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“Fine,” said Keane. “But I want to talk to him alone first. He is my son, after all.”
I awokethe next morning with no more information than I’d had before. The crew was at the sails again, catching the wind and the currents that carried us toward Cambria.
Keane stood at the helm, one eye swollen and bruised while he squinted against the eastern sun. I approached him for the first time since he'd spoken to Dominic below deck the night before.
“So?” I asked. “Did Dominic know anything about the arsenal?”
He avoided my gaze. “Didn't feel right to ask just yet.”
I nodded with understanding. He would lose credibility with Dominic if he started pressing him for secret information while trying to prove his innocence. “How did he react when you told him what you and your wife had been looking for?”
“He hardly said a word.”
“Do you think he believed you?”
Keane pulled in a deep breath. “I tossed and turned half the night wondering the same thing.”
I paused, realizing that Keane's affection for his son was evident in a way it hadn't been before. “But he has to be wondering why Pearce lied to him about your banishment. That creates a crack in the story he’s been told, regardless of who he’d like to believe.”
“True.” He nodded. “Why’d you have him handcuffed, anyway? You were fine with letting him wander the deck before.”
“You didn’t free him, did you?” I asked, glancing at the crate of radios.
“No, because I figured it was for a reason. What did he do?”
“After he attacked you,” I said, “I figured it was a bad idea to leave him loose, especially with weapons around.”
He smiled, his bruised eye closing entirely. “Aw, so you were protecting your ol’ Keane? Is that the only reason?”
I looked out to sea. I suspected at this point Keane wouldn’t hurt him—or let anyone else, but I still didn’t want to tell him about the radio I’d found with Dominic, even if only to protect my pride. “Yeah, that’s it. I didn’t want him to get another shot at that beautiful face of yours.”
Keane leaned back, grinning. “‘Bout time you admit I’m beautiful.”
I laughed and walked away, eager to flee any further questions as I went below deck and down the hall.
I knocked on Dominic’s door before going in. Once I entered, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim cabin light.
Dominic sat slumped against the post I’d cuffed him to, his chin on his chest as it rose and fell with restful breaths.
I paused, uncertain, but Keane’s story had gotten me curious and I’d never been able to stay patient once curiosity had its hold on me. So I went forward. “Dominic?”
His head jerked at the sound of my voice, and he looked up at me, his face shadowed. “What do you want?” From the way he said it, I could tell he was trying to sound indifferent, but I detected a tremble in his voice.
I sat on the wooden floor a few feet away from him with my back against the door. I wanted to ask again whether he had used the radio, but I knew it wouldn’t make a difference. If he did give us away, he wouldn’t dare to be honest with me, not now when I could kill him, for all he knew. So I decided I’d just have to get closer, get him to trust me. It had worked for Graham, anyway—not that this Enforcer was anything like Graham, but everyone was susceptible, especially those with wounds. And Dominic clearly had a few.
“You know,” I began, “I’ve been trying to figure out if Keane’s telling the truth about what happened to your mother. The whole story seems a little far-fetched, especially the part about some gigantic underground technological arsenal.” I forced a laugh. “What do you think?”
He looked at me for a long moment. “Why would it matter to you what I think? I’m certain you wouldn’t trust me over him.”
“I admit I have trust issues," I said, then added in a low breath, "especially after recent events."
“Your father,” he said. “I heard what Stroud did—telling you there would be a war if you didn’t take the throne.”
My back stiffened. “How do you know about that?”
He lifted his chin. “I’ve heard a lot of conversations over the past few days.”
I didn't want this information in the Academy's hands. I wondered how much else he'd heard that we didn't want him to know. He was more shrewd than I’d given him credit for. There were times when I’d thought he was lost in thought, shutting out the world, but I knew now that he’d always been listening. “Well, maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive me for threatening you with my knives now that you know I had good intentions.”
