A tense silence followed.
“How could we?” Selena snapped. “We don't know Maren’s birth date, and she says it was around this time of year. The middle of the wet season in Leihani. And how do you expect her to learn to swim in abox?”
“I recall the reason. How convenient it was for Maren to reach the age of maturity so soon after finding her,” Thaan said.
“If you feel the need to accuse me of anything, by all means, do so outright,” Selena said, her voice a low warning.
“I accuse you of nothing your conscience does not already recognize as guilt.”
“My conscience is clear,” she hissed.
“Are you finished, then, or is there anything else you wish to say before we move on?”
No reply came. The small sounds of office work filled the room. Pen nibs scratching against paper, chairs creaking. I wondered if the secretaries were always this quiet.
“It would be wise to assume it’s a threat, since if we ignore it, they may put words into action,” Selena said, drawing a large breath into her lungs.
Thaan considered her words before replying. “They cannot make demands of mySiliqua Domus.”
“They can when you send members of yourDomusinto their sea. They know we’re there. I’ve seen them watching us.”
“Has Maren?”
“No, I don’t think so. She’d have said something. Let me read it again.”
A paper rustled gently inside Thaan’s office. He cleared his throat, waiting. My eyes connected with a pretty face across the room, and I quickly sent my gaze elsewhere.
“I don’t see a way around it,” Selena said over the sound of the paper being folded. “Either introduce her to them or we halt our lessons in the Venus Sea. We aren’t on fair terms with Anatola,but it’s certainly better than your relationship with Sidra.”
“Yes, unfortunately, our positive connection with the VenusViderehas faded in recent years, a tangle caught in the ropeIdid not wind.”
The scent of heated metal edged out from under the door.
“Are we finished?” Selena asked, her voice tight and controlled.
“Nearly,” Thaan said, though what he went on to say, I didn’t hear.
“Can I help you?” asked a soft voice.
It was the face I’d seen a moment ago. Pretty in a way I could only describe as classic beauty. The image of a young Calderian woman I might’ve conjured once as a child, had I closed my eyes and tried. Her hair shone ginger-gold, a braid twisted just below the curve of her head, subtle curls falling freely down her back, her eyes a pale, frothy green. Frocked in a satin gown of gray-blue, the skirt widening smoothly over her hips, she looked like a little dove.
I stood, dusting my skirts. “No,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“Were you waiting for Lord Thaan?” The look on her face implied she knew the answer.
“Yes—” I said, already moving away. She followed smoothly, walking me toward the main office exit, hands clasped at her waist.
Were the secretaries instructed to keep visitors out?
“Would you please let him know that—" I paused, quickly searching for a name "That Nola was here for him?”
“Of course,” she said. From deep inside the room, I watched Thaan’s office door open.
“Thank you.” Hurrying back to the mouth of the sky bridge, a thought occurred to me. I turned to glance at the young woman again, but she’d already disappeared.
All the other secretaries had been dressed in black, with ruffled white aprons. The same clothes palace maids wore. But she’d been dressed as a noble woman.
Odd.
