Breakwater (6 page)

I looked away. “On our own. No matter what happens. I’ve got it.”

“Here, take this with you.” He pulled a tiny dagger from his belt. The three-inch blade was honed to an edge so thin it was barely thicker than a blade of grass.

“Why are you giving me this? I have my own daggers and my spear. This looks like it could break with a wrong look sent its way.” Ash tucked the tiny blade into its miniscule, equally thin, sheath. With deft fingers he tugged at my vest, unbuckling it quickly. I slapped his hands away. “Hey—”

“Relax, I’m not Coal. You want to keep this blade tucked away. They will frisk you when you get there. Probably take all the weapons you just named. But a small blade like this could go unnoticed. And it won’t break. I forged it, so I should know.”

I blinked at him stupidly, and stopped fighting him. “You made this knife?”

He slipped his hand inside my vest and worked the knife between the layers of leather where they overlapped. His fingers brushed against the sensitive skin near my belly button and I bit my lip to keep from moving. Toward or away from his hands, I didn’t know which I even wanted. Confusion was not something I liked, yet with Ash . . . that seemed to be the state of things.

“Yes. Knowing how to make and repair your own weapons is important. I’ll show you when you get back. If you want.” He stepped back and gave me a nod, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Pleased that we seemed to be back on friendly terms, I buckled my vest and tried not to think about his hands touching the skin of my belly. “My own private lessons so no one will see me make a mistake?”

Ash grinned, a quick flash of his lips and white teeth before it was gone. “Agreed. But don’t tell Belladonna, she’ll want lessons for herself just to spite us both.”

As if speaking her name had beckoned her, Belladonna swept into the room dressed in full regalia. Her gown trailed behind her, a deep golden hue that offset her skin and dark hair and made her gray eyes stand out. The cut of it was not her usual skintight version of a current fashion human dress, which surprised me. With the empire waist and long flowing skirts that swirled around her feet she looked every inch the princess. Until she opened her mouth.

“Larkspur, I hate this gown. It’s ridiculously old fashioned. And the color . . . disgusting.” She flicked her fingers against the material while blowing out a rather unladylike snort. “Look at this, it doesn’t even lift my breasts, how will I be noticed?”

Good grief, how did I answer that?

Ash stepped out so he could see her. “You aren’t there to be noticed, Princess. You’re there to act as an ambassador and ferret out information for your king. Nothing more. Did you get your brief on the two supplicants for the Deep’s throne?”

The transformation that overcame her was impressive. She took a deep breath forcing her chest up and out, then slid her hands down her body to rest at her waist cinching the material tight, showing off her curves. “Ash, I didn’t see you there. Why don’t you come with me? I don’t think my father will mind. And I would love to have you again.” Her words held a double meaning that she couldn’t possibly know I understood and they grated down my spine. She took two steps swaying toward him and I just couldn’t stand there.

I sidestepped so I completely blocked her. “Leave him alone, Belladonna.”

Her eyebrows rose as she tried to move around me. “And why would you care what I do with Ash?”

I went with her, jaw twitching. What I wanted to say was that she’d used him and hurt him enough. But I didn’t. “He’s in charge here. Show him respect.”

She shrugged. “He’s not in charge. And neither are you.”

Behind her, our father stepped into the Traveling room. “That is correct.
I
am in charge.”

Belladonna whirled and swept into a low curtsey, holding it for three breaths before speaking. “Father, I beg you, do not send me with Larkspur. She is inexperienced and I would feel far
safer
if Ash were at my side.”

Damn, it was impressive how fast she could shift directions. One second she was her mother’s child, conniving and demanding. The next, humble and begging as if she were truly thinking only of our father’s wishes.

Father’s eyes flicked from Belladonna to me and then to Ash. They stayed on Ash for more than a few seconds, as if truly weighing Belladonna’s request.

Heart in my throat, I waited, hoping he had enough sense to . . . no in a weird way, my sister was right. I was inexperienced and she probably would be safer with Ash. Though he would not be safe with her. Father shook his head.

“No. Larkspur will be your bodyguard. That is final.” He beckoned me and I stepped forward. “My daughter’s safety will be your first priority, Ender, and you will help her find the information we need to understand if the civil war is dangerous to our family or not. Do not interfere, do not take part in anything other than your duties as an Ender.”

I gave him a stiff bow from my waist. “As you say, my king.”

He gave me a raised eyebrow and then turned to Belladonna. “You will not put yourself into a situation where your Ender’s life could be on the line. When it comes to safety, Larkspur’s word will be law between the two of you and you
will
obey her. Do not interfere with the political goings-on and do not take part in anything other than your duties as an ambassador.”

Belladonna curtseyed again, and her voice was tight. “As you say, my king.”

Father pulled her into a hug. “Be safe, my child.”

