Naomi

Guennet ran out to meet Naomi and Esar when they returned to the Sanctuary late that afternoon.

“The knights—they recognized Kelsam, I don’t know how. Someone must have recognized you yesterday. And they took him and Jason prisoner.”

“No,” Esar breathed.

“He said—he said you have to come to him. Go to Norsyff and beg for his life,” Guennet went on. “And he would decide whether or not he’d take someone precious from you, like you took from him. But—”

Esar cursed. “I knew I shouldn’t have left him with you—”

“There was nothing I could do, Esar! They were armed, I tried to argue but it was hopeless.”

It couldn’t be true—Jason and Kelsam couldn’t just be gone like that, taken prisoner. Naomi clenched her fists, ready to wreak vengeance and free her friends.

“There’s no way we’ll let him get away with that!” she roared. “We’ll rescue them, won’t we, Esar?”

“It won’t be that simple,” Guennet said. “They left a guard behind to watch me and escort you to Norsyff. They’re leaving nothing to chance.”

“He’s gone mad. There’s no rational explanation for this,” Esar fumed.

“Well, they can’t have gotten too far yet. I’ll go after them,” Naomi said.

“They’re probably halfway to Chacry by now,” Guennet sighed.

“And you’re not going running after them alone,” Esar said sternly. “You can’t go up against an army all by yourself.”

“But maybe if I’m sneaky I can—”

“Who’s that talking about being sneaky?” asked a voice. It belonged to one of the soldiers Naomi remembered seeing with Sir Salgiar the day before. He sauntered out of Guennet’s parlor and nodded to Esar and Naomi.

“Are you really all right with this plan?” Esar asked her. “To hold an innocent man and a child hostage, or—or worse, just to hurt me?”

The knight shrugged and glanced at Guennet. “I’m just following orders,” he said.

“That’s a lousy excuse!” Naomi said before Esar could reply. “If you guys hurt our friends—if you harm a hair on their heads—I will destroy every one of you.”

The knight smirked. “I’m shaking with terror, little girl.”

Let him think she was bluffing. She’d show him, when the time was right, just how terrifying she could be.

“You’ve cast your lot with the rebellion, I suppose,” Esar said to the knight.

“Hell no! I’m loyal to the King.”

“Who is rebelling against the true sovereigns of Elorhe, Queen Irezan and King Gerimon.”

The knight scowled. “They’ve lost their right to rule over us,” he said. “First there was what happened to Raen Semfrey, then the incident when the second boy went to the Ocean. Providence has turned its back on the Talmuirs. Galibasti owes them no loyalty.”

“I see. Shall we be on our way, then?” Esar asked the knight.

The knight slouched on the sofa. “Oh, it’s too late to get started today.”

Esar crossed his arms. “I don’t see why we can’t depart now, sir—what am I supposed to call you?”

“Laursel,” said the knight.

“Of course. Such a disagreeable name. Very well, Sir Laursel. I don’t have time to waste. Having to rescue my husband and Jason is going to cause an inexcusable delay in my schedule, so if you would escort us to the castle immediately I would very much appreciate it.”

Esar said it as if he were dealing with no more than a minor annoyance. Naomi wanted to cheer. She’d been worried for a moment about how Esar was taking the news, but he sounded like himself again, now. They were going to get Kelsam and Jason back, and be on their way to Thaliron, and everything was going to be fine . . . wasn’t it?

Naomi stomped down the part of herself that wanted to cry. There was no time for crying right now. Crying would cause an inexcusable delay in her schedule.

“I’ll go with you,” added Guennet.

“That will not be necessary,” Esar said.

“I know it may be hard for you to understand, but I owe a great deal to Kelsam,” Guennet said. “And Norsyff may listen to me. I was betrothed to Thavis, you know. If anyone can convince him to be merciful . . .”

“I didn’t know you were betrothed to Thavis,” Esar said.

“It was an arranged marriage,” Guennet said. “It wasn’t supposed to become public until I was older, but—”

“Because you weren’t old enough to consent to marriage!” Esar said.

“I know, all right? I know now it was awful . . . but remember, I was brought up to think it was my duty. I had a legacy to uphold.” She said it distastefully. “But Lord Norsyff and Lady Tashar arranged the betrothal with my parents. He wanted me as his daughter-in-law, not my sister.”

“What are you talking about?” Naomi asked.

“Thavis was Lord Norsyff’s son, the heir to Nalla-Bidharac. He died on the Bhadrat Expedition,” Esar explained tersely. “Lord Norsyff hates me because he blames me for his son’s death.”

“The only Yasoh who cared about the people of Nalla-Bidharac,” Naomi said. She almost added “Adrin told me about him,” but she remembered not to bring the prince up in front of strangers just in time.

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“He was a good man,” Guennet said. “Worth twelve of his brother and father.”

“Don’t you dare speak of the king that way,” said Laursel.

“No matter how upset Norsyff is that he’s gone, it doesn’t excuse this,” Guennet said.

The knight just snorted.

“Let us get our things and be on our way, then,” Esar said imperiously.

“I only take orders from the king,” Laursel replied.

“You know who I am, do you not? Believe me when I say that you do not want to stop me from reaching my destination.”

“What, so you can tattle to your king and queen? You’re already too late for that,” said Laursel.

“All of the watchstations are inoperable and communications are cut, and a construct is about to break loose from its seal,” Esar said. “Your little rebellion is the least of my concerns at the moment.”

That got the knight’s attention. “A construct? Where?”

“Does it matter? Surely the Ethereal Guard no longer has any right to enter your territory,” Esar said.

