Scimitar War (36 page)

“Thank you,” she said, embarrassed by the display. He turned and left behind the attendant, and Camilla shook her head. “He seems so…different from when I met him on Plume Isle. Then he was all bluster and commands.”

“The captain has seen a lot since then,” Emil said, accepting a glass of wine from the attendant and handing it to her. He offered one to Tim, who sipped it and barely hid his grimace of distaste, and another to Huffington, who declined. “Watching Akrotia destroy Vulture and Plume Isles humbled him, I think. His bravado has taken a few dents.”

“I can’t say as I envy him right now,” Huffington said, availing himself of the tray of delicate treats. “Bearer of bad tidings and all.”

Camilla sipped her wine and stared out the glass doors at a fountain splashing into a pool of water lilies, the sun low over the garden walls. The men’s voices faded as she let her mind wander from one thought to the next: water, oceans, ships, Cynthia, Edan, Akrotia, Plume Isle…Hydra…blood.

“His Majesty will see you now.”

The voice startled Camilla from thoughts that had gone as dark as the garden outside. Though her wineglass was still nearly full, the crystal facets now twinkled only with the light from the chandelier overhead. She could no longer see the garden through the glass doors, just her own reflection. She turned away.

Emil approached. “I should not be long, my dear.”

“Pardon, Milord Count,” the attendant said, “but His Majesty desires you all to attend him.”

“Very well,” Emil said with a raised eyebrow. “Shall we?” He drained his wineglass and held his arm out to her.

A tendril of fear crept up her spine, and her mouth went dry. Why would the emperor want to see
her
? She took a parting sip of wine, put the glass down and placed her hand on Emil’s arm. He must have felt a tremor in her grasp, for he put his other hand over hers and squeezed.

“Not to worry, my dear,” he whispered in her ear. “He’s just an emperor. We’ve faced worse.”

They were ushered to a guarded double door where the men were required to relinquish their weapons. Emil, as a noble, had been allowed to wear his sword into the city, and he laid it on the highly polished table. Tim surprised her by retrieving a dagger from his boot and relinquishing it, and she gaped as Huffington pulled various implements, one after the other, from his clothing and piled them onto a silver tray. He caught her staring, and quirked a small smile. She remembered how she had distrusted him after their first meeting; it seemed a lifetime ago.

The doors opened and Emil swept her inside. To Camilla’s first brief glance, the room imparted an impression of opulence. Amidst the green and gold marble and glittering lamps, her eyes were drawn to the one dark feature. A tall woman dressed all in black glowered at her, her hand resting on the hilt of a sheathed sword. Camilla shivered as she imagined the blade slashing into her, splashing black blood and revealing her dark secrets, but the woman’s gaze passed over her without recognition. Directly in front of them a man sat behind an ornate table directly in front of them. He wore a green silk doublet embroidered with gold, and a golden circlet upon his brow.

“Your Majesty,” Emil said, bending to one knee.

Camilla curtsied as gracefully as her quaking knees allowed, noting the grinning young man wearing a silver circlet, who stood to the emperor’s right.

“Corryn!” Tim exclaimed.

“Tim!” Emil hissed, grasping his son’s arm firmly. Camilla glanced sidelong to see Tim kneel awkwardly, blushing in embarrassment at his outburst.

The prince grinned, and waved surreptitiously to his boyhood friend.

“You may rise,” the emperor said, his voice edged with stress and…something else. Fear? Yes, that was it. Camilla was well acquainted with fear. “Count Norris, We are pleased to see you and yours alive and well. Congratulations on the recovery of your son. We know how sorely his disappearance affected you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Emil said with a short bow. “I believe you know my secretary, Mister Huffington, and my son, Timothy. This is Lady Camilla, of whom you have read in my missives concerning the seamage. She is…in my care.”

“Your letters did not do the lady credit, Count Norris. Her beauty graces Our presence.”

“Your Majesty is too kind,” Camilla replied, curtsying again as heat flushed her cheeks.

“We will hear a detailed account of your activities in the Shattered Isles at a later time, Count Norris, and We expect you to attend a council in the morning to address the threat of Akrotia.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Emil agreed.

“There is first, however, a matter that requires both your attention, and that of Lady Camilla. We hope you don’t think Us presumptuous, but according to Captain Donnely’s report, you two are…very close, and the lady will be staying at your residence.”

Camilla blushed, while Emil replied, “That is true, Your Majesty.”

