“Of course.”
Amber.It was a rare stone, but surely a king could find some.Copper thread.A gilded chest.I didn’t ask for what I needed.His eyes were too sharp.He might figure some of my order’s secrets.I would need to procure these items less directly and not at the same time.And if there weren’t storms here like on the Isle, it wouldn’t much matter.There would be no lightning to catch.I thought of keeping the gold for a fortnight or two, of arriving at Loric’s home with every piece accounted for, of the song that would be sung about us, about the goldkeeper who guarded calmly despite being surrounded by fearsome sea dogs.But then my mind turned to the questioning that would come upon my return, the confessions that were already overdue.How many sea dogs had touched my sleeves?How many bare chests had I witnessed?How many incantations had I been in the presence of?Two chests of gold had been left in the cart upon my capture…
But those containedmygold.I haven’t lost anyone else’s.
The king was still studying me, so I stopped thinking of my plans, worried in a childish way he could sense them just by watching.
He said, “You will likely have questions regularly.I will put aside the first hour of my morning for you each day, for questions and conversation.I will then provide any teachers you are interested in—you played your instrument well last evening.I expect you would like to continue your practise while you are a guest in the floating palace?”
Yes, I wished silently.More than anything.If I had been free to set my days as I wanted, I would have played music from sunrise until well after dark, until my fingers were hot and numb.It was something I was only allotted a small portion of time for, and even then, my mother sometimes forbade it as a form of punishment for me, knowing how I loved it.She maybe did not even want me to play in the first place.It had been my father’s suggestion, as when I was a child, I was continuously in trouble for touching things I ought not touch: stained glass, the hem of a skirt, tapestries—pretty things called to me and I was prone to answering.My mother had ranted to my father about it one too many times, and he’d said, “Perhaps we simply need to give her hands something else to do.”I think he meant only to have my mother cease her complaints, but it was a great service he had done me.Maybe the greatest thing he did for me.
I nodded, barely breathing with yearning.I shall keep gold and play the lyre, and all will be well.
“Your friend there, from last night, has likely already explained that Fell was named your guardian.In your case, this is more ceremonial than anything.All the same, you are…forsworn,you could say—forsworn to him.He has left Aalt.He may be back soon; he might not be—he is not a consistent man.I expect he has gone to his witch doctor.He mentioned fetching her for you while you fevered.I have given him my word no harm will come to you in his absence.”
“Fell…” I had many questions about the man, but none I could word.
King Arik’s gaze hardened.“In the north, we say our thoughts out loud.Speak your mind.”
“I… I suppose I don’t understand… is he a good subject of yours?Is he favoured by you?”
“Ha!Ask me on ten different days, and you will get ten different answers.Fell is Fell.”And then he must have sensed how confused I was, how afraid of falling outside prescription.His features softened.“There would be no one better to act Norser for you than him.He would let no misfortune happen, nor would he request you do something you did not wish to do.”
I had no sense of whether I could trust the man’s words.
“Gentlewoman, I will tell you a secret, but you must not repeat it.And in return, you will tell me a secret.Fair?”
He didn’t wait for me to answer.He said, “Fell is my favourite of all of them, my favourite in this kingdom and all the ones beyond.”
He spoke with such conviction that I was soothed a little.I remembered again the cold blue of Fell’s eyes on the boat, the way he spoke to me with his gaze alone.
“Your turn, Gentlewoman.I shall not tell the next words you speak to anyone.This will help us build trust with one another, which will make your stay more pleasant, no?”
And here, I have a chance to lie to you.I could say I told him nothing or that I gave a foolish secret up, but this is not the truth.I had an opportunity to speak outside prescription, and I took it.I said, “Sometimes I remember my dreams.”It was from so deep within me that my throat felt swollen by the words.The heat of tears warmed my eyelids, but I blinked them back.
He smiled knowingly.“I look forward to more conversations with you.I should also warn you that later this evening will be an odd sight for you—the Norsern treat with the shy moon tonight.I will be sure to have a meal left out for you before I join them.”
I couldn’t imagine what would be considered an odd sight to King Arik.The sea dogs had been running around the palace, shrieking and giggling well into the middle hours of the night, making sleep near impossible for me.I’d also needed to relieve myself but had been afraid to leave my room in darkness and stumble upon whatever wild things they were doing so late at night, so my own body had kept me awake.
“Now, I have tasks to see to.Take your keys.Explore.Find somewhere to rest your gold that allows you a quiet mind.”
I picked up those cursed keys and held them in my hands having no sense of the terror they would cause me.
The freedom.
The suffering.
The power.
Fifteen
The floating palace of Aalt was a true marvel.A bone-coloured driftwood construction of concentric rings and grand halls, hosting feasts and parties and captains and crews from afar, collecting treasures and secrets.
But my first day of exploring the palace yielded almost none of its wonders, for true to King Arik’s promise, the sea dogs were to behave strangely.There had been a continual chorus of noise since I’d arrived: shouts, giggles, the sound of feet when people ran their fastest.The clamour of items being thrown.The thumping that came with wrestling.The semi-musical tunes of drunken revellers.But the moon grew shy by mid-afternoon, and a hush fell over the palace.
I had been feeling along the edges of a shelf fastened to a storeroom wall, wondering if I could pull it away and hide gold behind it, when I first noticed the quiet.The water outside and beneath the palace still produced therushsound that came from waves charging and retreating.And there was still some faint drumming, some whispered hums, but the energy of the sound was so changed that it felt like silence.
I crept out of the storeroom, gripping the keys I’d been lent in what I thought at the time was a practical, defensive hold.I expected some form of attack, perhaps a row of sea dogs barring my path back to Loric’s gold which was being ransacked.