Letting her go, he left the room as swiftly as he’d entered. My throat tightened as he walked away, closing the door without even a glance behind to me. Ash put a hand on my shoulder, his fingers digging in. Even Belladonna glanced at me and I saw the pity there for just a split second before she covered it. She smoothed her skirts and pointed at the armbands against the wall. The magic that allowed us to travel the world with ease.

“Lark, I believe you are the one who has to use that, correct?”

It took everything I had to swallow the hurt and unshed tears. I was an Ender, I would not cry because my father hadn’t hugged me goodbye. But the little girl part of me wanted to sob. Wanted to know why I was so unlovable. Ash’s fingers tightened a little more. “Get the armband.”

Moving, I felt disconnected from the moment and forced myself to put my hurt away.

The armband was made of cedar, smooth and polished to a high gleam. I slipped it up my arm and settled it over my bicep remembering the last time we’d used the band. “Just to be clear, it won’t slide off?”

“No, it won’t come off until you remove it, and no one else can take it off unless they remove your arm. I don’t suggest you take it off,” Ash said. His eyes meeting mine, concern etched around them. “If things go sideways you will have to get out of the radius of the Deep’s reach before you can Travel.”

Belladonna snorted. “Why would things go sideways? That’s ridiculous. We’re going as ambassadors. Or at least, I am.” She put a hand to her chest and batted her eyes up at Ash.

Choke me with a redwood. I stalked over to her. “Belladonna, we are going into a charged political situation and we all know the other families are not above assassination, blackmail, and regicide. So what makes you think you and I are going to be safe?”

Her gray eyes widened as I spoke and she looked from me to Ash and back again. “Father said it was safe. He wouldn’t send me somewhere that wasn’t.”

Unless he was trying to find a way to get rid of her. A chill swept me from head to toe as the ramifications pinged inside my skull. What better way to remove a snake from the nest than to put it into a watery cave full of hungry sharks? Could that be why he argued with me about Belladonna? Argued that she should go over all the other possible choices?

I didn’t want to believe my father was that dastardly, but the possibility was there that he was playing Belladonna. And if he was playing her . . . he could very well be playing me too.

“Let’s hope the king is right then.” Ash pushed Belladonna and me closer. “Princess, have you Traveled before?”

She nodded, her composure already back in place. “Yes, I have.” Of course she had, we’d seen her in the Pit when we’d gone to find the spell that would cure our family from the lung burrowers. Who had taken her then?

The answer hit me hard. Granite. He had been helping Cassava and no doubt had been moving the puzzle pieces around at her request. Including Belladonna and her trip to the Pit. I wanted to ask my sister what she’d been doing there, what messages had she been taking for her mother to Fiametta. Maybe I would get the chance while we were in the Deep. Most likely she would only lie to me, though, so what was the point?

Ash took Belladonna’s hands and wrapped them around me, speaking as if she knew nothing. “Hang onto your Ender. Don’t let go of her no matter what happens, do you understand?”

Belladonna tightened her arms around my waist, a slight tremor in her hands. “I’m ready.”

In that moment, I realized she was afraid. She was scared to go to the Deep, scared that our father might be setting her up to be killed. There was no doubt if it crossed my mind, it had crossed hers. Belladonna was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

And I had to admit, I was more than a little afraid myself. What better way to get rid of both of us than to send us into a political hurricane that had already killed multiple ambassadors? Our father would come out smelling like roses, and we would be neatly taken care of without a single smear on the king’s character.

My gut clenched. “Ash.” Just his name, nothing else. His eyes met mine, honeyed gold and steady as a rock.

“It’ll be okay, Lark. And if it’s not, I’ll come for you both.” He stepped back to give us room. The globe around us suddenly seemed bigger and more daunting than when I’d Traveled with him. Touching the island destination, I used my free hand to twist the armband.

Belladonna shivered against me.

And the world around us sucked into a sharp maelstrom of Belladonna’s memories.

Worm shit and green sticks, I’d forgotten about this part.

he blows rained down on her head over and over. “Please, Mother! I didn’t mean it.” But the pain didn’t stop. Belladonna fell to the floor her nose bleeding, tears blurring her vision. Trying to cover up didn’t help, hiding only made Mother angrier. She wasn’t even sure what she had done wrong. Only that whatever it was had enraged her mother. More often than not, she didn’t know what would set off her mother.

Cassava picked her up by a handful of hair. “How dare you even breathe a word to that whore? She is nothing compared to me. NOTHING!”

Ulani. That must have been it. Her father had a new mistress who was beautiful and kind. She’d given Belladonna a baked pastry she’d made herself. Had brushed her hair and held her against her chest while Belladonna cried softly. How did her mother know, though?

“Tell me what you said to her.” Cassava bit out the words and with each one she slapped Belladonna again.

“I said nothing, nothing! She gave me a pastry. I didn’t even like it.” That wasn’t the truth, though; it had tasted of strawberries, Belladonna’s favorite. And Ulani had made it for her, made it special for her.