“Very well.” The emperor gestured to a guard who stood beside a small door to one side of the room. The guard opened the door, and a woman entered. She was dressed in a gray uniform with a white apron, and held a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. Camilla didn’t understand; she had never seen this woman before. She glanced at Emil, and from his blank expression, she could tell that he, too, didn’t recognize her. Then the bundle gurgled, and a little head popped out from under the woman’s hair to peer anxiously down into the blankets.

“Mouse!” Tim yelped, starting forward, only to be pulled back by Emil’s grip on his arm.

“Eep?” Mouse chirped, perking up from his position on the nursemaid’s shoulder. He did not, however, launch into the air to meet them as Camilla suspected he might. Instead, he looked warily at the tall woman in black who now stood before the emperor, her sword drawn and a scowl on her face as she watched the little sprite.

“You’re afraid of Mouse?” Tim asked with a snort of laughter that was cut short by Emil.

Without realizing that she had moved, Camilla found herself walking toward the nursemaid. She reached a hand out to the bundle of blankets, then hesitated. Misreading her intentions, the nursemaid deposited the bundle in Camilla’s arms, then folded back the blanket.

A baby peered up at her, green eyes wide and trusting, pink lips pursed as they blew a bubble. Mouse hopped off the nursemaid’s shoulder to Camilla’s arm, then cuddled down next to the baby, patting its face and planting kisses on its soft brow.

“Cynthia’s baby?” she whispered.

“His name is Kloe, after Master Ghelfan,” Tim said as he moved to her side.

“I don’t understand, Your Majesty,” she heard Emil say. “The seamage’s child?”

“The child is currently a ward of the empire. As Lady Camilla was companion and confidant to the seamage, We feel it is appropriate that she, and you, be appointed as the child’s guardians.”

“If it pleases Your Majesty,” Emil said, “where are the seamage and her husband?”

“For actions that led to the loss of Our ships
Clairissa
and
Fire Drake,
” the emperor declared, “Cynthia Flaxal Brelak was sentenced to ten years in the imperial prison. Feldrin Brelak will be executed for treason in twenty-five days.”

“Executed!” Tim gasped.

“Tim! Quiet!” Emil rebuked his son sharply.

The rest of their short time in the emperor’s presence was lost to Camilla. She heard various apologies and orders, then felt Emil gently wrap his arm around her shoulders and guide her from the room. In the back of her mind, Camilla grieved over Cynthia and Feldrin’s plights, but those troubles seemed far away. The warm little bundle in her arms was real. She frowned as she ran her fingers over Kloe’s soft cheek and down his neck, finally resting them on his chest. Her fingertips pulsed in time to his heartbeat. He was so small, so fragile.

The emperor trusted them to keep Kloe safe, but did she trust herself?

Chapter 25

Choices

“It’s not fair!” Tim shouted, his voice echoing off the walls of the townhouse’s atrium. “They’re going to kill him for something
Sam
did! It wasn’t his fault!”

“I’m not arguing with you, Tim; it’s
not
fair. But there’s nothing we can do about it.” Emil grasped his son firmly by the shoulders, imploring him to understand. “Some very powerful families lost loved ones when those ships were destroyed. The emperor’s decision is as much based on politics as it is on justice, Tim.”

“Politics? They’re going to
kill
him, Father. It’s not right!”

“I
know
it’s not right, but there’s no reprieve for the condemned when it’s the emperor’s final judgment. That’s the law.”

“Well the law’s
stupid
! Sam was the one who fired that catapult. Feldrin didn’t even know she was aboard!”

“I’m afraid the law backs the emperor’s decision on that, too, Tim.” Emil released his son and took a deep, calming breath. It had been a trying day, and what should have been a joyous homecoming had turned into an all-out argument. “A captain is responsible for the actions of all aboard his ship. Not knowing Sam was aboard is no excuse. Technically, Feldrin was responsible.”

“
Technically
?” Tim’s voice broke on the word. “How can you say that? It was Sam’s fault!”

“I
know
, Tim, but—”

“Milord,” Huffington interrupted, placing a hand on the count’s arm and nodding toward the settee.

The sight of Camilla with a very fussy Kloe in her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks, froze his heart. Both Camilla and Mouse were trying to calm the babe, while he and Tim railed at each other.

“Oh, Camilla, I’m sorry!” Emil said as he came and knelt at her side.

“The baby…” whispered Camilla.

“The baby will be fine,” he assured her. “My housekeeper is setting up a nursery, and Mrs. Klouch will stay with us and nurse Kloe until he’s weaned. Everything will be all right.”

