possible that Cassava had her claws into him still?

  Slamming the door behind us, I slid the bar over it, buying us a little bit of peace.

  I leaned against the door, as my heart rate slowed to a normal pace. An idea was swirling through me, one I was afraid to voice. It would mean the end of whatever friendship had bloomed between Ash and me.

  “Are you absolutely certain of the note you saw, Bella? Without a doubt you saw the words?” I slowly turned to her. She stood across from me, hairbrush in her hand still. Though she was my older sister, in that moment she looked so young. A child thrown out to sea to flounder and drown if she couldn’t make it on her own.

  “I have no doubt in my mind what I saw, Lark. I’ll admit it was quick, but the sun hit the words perfectly and Ash couldn’t fold it before I saw.” She frowned. “But what does it matter?”

  That I even thought of suggesting my idea to her made my stomach curl. But what choice did we have? “I think I have a way to find the cells, and take care of Ash in one fell swoop.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. I quickly explained my idea to her, keeping my voice low. The fact that she nodded, her eyes lighting up should have warned me we were stepping into dangerous territory. But I ignored the fear I was making a mistake. Ash was not our friend—he was not there to help us.

  Which only left me one choice if I were to keep Belladonna safe.

  I had to get rid of Ash.

  CHAPTER 11

  stood behind Belladonna as she sat in Requiem’s private rooms. I was finally back in my vest and pants. They’d been thoroughly cleaned and I was grateful. The slave who’d brought them had been quiet and we’d given her some of our fruit. She’d turned it down without a word.

  Belladonna shook her head. “She will die soon. It’s what she wants, I think.”

  I couldn’t imagine a life so terrible you were willing to starve yourself to death.

  Guts churning, I stared straight ahead at the genealogy chart on the wall as Belladonna spoke, spinning her tale. The story we came up with was simple, and yet I knew it had enough truth in it that we could make it work.

  The chart fascinated me, and I found myself working through the families. Some names had been crossed off, others circled. It wasn’t just a chart of the families, there was something else going on; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Well, as you can see, Larkspur does have a certain look to her that some men find appealing. You do realize that is why Ender Ash showed up on your doorstep? He’s pressing his advantage on her. Of course, he’s of no interest to her. He’s not her type. Weak. Pale.”

  Requiem’s eyes narrowed. “Truly. And why would that concern me, exactly?”

  Belladonna smiled and I had to give her credit. I would have faltered under that question. “You have the power here, do you not? Could you put him into your cells? He is not stable and I don’t feel safe with him running loose.”

  His eyes didn’t even flicker as he leaned back in his chair. “You would have one of your own Enders put into our cells?”

  “Until we’re ready to leave, of course. At which point we’ll have him moved to our own oubliette. As is fit.”

  His eyes slipped to me. We had tightened the vest a couple of notches allowing for a bit more cleavage and Belladonna had stitched my pants so that they pulled tightly around my legs and butt. He stood and turned his back to us. “I can have him moved to the cells. But he can never leave. Once someone is put into the cells, there is no coming out.”

  That was a bold-faced lie. Mako had been brought out. But did we call him on it?

  Belladonna let out a sigh. “Well, it is best that for now he is put away from Larkspur. Do you not agree, Requiem?”

  He spun, nodded, and scooped up her hand. He placed a kiss on the back of it, leaving a big wet mark. Gross. “Ambassador, if I do this, you will owe me a favor. Both of you will.”

  “Protecting your guests, that is part of being a ruler. Perhaps you would like for me to school you on the proper etiquette?” Her tone dipped from genteel to icy in a split second.

  He grinned at her. “You are the heir to your father’s throne, are you not?”

  “I am.”

  Something about his words niggled at me, and I glanced at the chart on the wall. Bella’s name was circled.

  Requiem didn’t let go of her hand. “A beautiful, powerful woman. Unattached. Fertile if my healers are correct.”

  Belladonna stiffened, as did I. She pulled her hand from his with some effort. “All true. Especially the first two. Something you’d best consider when you speak to me.”

  “We will talk more of this favor you will owe me, Ambassador. But I do believe, I already know what I want from you. The Ender will be tossed into the cells per your request.”

  “I want to see him go,” I said, startling them both. “I want to see with my own eyes that he is locked away.”

  Requiem’s eyes softened as he took me in, almost as if he cared. “You truly are afraid of him, aren’t you?”

  I swallowed hard, but said nothing.

  “Then you shall see him sent to the cells, Larkspur.” He all but purred my name sending a very unpleasant shiver down my spine.

  Belladonna and I left Requiem’s rooms. She kept her pace even, but under it I sensed her fear. This was a deadly game, one we played without truly knowing where we stood. Or if there was firm ground anywhere we stepped.

  Instead of our rooms, I guided her to the docks.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Just somewhere I won’t have to see Ash’s face right now. We betrayed him, Bella.” The churning in my stomach brought me to my knees. She put a hand on my shoulder.

