“I don’t think that matters,” Noa said.
“Oh. Then I’d have to say that I’ve never thought much about it. The king is the king, and I can’t see he’s changed much since I signed up to captain this mad island. But if he had, it wouldn’t bother me.”
“It might if he decided to feed you to Beauty.”
“Good point.” Kell seemed remarkably unperturbed by this prospect.
“It’s just—” Noa stopped. “That mage Julian captured. Thadeus. I’ve—I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Wasn’t a pretty sight, was it?” Kell added another card the stack. “But as he’s one of the mages Xavier sent to snatch you two girls away, I’m not surprised the king didn’t treat him kindly. . . .”
Noa froze. “To snatch us away?”
“Of course. Perfect opportunity to do it—mages gone mad, chaos everywhere. Good thing those soldiers you met didn’t recognize you. Probably expecting you to be all decked out in gold and jewels and all that, not barefoot and running wild the way you do. . . .”
Noa’s heart beat a slow drumroll. “But Xavier attacked us because he thought we were getting close to the Lost Words.”
“Oh, sure. He wanted to kill the king, or capture him. But failing that, he ordered all his mages to get their hands on at least one of you two and bring you to Queen’s Step. After all, that’d be just as good as capturing the king, and a lot easier, to boot. . . .” Kell trailed off suddenly. “Oh, black seas. I wasn’t to speak of this to you, child. The king didn’t want to frighten you.”
“Then Xavier . . . He’s been plotting to kidnap me and Mite for a while?”
“That’s what Thadeus said. King Julian suspected it already, of course. It’s the first order he gave me when I got here—to watch over you two. He knew Xavier would try something like this eventually. Probably he’s tried before, but this is the first time he’s gotten close. Xavier knows the king would surrender in a heartbeat if he captured either of you.”
Noa’s breath felt cold in her chest. It made sense, of course. Xavier was as ruthless as he was clever. Why hadn’t Noa realized he might try to get to her and Mite?
Probably because, Noa realized, she was used to seeing the war for Florean as a war between Julian and Xavier, and herself as a figure in the background, pulling as many strings as she could. But Julian knew it wasn’t just about him, and when he fought Xavier, he fought as much for Mite and Noa as he did for himself. Probably more, knowing Julian.
Kell threw another card down and let out a whoop. “Another win! Either my luck is improving, or I’m cheating much more effectively.”
Noa got up. She felt cold and shaky, and she wanted the comfort of her familiar room, and Willow. “Good night, Kell.”
“Eh? Oh, wait. I thought of an answer to your question before.” She turned, her silver hair glowing like the moonlit clouds. “The witch and the whale hunter!”
“What?”
“You ever heard that story?”
“No.” Noa frowned. Witches were a silly myth, creatures who lived in trees or volcanoes and cast spells without words or grimoires. Nobody believed in them, except little kids.
“You need to read more books, girl. Lot of wisdom there, more than in your maps and charts.” Kell cleared her throat. “So the whale hunter’s a poor man, see? He’s out hunting in dangerous seas, near an island piled with shipwrecks like broken bones. He pulls up on the beach for lunch, and out of nowhere, there comes this old lady. She asks for passage back to town, and he doesn’t want to take her, ’cause even though she’s little, the seas are so bad now that any extra weight could tip the boat. But she’s standing there, shivering, so he gives in. As they go sailing back to town, a great wave rises up, but it doesn’t capsize them. It picks them up on its back and carries them into the harbor like a gentle mare. When the whale hunter turns around, he finds the old woman is gone, and in her place is a witch, fresh and beautiful as a field of crocuses. And what’s more, caught in his net is the fattest whale he’s ever seen. The witch gives him this odd smile, and then she’s gone. And he realizes that all those shipwrecks must have belonged to the whale hunters who turned the witch down and refused to give her passage.” She grinned as if expecting Noa to grin back.
Noa was unimpressed. “I don’t understand what that has to do with—”
“Waifs and strays, girl,” Kell said. “Waifs and strays. Witches are wise. You judge a person by how they treat the lost, those with nowhere to go and no one to help them. You want to know if the king’s bad—well, he took me on when nobody else would have. You ever seen him do different?” She turned back to the cards and began setting up another game. “Never heard of the witch and the whale hunter! Do you good to spend a little more time in the library, and a little less hunched over that notebook and compass. Life’s more than numbers and maps.”
Noa left Kell muttering to herself and walked back to the castle, turning her thoughts over and over.
Part IIEvert
10
Beauty Accepts a Bribe
The island of Evert jutted out of the water, an oddly misshapen lump that reminded Noa of a potato. She stood on the beach, eyeing it across the waves with Julian, Kell, Renne, and several other councillors. Mite was back on the dry sand, looking for shells. Behind them, keeping a respectful distance, a crowd of villagers had gathered to gawp at the strange sight.
The strangest thing about the island—besides the fact that it wasn’t shown on any map, and that the only