“No!” protested Camilla. “Everything
won’t
be all right! Don’t you see? The
baby
, Emil! Cynthia’s baby!”

“Yes, I see. We’ll take good care of him until Cynthia—”

“Kloe will be
ten years
old
before she’s released, Emil. How can we raise him the way he
should
be raised? Teach him what he needs to be taught? He’ll end up like Cynthia; too old to gain the magic. Too old to become a seamage.”

Emil sat back on his heels. He hadn’t even considered those ramifications of Cynthia’s imprisonment. Had the emperor? He certainly had advisors who could have told him that elemental mages ascend to their powers at a young age. Did he mean to prevent Kloe’s ascendancy by keeping him from his mother until it was too late? Was he that afraid of a line of seamages?

“How short sighted…” he murmured, considering how valuable an amicable relationship with a seamage would be for the emperor right now. Emil scrambled to his feet as inspiration struck. He took Camilla’s face in his hands and kissed her, much to the protestations of both Mouse and Kloe. “You’re
brilliant
!”

“What?” Camilla blushed, Mouse emitted a questioning “Eep?” and Kloe finally reached a point where fussy devolved into a full-fledged tantrum, his wracking cry making everyone cringe.

“My dear,” Emil said, “you may well have just saved Feldrin’s life. Huffington! Get Mrs. Klouch down here to take care of the baby. Tim, tell the cook we need dinner and blackbrew.
Lots
of blackbrew! We have some planning to do!”

≈

“All secure, Captain!” Quid reported, squinting into the morning sun with a grin. “Been a while since I seen this place, sir.”

“Not so long fer me; that crazy bitch Sam was with us that last trip. She’d hatched this plan to spread rumors about the seamage so the emperor would go after her.” Farin laughed shortly as he considered the result of their efforts. “Guess it worked, ay?”

“Worked too good, I think,” Quid agreed. “You goin’ ashore, sir?”

“Aye, and I’ll be takin’ two solid sailors with me. Keep an eye on things while we’re gone, Quid. Nobody goes ashore until we find some buyers for this stuff. Once it’s all sold off, we divvy up the proceeds and make our choices: who stays with the ship, and who stays in Tsing.”

“Aye, Captain. We’ll keep an eye on her.”

Farin nodded and ordered the launch to be splashed. It shouldn’t take long to find buyers for their goods. Then, with a ship and gold to buy cargo, he’d be an honest merchant captain. It was a far cry from being a pirate, but there were advantages to being his own lord and master.

He stood on the galleon’s quarterdeck and surveyed the busy harbor. The number and variety of ships that pulled into Tsing always amazed him. There were a couple of warships he recognized from Plume Isle, and he wondered how many had been left behind with the garrison. One was too many as far as Farin was concerned. No, the Shattered Isles were a lost cause, not fit for an honest pirate to ply his trade in any way, shape or form.

“Bloody shame,” he muttered, flicking his eyes from ship to ship, reading the names, analyzing the rigs and gauging the
King Gull
’s own capacity and capability as a merchant. She was not, by far, the sleekest or most seaworthy ship in the harbor, but she was no scow either.

His eye settled on one particularly svelte merchantman; something about the ship was familiar. Her transom swung toward them, and he read the name:
Lady Belle.
He’d never heard of her, but her lines were sleek and her brightwork gleamed; she was as pretty as a doxy all dolled up for a night on the town.

“Launch is ready, sir,” the boatswain said with a lopsided grin. The whole crew was in high spirits, and Farin knew the reason: money, new lives, and a vast city in which to spend both.

“Let’s go then!” he said as he descended the boarding ladder, all thoughts of the
Lady Belle
fading from his mind. He had money to make and a new life to begin.

≈

Emil surreptitiously wiped his hands on his coat as he entered the council chamber. He had negotiated scores of treaties and truces during his career, and had never been so nervous. He glanced around as he sat, feeling no small sense of irony. This was the very same chamber where he had argued for swift and decisive action against the upstart seamage, Cynthia Flaxal. He shook his head when he remembered how certain he had been of his judgment then. Time and events had taught him humility.

Every seat was taken, and assistants lined the walls. The mood in the chamber was one of somber foreboding; everyone knew why they were here. Finally, the double doors behind the emperor’s chair opened, and the guards came to attention. The herald and the emperor’s personal secretary entered first, followed by the intimidating form of Lady von Camwynn, the royal protector.