toward the island. “I believe Basilard will be joining us soon.”
“Good, I was concerned when I didn’t see him,” Amaranthe said, then stood on her tiptoes to track Maldynado’s pointing finger. “But why is he swimming along after the boat instead or riding inside it?”
“Less dangerous out there.” Akstyr, still standing in the corner with his hands in his pockets, shifted his weight uncertainly.
Maldynado, remembering that Akstyr supposedly wanted to let Amaranthe know that he appreciated her, gave him a little nod and tilted his head toward her. He needn’t get mushy with so many others looking on, but he could at least say he was glad she wasn’t dead.
“Hullo, boss,” Akstyr said.
Such a spring of emotion. Amaranthe walked over and gave him a hug anyway.
“Staying away from gangs and bounty hunters?” she asked him.
Meanwhile Sespian gave her back a wistful look. Yes, seeing someone like Akstyr get a hug over him had to hurt.
Maldynado peered between the cracks in the front window, admiring the close-up view of a copse of trees, their leaves turning the rich browns and reds of autumn. “So, who was responsible for docking the boat halfway up the mountain?”
Sespian flushed, glanced at Amaranthe, and then studied the floor assiduously.
“I assumed it was you,” Amaranthe told Maldynado, “until we encountered you on the way up to the wheelhouse.”
“ Me? ” Maldynado flattened a hand on his chest. “I was on the hurricane deck, risking all sorts of bodily harm to keep those enforcers from boarding. I’ll have you know that the men who did get on didn’t come up on my side of the boat.” Since Basilard wasn’t there, Maldynado decided it wouldn’t hurt to leave out the fact that Yara had been helping him, and Basilard had been forced to defend his side alone.
“So… the emperor crashed it?” Amaranthe’s eyes twinkled, though Maldynado wasn’t sure if Sespian noticed that. The kid’s flush had grown deeper. Even his ears were red.
“I lost tiller control,” Sespian said. “They were shooting at the paddlewheel and the engine room. They must have smashed the rudder as well.” He looked back and forth from Amaranth to Akstyr to Maldynado and added, “It wasn’t my fault.”
Maldynado laughed. “I’ve said that many times, and it hasn’t worked to shift the blame away from me yet.”
Sespian’s shoulders slumped. “This isn’t at all how I imagined this mission going.”
Emperor or not, Maldynado patted the kid on the shoulder. “I think this means you’re officially one of us now, Sire.”
Though he meant the pat to be reassuring, Sespian grew more glum and mumbled something that might have been, “Bloody bears.”
Amaranthe, at least, looked amused. “We better collect the others, tie these enforcers up somewhere, and see if we can find a way to get under the lake.”
“Under the lake?” Maldynado gazed out at the deep blue water.
“One of the Forge founders apparently owns the mineral rights to a chunk of land between this and a couple of other islands. We’re surmising that there are mines or tunnels or some sort beneath the lake bed. Though it doesn’t sound like the posh sort of place that I imagined wealthy business owners and bankers meeting up, it’s… my best guess after perusing the real estate records for the area.”
“You’ve been busy.” Sespian eyed Amaranthe, his gaze lingering on bandages around her wrists. Maldynado could tell he wanted to ask about what she’d endured. Rust, he was wondering, too, but if it was half as awful as he thought it might have been, she probably wouldn’t want to talk about it.
“I was all over the island as a boy, and I never came across any tunnels or secret entrances. Though I suppose now that we have our expert interrogator here-” Maldynado flicked a finger toward Sicarius, “-someone can get more precise answers out of Brynia.”
“Who’s Brynia?” Amaranthe asked.
“A woman who may have shot Mari, my sister-in-law, who was heading south to be a part of this Forge meeting,” Maldynado said. “I guess the emperor had been meaning to follow Mari down here all along.”
“Clandestinely,” Sespian said, his face still glum.
“They might not have heard us coming,” Maldynado told him.
Sespian gave him an incredulous look and waved at their “docking job.”
“Uh, right.” Maldynado lifted a hand to his mouth and side-whispered to Amaranthe, “How far under the lake are these tunnels?”
“We won’t know until we find the entrance. Where’s this woman? If she knows where the entrance is, it’d be handy. This is one of the larger islands out here.”
“Naturally.” Maldynado leaned against the back wall and smiled. “Whichever of my ancestors purchased it knew a prodigious piece of land would reflect the Marblecrest family attributes.”
“Big heads?” Akstyr asked.
Maldynado gave him a quelling look, though, as usual, Akstyr refused to appear quelled.
“She should be in the brig,” Sespian told Amaranthe.
“Let’s go for a stroll then, shall we?” Amaranthe said.
Smoke hazed the air toward the stern of the steamboat. Remembering Yara’s warning about the boilers, Maldynado said, “Yes, and we may want to stroll quickly.”
• • •
Down on the hurricane deck, the gate to the tiny cage-a sign above proclaimed it the brig-was open, creaking as it swayed in the breeze.
“I assume this means your prisoner is missing?” Amaranthe asked.
After the team had put out the fire in the engine room, Maldynado had led Amaranthe and Sespian to the brig. Sicarius had joined Books and Yara ashore to deal with the enforcers. Only three had arrived in the boat, but well over a dozen more had made their way to the beach after being thrown overboard. Amaranthe trusted Sicarius to keep them from making trouble.
“She must have figured out a way to escape during the attack.” Maldynado prodded the unsecured lock dangling from the wrought-iron door. “We were a tad distracted.”
Amaranthe grimaced. She didn’t know if this Brynia person could have given them any useful information, but she did know the woman could run straight to the Forge meeting and warn them of spies coming. Though maybe she was being delusional to believe Forge didn’t already know. The steamboat landing hadn’t exactly been quiet.
“It’s not my fault.” Maldynado must have noticed her frown. “Your old enforcer colleagues were so close on our rears, they could have braided our butt hair.”
Though Amaranthe promptly willed her mind to wipe that imagine away, she smiled and gave Maldynado a hug. She’d missed his irreverence.
“I’m confused,” Sespian said. “How does talk of… posterior hair warrant an embrace?”
“I have no idea,” Maldynado said over Amaranthe’s head, “but remember this, Sire, the next time you’re perplexed by a woman. It’s not anything wrong with you. It’s them. They’re unpredictable. And inconsistent. One time, they’re scowling at you for making a mess, and the next time, they’re finding your mess adorable.”
“Adorable isn’t quite the feeling.” Amaranthe stepped back. “I’ve just missed you all.”
“Ah,” Maldynado said.
Sespian wore a wistful expression, as if he’d wanted a hug, and Amaranthe had to hold back another grimace. Apparently her plan to make him fall in love with Yara hadn’t taken root in her absence. Well, she had more important things to worry about.
“It’s all right.” Amaranthe waved at the empty cage. “Now that we have the emperor, I have an idea about how we can more thoroughly search for this entrance. But, just in case there’s a way in from land, Maldynado, I want you to collect Yara, Books, and Akstyr and search the island. You can be their guide. Take them any place where there might be a hidden cave or a trapdoor in your house.”
“A trapdoor?” Maldynado scratched his head. “In a log cabin?”
“That cabin is bigger than Enforcer Headquarters back home,” Amaranthe said. “For all we know, there’s a
