Frankly, it hurt that he was leaving.
She told herself it shouldn’t, but her heart wasn’t in the mood to listen. It was too busy thudding faster and faster.Stay calm. You can handle this.
Kiela continued her climb up the cliff stairs, while Larran trotted across the pebbly beach. Looking back, she saw him strip off his shirt, toss it onto a rock, and then wade into the water. He whistled for his merhorses.
At the top, the captain waited for Kiela and his squad to reach him. Hands clasped behind his back, he gazed out across the water and at the purple-streaked clouds on the horizon. In front of him, the roses bobbed in the breeze, and it all looked delightfully picturesque. “Quite the view,” he said.
She caught her breath and nodded. “It’s one of my favorite things about Caltrey.”
“I can see why.” Then he frowned at the sky. “We should move along. There might be a bit of unpleasant weather coming our way soon.”
Kiela leaped on that. “Are you certain you shouldn’t head back to your ship? Get clear of the island and to your next destination before the storm arrives?”
One of his sailors studied the clouds. “It’s far enough away and not certain it’ll develop into a storm,” she said. “It could dissipate. We have plenty of time before we need to be concerned.”
Well, it was worth a try,Kiela thought. “Just a warning: storms blow in quickly on the outer islands. These aren’t like storms near the capital. You shouldn’t underestimate them.”
The sailor disagreed. “Not that quickly. We have time.”
“Lead on,” the captain said.
Kiela led them into the greenery, along the trail that Larran had blazed and that was now matted down from all the back-and-forth since she’d arrived. She hoped it wasn’t suspicious that the trail existed in the first place. Maybe she should have cast a spell to swallow it up too. The imperials could have used their shiny swords to hack through the greenery—that would have really made the area feel uninhabited—but she hadn’t thought of it. “I haven’t lived in the cottage since I was little. I’m not sure why Fenerer thinks I do. He’s clearly confused.”
She stepped out of the green in front of the cottage.
It had been embraced by vines and brambles. Lush and verdant, they knotted around the entire house, blocking the doorway and the windows. The boards that Larran had hammered over the windows and doors weren’t even visible. A few flowers bloomed on some of the vines that draped down over the walls.
“I should have maintained it,” Kiela said apologetically. “But since no one lives here . . .”
“I see that,” the captain said.
“I’m sorry to waste your time,” Kiela said. “I did try to tell you.”
The captain bowed his head politely, even sheepishly. “I do apologize for the intrusion, but since a lead was presented, it has to be followed.”
“Of course,” Kiela said. She could be gracious, now that he’d seen there was nothing here. “If we head back now, I’m sure Bryn will have some baked goods that you can take with you on your way to your next destination.”
“As soon as we conduct our search, we’ll return to town,” Captain Varrik said. He barked to his soldiers, “Search the area.” To Kiela, he said, “A formality, you understand. I need to report that we followed every lead.”
Kiela tried not to let the panic show on her face as the soldiers split up, circling the house and tromping through the forest. If they looked hard enough, would they find Caz and Meep? She hoped the plants had enough sense to stay hidden. What if the soldiers decided to chop down the vines and break into the house? Why would they? It looked as if no one had gone inside the cottage in years. There was no reason to think they’d search inside, if they could even get inside . . .
She noticed that Captain Varrik was watching her carefully.He knows. He sees it in my face.She was certain he could tell she wasn’t calm, but would he guess what she was hiding? He couldn’t know Radane was here, and he had no reason to suspect the spellbooks.Please, Caz and Meep, stay hidden.
Her heart felt as if it were racing as fast as a hummingbird’s wingbeat.
“What’s your plan when you find this missing heir?” Kiela asked, trying to make her voice as casual as possible, as if she were just making conversation.
The captain shifted uncomfortably. “She’ll be put on trial.”
“For what?”
“To determine if she is a threat to the new government of the Crescent Islands.” He turned to face the bramble-covered cottage. His soldiers were stomping through, branches snapping beneath their boots. A bird scolded them from the top of a pine tree, and Kiela glanced up at it—red feathers and an apple-blossom tail. She looked quickly away, hoping none of the soldiers noticed how unusual the bird was. This could all go so badly so very quickly.
Kiela thought about what to say. She had to choose her words carefully. And watch her tone. Lightly, she said, “Well, the woman who was here—don’t know if she was the heir or not—but she didn’t seem like a threat. She just wanted an ordinary life, she said.”
“She did, did she?”
“It sounded to me like she never wanted to return to Alyssium.”