  “He’s here to kill us. There are a lot of things I’d lie about, but not that.” She crouched beside me.

  Who to believe, that was the question. One I had no answer to—not even with all the evidence I had at hand.

  “I know you thought he was your friend. Ask him about the note. If he’s honest he’ll tell you. He should have told you in the first place.”

  She was right, but I was concerned about more than Ash. “Bella, are you really in your yearly right now?”

  A quick nod and a sly smile slid over her face. “I never did have cramps, not even when I was younger. But it’s of no concern. I won’t let him touch me.”

  I knew the him she referred to was Requiem. “So all those times you had people waiting on you hand and foot?”

  She waved her hand, her eyes sparkling. “Well, I could have been cramping, they didn’t have to know that I wasn’t.”

  Damn, I didn’t want to think it was funny, not with everything going on with Ash and Requiem. Yet it was, maybe because it was so far away, and so ridiculous. Crouched there on the wooden slats beside me, I again saw the older sister I’d always wanted.

  “Are you going to ask Ash about the note?” Her grey eyes went from sparkling to serious in a split second reminding me of her capricious nature.

  As if speaking about him called him to us, Ash strode down the long walk to the docks. His dirty blond hair caught the light, and his muscles flexed with every step. His eyes narrowed against the sun. But it was the figures behind him that caught my attention. Ash didn’t notice the Undine Enders, Dolph included, coming up behind him.

  I stood and stalked toward him. It was now or never. If he were honest, I could stop this. Tell Requiem I’d made a mistake. “You were given a note when you were here on the docks with Belladonna. What did it say?”

  He shook his head. “Does it matter?”

  My heart sunk further. “Yes. It does.”

  I wanted so badly for Bella to be wrong. Why couldn’t he tell me it was some horrible mistake?

  He waved his hand as if to dismiss my question. “The note was nothing.”

  I pressed him. “If it was nothing, tell me what it was.”

  “Fine. It was a request to train with the young Enders here in the Deep.” His words were smooth, but I knew the lie for what it was, could all but see it written on his lips.

  I stepped back as he was grabbed from behind. He jerked hard and tried to get to his weapons, but he had no chance against four Enders. “Ender Ash, Requiem is placing you into the cells for subversion,” Dolph gritted out the words as he wrestled Ash to the wooden docks.

  Those honey-gold eyes found mine. Trembling all over, I fought the urge to help him. To throw the Undines off him and fight our way out. I swallowed hard and took another step back. Disbelief shot through his eyes. “Lark.”

  “You had your chance to be honest, Ash,” I whispered, watching as they dragged him away. Belladonna grabbed me and pulled me forward. “Hurry, or we won’t see where they put him.”

  She was right, but I couldn’t un-see his face and the hurt etched there. Betrayal, he thought I’d betrayed him. But he was there to make sure we were killed, so there was no choice. Was there?

  We followed the Enders to the throne room where they stood Ash in front of Requiem.

  “You’ve been a naughty boy, following the ladies around when you weren’t supposed to.”

  Ash said nothing, his back straight despite the hold the Undines had on him.

  “Nothing to say? Just as well, wouldn’t want anyone having second thoughts about sending you to the cells.”

  Ash startled as if he’d been hit, and Requiem laughed. “That’s right, your two compatriots asked me to throw you in the cells. I thought it a lovely laugh.” He tipped his head to one side and the Undines backed away from Ash. Belladonna grabbed my hand, her fingers digging in and it was only then I realized I was moving toward Ash.

  “You can’t. Lark, you can’t stop this,” she whispered to me.

  Requiem waved at Ash. “Have fun.”

  The floor opened under Ash, a black hole that swallowed him in a single gulp, slamming shut as his head disappeared. I couldn’t help myself, I ran forward dragging Belladonna with me. The floor was smooth with no visible lines of how to open it. No way to get in and no obvious way for us to open the trap door back up.

  I swallowed hard. No turning back now.

  Requiem let out a long, low laugh that built to a crescendo before he seemed to control himself. “Women are so stupid. You had me send away one of your own, a very accomplished Ender from what I understand. All because you wouldn’t bed him?” His eyes flicked over me. I backed away, anger, frustration, and confusion building in me like a storm. Dolph stared at me, his turquoise eyes dark with anger. Ash was his friend.

  And in Dolph’s eyes, I’d betrayed him. Hell, in my own eyes, I’d betrayed him.

  “Men are so stupid,” I parroted Requiem’s words back to him, glaring. “They think everything is about sex and their ability to have it with whomever they want. It clouds their judgment. Amongst other things.”

  Belladonna tugged on my arm, pinching me hard. “Thank you, Requiem. Will we see you at dinner?”

