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She smirked, grabbed a huge map and sighed as she took in the state of her desk. “We’ll use the floor.”
Daharak rolled out the map across most of the floor, placing a paperweight on each corner.
Leaning over, I studied it. To the east, a long line ran along the coast of the continent. I didn’t understand the scale of her map, but I could tell it was out at sea. “You’ve mapped the barrier.”
“As much as we could. The magic of the barrier urges anyone who comes close to turn around, and most forget they were even close to it. Regner’s power may work on the average fisherman or merchant, but my people belong to these waters. And they belong to us. There are still parts of the barrier that are far too strong—even for us. We’ve mapped at least sixty percent of it and made educated guesses for the rest. But that’s not what I want to show you.”
Daharak pointed to several islands to the north of Lesdryn. Farther north than even my village. “These are the Frosthaven Isles. I sent my high admiral to retrieve something I needed. He took one hundred of my ships. But I received word that Regner turned some of his own ships north. They’re likely to either trap my people or to plan an attack. Usually, I would more than trust that they could handle Regner’s soldiers, but I would lose—”
She cut herself off, and I sighed. “You can tell me what it is. I won’t try to take it from you.”
She sneered at that. I just shrugged. “How can I help you if I don’t know what I’m protecting?”
“It’s a weapon. That’s all you need to know. I wouldn’t have attempted to take it now, knowing the seas are teeming with Regner’s ships, but I didn’t know its whereabouts until now. And I can’t risk someone taking it from me and turning it on my people.”
“Why couldn’t you get to it earlier?”
“The last man who knew where it was died a few weeks ago. He told me its location just moments before he drew his last breath. He was a…rival,” she said, but sorrow glittered in her eyes. Sorrow and respect. “But he was honorable, and we made one last deal. I trust his word in this.”
I tapped my palm and the mark that sliced through it. “You want me to freeze time long enough for your people to get past Regner’s ships.”
She nodded.
“How will we make our way north past Regner’s fleet?”
Daharak gave me a slow, feline smile. “Regner has been underestimating me for decades. He believes no one can get within a certain distance of the barrier—because his people can’t.”
She ran her finger along a route close to the barrier. “We travel this way. Regner’s men won’t know we’re there until we’re on top of them. You’ll use your power, and my trapped ships will sail past Regner’s ships. The more time your people spend near the barrier, the less it will affect them as well.”
In that case, I needed to convince as many of our people to come along for this little trip as I could.
“You’ll need to warn your people, prepare them so they’re ready. I can’t hold time indefinitely.”
“Understood.”
“If you can’t get your hands on your weapon, the vow is still fulfilled as long as we have done everything in our power to get to it.”
She frowned, and I slowly shook my head. “If something goes wrong on your end, my vow is still fulfilled as long as there were no mistakes on our side.”
Her mouth twisted, but Daharak Rostamir had her own code, and after a single stilted moment, she nodded. “You’ve changed since the day I met you.”
I shrugged. “You know, I recently met your mother.”
Of all the things I could have said, that was clearly not what Daharak had been expecting. She blinked rapidly several times but recovered quickly, her mouth curving.
“And just what did my mother have to say?”
“When bound by blockade’s tightening fist, heed the drifting shadow, else all be lost. To prevail, dance the sails toward the sun.”
Daharak closed her eyes, clearly memorizing each word. When she opened them again, I leaned against her desk.
“How accurate are your mother’s predictions, usually?” I kept my voice casual. Hopefully she couldn’t tell I was holding my breath while I waited for her answer.
Daharak shrugged one shoulder. “I haven’t seen her in many years. However…I don’t recall her ever being wrong.”
I nodded. I didn’t tell her I hoped her mother was wrong. Didn’t tell her I would give almost anything for her mother to be parting with her sanity the way the woman I’d called Mama had.
Because if her prophecy was right, then…