It was such an obvious oversight that Naomi wondered how she could have missed it. More importantly, how could Norsyff have forgotten? Almost twenty constructs were sealed on Nalla-Bidharac’s territory. Naomi knew that Esar was talking about the seal in Bulrisa far to the east, but eventually, one of the seals in the secessionist kingdom would fail, and the knights of Galibasti wouldn’t have any way to stop it from wreaking havoc.

“We have our own shisao weapons,” the knight said. “Which seal is going to break, Tresuan?”

“How do you have shisao weapons?” Esar said.

The knight smirked. “There are a lot of things going on that they have no idea about in Thaliron.”

“The seal is breaking in Bulrisa,” Esar said, defeated.

“Well that’s not our problem, now, is it?” said Laursel.

“How can you be so cold?” Naomi asked him. “How can you not care about innocent people?”

“I care about innocent people! I’ve got a little son, you know. I care about him.”

“People related to you aren’t the only people who matter,” Naomi said.

“Naomi,” Esar said. “You won’t get through to him.”

“Well, at least you can eat some dinner,” Guennet said, almost as an apology. “We’ll need to figure out what to do.”

“I still don’t see why you are at all involved in that decision, seeing as you failed to protect my husband and my ward from his compatriots,” Esar said.

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry. That’s why it’s important that I help bring them back.”

***

Naomi was particularly melancholy as she settled in for another night at Guennet’s house. Kelsam and Jason were gone, and she couldn’t even hope to see Adrin in her dreams—he would need to run day and night to reach Bulrisa in time to fight the construct.

Someone knocked at her door.

“It’s me,” said Esar.

“Come in,” Naomi said. It didn’t matter that she was already in her nightgown.

“Something isn’t right,” Esar said, keeping his voice low.

Could anything be more obvious? “Everything isn’t right!”

“Naomi, listen to me. I didn’t want to speak in front of the others. I’m still trying to figure it out. But if Norsyff really wanted me, why didn’t they all just wait in Rhadasy until we came back? Why just take Jason and Kelsam when they could have had all of us?”

“Yeah, that is fishy,” Naomi said. “Why would they make us chase them?”

“He could have taken me prisoner and made me beg, if that’s what he wanted,” Esar went on. “But I doubt if Norsyff knows we’re here, yet. I bet it was that man Salgiar’s idea.”

“He wouldn’t really hurt Kelsam, would he?” Naomi asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think—the man I thought he was wouldn’t be so cruel. Selfish, yes, but—the man I thought he was wouldn’t have declared himself king and seceded from Elorhe, either. I have a lot of questions with no good answers.”

“What should I do?” Naomi asked.

“Watch yourself. It’s even more important now that no one finds out what you are.”

“What if we’re in danger?” Naomi asked. “What if Kelsam and Jason are in danger?”

“I don’t know, Naomi. As you are now, you’re just as likely to make things worse as you are to make things better. Remember what I told you. People will want to use your power. People will want to make you their weapon.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Naomi began, but Esar kept on talking.

“When you have a special skill, when you can do something they can’t, that’s all that they see. They don’t see you as a person any more. They see you as a tool. A thing to be used, or to be destroyed.” He didn’t sound annoyed any more, or even frightened. He sounded sick.

“What . . . happened to you?” Naomi asked.

Esar stared at her with hollow eyes and said nothing.

“It’s going to be okay!” Naomi burst out. “Please don’t . . . don’t just sit like that.”

Esar wasn’t supposed to be like this. Esar was supposed to be in control of the situation. He was supposed to have some kind of snarky comment ready.

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have let him come with me. I should have made him stay back in Norana.”

“No, Esar . . .” What was she supposed to say to him? Was there anything she could say that would help? “It’s their fault, the stupid knights of Galibasti. And—and it’s my fault, too. If you need to blame somebody, blame me. It’s my fault that your life got all screwed up. If it weren’t for me, all of you—you, Kelsam, and Jason would all be home instead of mixed up in this mess.”

“No, Naomi. You were going to end up in my life no matter what. I just didn’t know what you would be like. But I’m glad you are who you are.”

“I . . . who else would I be?” Naomi asked, confused.

“You could have been very different,” Esar said.

“Why, what did you think I was going to be like?”

“It’s not important.”

“No, now I really want to know,” Naomi said.

Esar paused for a moment before answering. “I knew you’d be a headache, one way or another.”

Naomi could see she wasn’t going to get a real answer out of him. “What are we gonna do? How are we gonna get Jason and Kelsam back?”

Esar’s face was grim. “I don’t have the answers. I have to think, figure something out. But if Norsyff truly has gone mad—and he truly wants to hurt me—”

“No, don’t think that way. You can’t think that way.”

“I don’t know, Naomi,” Esar said. The way he choked out the words—the way his shoulders were shaking—

No. He couldn’t. He couldn’t be crying. Naomi held her breath, waiting to see if he pulled himself back together the way he always did. One minute he could rant about how they were all doomed and he was giving up on her, and then a few moments later he would sigh and give her another chance. Any moment now he would come out of this, come back to his senses. Esar couldn’t lose himself to despair.

Naomi waited, and Esar cried.

“I don’t even know if he’s alive,” Esar choked out.

“Esar, I’m going to find him,” Naomi said.

“You can’t—” Esar began to get up, but Naomi shook her head.

“Not out there. If he sleeps tonight, I can find him. All minds touch the unconscious sea, right?” Naomi spoke with far more confidence than she felt, but she had to do something, try something. Kelsam and Jason had to be alive, had to be all right. It would be too cruel, too terrible if they weren’t.