A Jewel Bright Sea. Claire O'Dell

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      Without warning, the sedan chair tilted to one side. Anna yelped and flung her arms out. Before she could catch hold of anything, the chair tilted wildly in the opposite direction, then crashed to the ground.

      Anna lay bruised and breathless in the wreckage. “Guards?” she croaked. She sucked down a breath and tried to remember their names. Then she recalled they had not mentioned their names, nor had she asked. “Guards?” she repeated.

      No one answered.

      Truly frightened now, she disentangled herself and climbed from the wreckage.

      She was alone. Tall windowless buildings lined the shadowed street. Far below, down a series of steps, lay the avenue they had left behind. A scuff of boots against the pavement gave her scant warning. She pivoted about and found herself facing Andreas Koszenmarc.

      “Vrou Iljana,” he said. “Good day.”

      Anna resisted the urge to lick her dry lips. A dozen men poured from the alleys and doorways ahead. More footsteps sounded behind her. He had trapped her neatly.

      “Don’t worry,” Koszenmarc said. “I shan’t kidnap you again. Even I can see there’s no profit in it.”

      He’s guessing. He can’t know anything, Anna told herself.

      But when Koszenmarc circled around her, she flinched.

      “Ah, the lady breathes,” he said softly. “I had begun to think you were made of stone, like the statues of sea monsters that line the harbor. Have you seen them?”

      “I have no interest in statues.”

      Koszenmarc continued pacing around to face her once more. Though she kept her gaze upon him, Anna felt the presence of all the other pirates. It was precisely for accidents such as today that Lord Brun had insisted on those lessons in battle magic. Think, she told herself. There must be one spell that could drive them all away.

      His mouth curled into a smile that did nothing to reassure her. “So. No statues. I wonder what does interest you. Lord Gerhart, for one. Magic, for another.” He waited a moment. When she didn’t answer, he shrugged. “They say those who come to the Eddalyon Islands are dissolute nobles, or the runaway sons and daughters of the same. You, you fit none of these categories, despite your efforts to pretend otherwise. Why are you here?”

      He spoke softly, but she had not missed the sword at his belt, nor the dagger that suddenly appeared in his hand. Here was no foppish courtier. He would not hesitate to kill her. It made the choice to attack easier.

      “I am here for my health,” she said evenly.

      His teeth flashed bright against his dark brown skin. “Such bravado. Not that I would expect less from a vrou of the first rank.”

      Now, she thought. While he believes he holds the advantage.

      Swiftly she turned her focus inward, to the point between magic and the world, and called upon the gods. Ei rûf ane gôtter. Ei rûf ane viur. Lâzen alle liehten.

      A wall of bright fire leapt up between her and Koszenmarc. He jerked backwards. Anna caught a glimpse of his face through the translucent flames, his golden eyes wide with astonishment. With another phrase and a sweep of her hand, she sent the fire billowing outward, forcing him and his men beyond the next intersection—a narrow lane between the two nearest storehouses.

      Anna darted down that lane. A shout sounded behind her—Koszenmarc calling out orders. The fire would die out within a few moments. Once that happened, the pirates could overtake her. She veered left at the first cross street. When she came to an alleyway slanting down toward the harbor, she turned again. If she could reach the main avenue, she could dodge into any one of the shops that lined the street and send someone for the city watch. Her pursuers were gaining on her, she could tell. She gulped down a breath and rounded a corner—

      —and ran straight into Maté.

      “You,” she gasped.

      He grabbed her by the arm. “Come with me. Hurry.”

      Before she could ask how he knew where to find her, Maté pulled her into a narrow passage between two houses. They fled down a series of steps to the next ring of streets. Above the thrumming in her ears, Anna heard the clatter of boots on stones. Maté drew her close. “Quick and silent now,” he murmured in her ear. “Can you do it?”

      She nodded.

      They hurried through a maze of passageways, through an even narrower tunnel that opened into a square crowded with chickens and goats. Opposite them was a wooden gate—locked, of course. Maté pried loose several slats, and they squeezed into another, larger courtyard.

      High walls surrounded them, an expanse of pale brown brick darkened by moss. Several windows opened onto the courtyard, all shuttered against the sunlight, except for one high overhead. The ground here was dark and hard-packed. Matted grass and a few stubborn flowers grew in the corners. A spicy scent filled the air, mixed with the faint smell of rotting garbage from an unseen heap.

      Maté made a quick circuit, pausing at each door and gate. At length he nodded, as though satisfied. Anna leaned against the closest wall, trembling. “What next?” she said softly. “Can you find our way home from here?”

      “Not yet.”

      His voice sounded odd to her ear—strained and unhappy. She was about to ask if something was wrong—something more than pirates and kidnapping and a heart-stopping flight through Iglazi’s back alleys—when Maté turned around. His eyes were flat, his expression so closed it frightened her.

      “It’s time,” he said, “that you told me the truth.”

      CHAPTER 5

      From far away came the rumble of street traffic, the hum of voices drifting upward from the marketplace, but here in this secluded courtyard, Anna had the impression that a veil of silence had fallen over them, much like the spells she had used the night before. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered.

      “Don’t lie to me, Anna. You know what I mean.”

      Like a soldier delivering a report, Maté listed all the times Anna had met with Brun over the three months before their mission began. He noted that half those private conferences had taken place late at night, and though most of the staff believed Brun had merely summoned Anna for the usual reasons, he doubted the man would suddenly take to using rooms sealed against spies. He had not bothered before, after all.

      “You used that same spell last night,” Maté said. “Curious, or not so curious a coincidence. You’ve spent so many hours closeted with those new tutors Lord Brun hired. And let us not forget the couriers.”

      What couriers?

      Maté grinned at her expression, but it wasn’t a happy grin. “I confess I hadn’t noticed them at first. Hêr Lord Brun has so many friends throughout the Empire, after all, and everyone knows he likes to collect any and all news about Court and politics. It wasn’t until I heard the stable hands gossiping about those midnight visitors, the ones escorted directly to our lord’s private chambers, that I wondered.”

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