At last, Lawrence said, “You’ve done everything in your power.There will be time for strategy in the morning.”
“Is it enough?”she asked.The question came out without emotion, but Bastion knew she was worried.Hewas worried.
“It is enough until your father gets word,” Lawrence assured her.“Moonwatch is strong and well-stocked.The only unknown is the weapon.”He turned to Bastion.“It’s impressive that you escaped Cutthroat Buck.At sea… in a squall…” Lawrence let the sentence hang with unspoken questions.“Nesrin will want to know the details.The men, the ship, the weapon, the gold…”
He toggled his tiny, empty glass in his hand as he leaned against the mantle.Nesrin’s attention shifted to Bastion.“Tell me everything.”
A long moment passed as Bastion thought about where to begin, weighing what he was willing to say in front of this man he hardly knew.He swallowed and leaned forwards, elbows on his knees, hands hanging between them.
“I failed my Trial.”
Nesrin’s expression cracked like ice on a window.
He nodded, as if the words weren’t enough.Shame welled up within him.Somehow, he’d managed to avoid looking it in the eye, but saying it aloud, he couldn’t help but acknowledge it.
“There must be a mistake,” Nesrin said.A tremor of fear found its way into her voice.
“It is not,” Bastion said.“I am the first prospective knight not to pass, die, or go mad, but tofail.I saw no god on the island and bear no Godmark.”
The blood drained from Nesrin’s face.Goosebumps raced up Bastion’s arms, and a cold, nauseous feeling that wasn’t his filled him.It hit him suddenly that it belonged to Nesrin.Until that moment, Bastion hadn’t considered what this would mean forher.If he could fail, so could she, and she had so much more at stake.
If they had been alone, he might have told her about the imp and his constant heckling on the island.He might have confided in her about how he first met Ulla in the cove.He might have even fallen apart a little.She understood what Endre couldn’t–that failure was unacceptable because it would cost everything.
But this was not the time nor the place.For all intents and purposes, this was a war meeting.
So, instead, he said, “I took a leave of absence to sort through everything.I didn’t have a particular destination in mind, so I ended up in a village that had been attacked by pirates.Ulla was there, healing the wounded.And I found something unusual.”
He rose and went to his saddle bags, lying in a heap behind one of the settees.He pawed through it and found his balled-up shirt.
“This was on a dead pirate,” he said.He took his seat and let the damp fabric drape over his hand.The pendant gleamed in the torchlight, the rubies sparkling like fresh blood against the worn and weathered fabric.
Nesrin leaned forwards to inspect it.“Is that Acari?”
Bastion nodded, gazing at the pendant.Something about it unnerved him, as if the center cutout were a watchful eye.Nesrin tracked his movement as he set it on the table between them and leaned back.
“Ulla read the dead man’s last thoughts, which convinced me I needed to come here.”
Lawrence’s gaze sharpened.“What did she learn?”
“Mostly regret,” Bastion said.“But also that the attack was a distraction.We parted ways then, but met again in Cypress Shoals.She’d run across the pirates at sea, and brought me valuable information that she’d overheard–” he paused, correcting himself “–she’d gathered.It further confirmed that I needed to come here, but we were captured on our way.When we escaped, we took Rowan with us.”
Nesrin nodded slowly, assessing the bones he’d given her. “She’s deaf?”
Bastion scoffed.“You picked up on that far more quickly than I did.She was signing right in front of me, and I still didn’t catch it.”
A flash of white teeth split her face in a knowing smile.“You were always an idiot when it came to pretty girls.”
Bastion sat back, a bit of humor softening his expression.He’d missed her directness.He could always count on her to be honest with him, even if it stung.
Nesrin’s smile faded, and she pointed at the pendant still in his hand.
“So, why is this significant?”
“I don’t know,” Bastion said.“But my horse killed a pirate wearing a similar one.I later saw Buck wearing it.”
“We’re going to circle back to the horse,” Nesrin groused.“But first, tell me about the weapon.”
Bastion’s eyes fell to a tray of food on the table between the settees.He vaguely recalled Nesrin ordering it, but he was so tired he didn’t remember seeing it come in.His stomach growled, and he realized how famished he was.