  “Another meal watching you two refuse to eat while your bellies rumble? I wouldn’t miss it. I have not had so much fun in many months. I may have to keep you two around after my coronation.” He gave us a deep, mocking bow, even going so far as to flourish with his one hand rolling it at the wrist.

  We made our exit, and got all the way back to the room before Belladonna let me go. “Why would you provoke him like that? Calling him stupid is not how we make friends, Larkspur.” She spoke rapidly about what we had to do next to make sure Requiem believed we were on his side. But the words flowed around me, barely reaching my ears.

  I paced the room, my fingers laced behind my head. Ash was in the cells. We were safe from him. And yet, I felt lower than worm shit. Throat tight, I wrestled with myself. He had lied about the note sending us to our deaths. I knew that. Belladonna knew it.

  “Larkspur, snap out of it!” Belladonna slapped me, catching me off guard. “We have to focus.”

  “I am.” I rubbed my face.

  “You aren’t. You’re still thinking about Ash . . . mother goddess . . . do you care for him?” Bella’s gray eyes went wide.

  Fighting to keep my face smooth and neutral, I shook my head. “Not like that. He was one of my mentors. I can’t think of him as an enemy.”

  She wrapped her hands around my wrists, sliding them to my hands, squeezing gently. “I know that look. I’ve seen it in the mirror. He is not a good man, Lark. Don’t mourn him. He would have hurt you in the end.”

  I jerked away from her, confusion rocking me. Staring at her, I searched for the telltale soft pink glow that would indicate the use of Spirit on her words and actions. I wanted to believe Cassava was behind this, so much easier than thinking my twisted up emotions were my own. But there was no glow of soft pink, no use of Spirit. Belladonna spoke from her own beliefs, and my emotions were all my own.

  Jaw tight, I stepped back. “Go to supper, I’m going to get us something to eat.”

  “No, I’m coming with you. We can’t be separated.” She met my gaze and arched an eyebrow. “You can’t say it isn’t safe. I know you’re going to the kitchens.”

  I threw my hands into the air. “Fine. But you’re carrying some of the food back then.”

  Silently, we made our way to the kitchens, the only sound that of her silk dress sliding across bare skin.

  We stopped in front of the kitchen doors. They were barred with a thick beam of wood and a heavier lock had been placed on it, a lock I was sure even my thin knife wouldn’t do any good against.

  “So much for getting food that way,” I muttered.

  Belladonna slid her hands over the door. “He’s trying to starve us out. The same way he’s starving his people.”

  I glanced at her. “What else are we missing?”

  She snorted softly. “I wish I knew.”

  As long as she was talking, I didn’t have to think about what happened. The way Ash’s eyes had stared into mine, the understanding in them that he’d been betrayed. I clenched my jaw tightly, but Belladonna didn’t notice my continued internal upheaval.

  “He has some sort of hold on the people, something that makes them very afraid of him. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  I knew what it was, but telling Belladonna meant I trusted her completely. And while we’d come a long way in a short time, trusting people hadn’t gone so well for me lately.

  But the mother goddess had told me that operating in fear was not the path. Now was the time to take a chance on my sister.

  “I know why they are afraid of him, why they bow down to him.”

  “You do?”

  We were out of the main building, the winding, twisting hallways of the palace gave way to the open-air courtyards that led to the water’s edge and brilliant white sand beach.

  I drew close to Belladonna, putting my mouth near her ear. “He’s a half-breed.”

  She burst out laughing. “That would make him weak.”

  I grabbed her upper arm and squeezed it tightly, barely managing to keep my voice low. “Not him. He controls two powers with equal force.”

  Her eyes widened and the color slipped from her face. “The other?”

  “Air.”

  Closing her eyes, she swayed. “That makes sense. The scene above the dinner table that first night. It wasn’t the Sylph Ambassador, it was Requiem.”

  “Yes.”

  Belladonna slipped her arm around my waist and we walked like that toward the water. “We have to escape, Lark. Sooner rather than later.”

  “What about Ash? We can’t leave him here, and Barkley if he’s still alive . . .”

  Before I could finish my sentence she was shaking her head. “They don’t matter. We have to get out of here while we still can. You may be a bastard, but we are both of royal blood. Our lives matter.”

  I pulled away from her. “They matter, too. Even if Ash was going to betray us, and I say even because I still have my doubts, he is one of us. He is of our family. We don’t leave family behind.”

  We were at the water’s edge with the false beach and pure white sand under our bare feet. The heat soaked through my soles. “We need a plan. Weapons first. I can’t protect either of us with nothing more than a miniscule knife.”

  Nodding, she said nothing.

  “The Enders’ barracks would be the best place.” I put my hands on my hips and looked back the way we’d come. Belladonna had taken a tour of the place, I had been too busy trying to find the cells. “Do you know where they are?” While I’d been searching the interior of the palace for the cells, Belladonna had been touring around the entire Deep.