“Yeah. But was it really all that surprising?” Leo muttered back.
“He stays in the wailing caves tonight,” Ambrosine said. “How did you find him?” she asked Matthias.
“I heard he was in Ithilia,” he said. “I figured he was staying at the same inn he stayed at when he met Alethea. Didn’t realize Ezra was with him.”
“Now we know who stole the Arboreal and the mertag,” Hektor growled.
Ambrosine rolled her eyes. “Please, Hektor, I suspected that ever since Ezra disappeared.” She turned back to her youngest son. “Why bring Xavier here, if you have no taste for revenge?”
Matthias gestured to Agnes and Leo. “He’s their father. I was unable to convince the Lekke to vote against war with Kaolin. The streets were getting dangerous. I didn’t want Xavier to end up murdered or locked away in Banrissa. He’s a Kaolin and was married to a Byrne to boot.”
“How did you get him on the ship?” Hektor asked.
“The Lekke graced me with a small crew as well,” Matthias said. “They aren’t Misarros but they are still a force to be reckoned with. Besides, Ezra didn’t put up much of a fight.”
Hektor snorted. “No, I wouldn’t expect him to.”
“Mother, please,” Matthias said. “I beg you, don’t do this thing. Don’t challenge the Triumvirate. I know the Renalt is after you. Her warships could be here any day now. Culinnon is well guarded, but can the mertags take on an entire fleet? Have they ever been tested that way?”
“You think it is only mertags I have protecting us?” Ambrosine said. “You’re supposed to be the smart one, Matthias. The northern islands have joined our cause now that Agnes has arrived. We can finally break away from Triumvirate rule. With Agnes by my side, we will start a new nation, one that is loyal to us.”
For a second, Matthias just stared at her. Then he gripped the couch cushions as if needing them to anchor him.
“She’s only just come to Pelago,” he said. “You can’t expect her to acquiesce happily to your plans. She barely knows the country at all!”
“Agnes can make her own decisions,” Ambrosine snapped.
“And what about Leo?” Matthias demanded. “What are your plans for him?”
“You saw the silver girl, didn’t you?” Hektor said. “She and Leo are . . . very close.”
Matthias was on his feet in an instant. “They’re children,” he hissed at his mother. “Goddesses be damned, you haven’t changed one bit since she died, have you?”
Ambrosine sneered. “It is my duty to preserve this family for—”
“Yes, the family, the family, all my life I’ve heard about how important this family is,” Matthias said, his jaw tight. “As if that’s all we are, Byrnes and no more. Alethea couldn’t stand it—you suffocated her with your talk of continuing the line, of changing the world. What’s so wrong with the world the way it is, Mother?”
“For someone so well learned, Matthias, you can be blindingly stupid,” Ambrosine said. “So obsessed with your individual life when there is history to consider.”
“Do not speak to me of history,” Matthias said, his pale eyes flashing. “The dead are dead and the past cannot be changed. Leo and Agnes deserve to live their own lives. I don’t want to see them break under the weight of your expectations like Hektor.”
“I haven’t broken under anything,” Hektor said.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Matthias said, turning on him. “Does Bellamy have a child I’m unaware of?” Pain spasmed across Hektor’s face and Matthias looked contrite. “I apologize,” he said. “That was cruel.”
“It was the truth, Matthias,” Ambrosine said. “Don’t lose your spine now that you just seem to have grown one.” She nodded to Agnes. “Your visit with him must have been inspiring. I’ve never seen him so . . .” She looked her son up and down. “Bold.”
Leo and Agnes had been mostly bystanders throughout this conversation, but Leo felt now was the time to speak up.
“We came here to get Sera to Braxos,” he said. “Not to torture our father or turn Agnes into a princess or . . .” He swallowed. “Or anything else. She doesn’t belong here.”
“Oh, but doesn’t she?” Ambrosine said. “I know she has been speaking with my mertags in the mornings. And my Arboreals. Did she think she can go anywhere on this estate without being watched?”
Leo’s neck grew hot.
“She has a connection with Culinnon the same as you two,” Ambrosine continued. “Why you both are so insistent to get her to this tether, I can’t understand.”
“So she can go home!” Agnes cried.
“Yes, I know, my dear,” Ambrosine said. “And I said I would help get Sera to Braxos. I will not break my word.”
Matthias opened his mouth but Ambrosine stood. “We will leave for Braxos in two days’ time. I have called the Malleys and the Callases to Culinnon. If the Renalt arrives, we will be ready for her.”
“And what about our father?” Leo asked.
“One night in the caves won’t kill him,” Ambrosine said. “Hektor, make sure Xavier and Ezra have water, and food if they want it, though I doubt they will. Matthias, come with me.”
Hektor strode out of the room, Ambrosine on his heels. Matthias paused and bent down to whisper to Leo and Agnes, “There’s a surprise for you on my ship. Wait until dark, when everyone’s asleep.”
Then he was gone.
Agnes wrung her hands. “What do we do, Leo?”
Leo felt as helpless as she looked. “I don’t know,” he said. He wasn’t particularly surprised that Ambrosine was reluctant to let Sera go—but the fact that she had imprisoned his father in a horrible-sounding place left a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. “I think for now, all we can do is get on that ship and see what Matthias brought us.”
The night was cloudy as Leo met Agnes in a little copse of trees near her room. Both of them dressed in black, and they took a roundabout route to the dock, avoiding the front door to the estate.
The clipper was like a skeleton in the night, its sails furled, its masts spindly. The ship itself was empty, the sailors all being housed in a separate part of the mansion. Leo and Agnes used the ropes tying it up to climb on board, Agnes pitching over the rail with a thud and causing them both to freeze. Leo’s heart pounded in his ears as they waited to see if anyone would come running, but the only sound was the water lapping against the hull. The deck was so dark Leo had to hold his hands out in front of him to make sure he didn’t walk into anything. Matthias hadn’t said where exactly this gift would be found.
Agnes bumped into him with a muffled “Oof,” and Leo shushed her just as a lantern appeared from the steps to the hold.
“Matthias?” a voice called softly. The lantern was raised and it took all of Leo’s self-control not to shout.
It was Eneas.
He caught sight of them and his face broke into a wide smile. “Children!” he whispered joyfully. “Come, quick.”
They hurried toward him and down into the hold, following the light of the lantern. Eneas led them to a small cabin with a hammock hanging in one corner and a low table with three stools around it. He placed the lantern on the table and Agnes flung her arms around him. Leo felt a pinch of shame. He’d never been particularly nice to Eneas, something he regretted now.