Jala's Mask (41 page)

“Look, there's your uncle.” Jala pointed at the beach, where a group of Kayet were gathered, waiting for them.

“I can't see his face,” Azi said. “Can you tell if he looks like he wants to kill me?”

Jala squinted, shading her eyes with her hand. “No, but I bet I can guess the answer.”

Behind her, the sailors were preparing to land.

“Lower the sails and row ashore,” Captain Darri yelled.

“That means me,” Azi said. Captain Darri had treated Azi the same as any other sailor on the way back. After all, who knew if he was even king anymore?

As they rowed closer, Jala could see Lord Inas looking stiff and somber. But then, he always looked like that when he wasn't drunk.

They hit the sand with a soft shush. The sailors jumped over the side and pulled the ship ashore. Then Jala and Marjani climbed down.

Jala held Azi's hand as they approached Lord Inas.

“Hello, Uncle,” Azi said. “We've come back.”

Lord Inas stared for a moment, and then a smile slowly appeared on his face. He bowed. “Welcome home, my king.” Then he came forward, grasped Azi's hand, and pulled him into a tight embrace. “I'm glad you're back,” he whispered. Then he pulled away and coughed, embarrassed. He opened his palm and held out two earrings made from the heart of a shipwood reef. He let Azi take the King's Earring. Then he turned to Jala.

“You brought the Queen's Earring too,” she said. “After you tried to convince Azi that I was beyond lost.”

“I thought you were,” Lord Inas said. “And him, too. I knew he wouldn't come back without you.”

“For Azi's sake, I wish there could be peace between us,” Jala said. “Everything's going to change. More than you can imagine. My father's gone, and both of us will need advice. Though I don't promise to follow it.”

Lord Inas glanced at Azi. “I suppose my nephew told you everything?”

“About Kona and about the clay wine.”

“And you still think there can be peace between us?” Lord Inas asked. “You'll never trust me. I wouldn't expect you to.”

“You've made mistakes. So have I. But I'm not the same girl who arrived on the First Isle months ago. I've risked everything for the Five-and-One. I've lost my father and my finger and . . .” She let the thought trail off. She wasn't sure yet what else she had lost, or what she'd gained. “All I'm asking you to give up is your pride.”

Lord Inas's brow furrowed, and then, suddenly, he laughed. It was the first time she'd heard his laugh when it wasn't full of bitterness and anger. “You're right, everything has changed. How else could it be that Mosi No-Name's daughter is lecturing me about pride? How could it be that she's right?” He sighed and held the earring out to Jala. “You don't need my permission to be queen, and you could take the earring from me. But for as much as it means, I want you to have it. Azi put his trust in you, and he was right. I will . . . try to serve you both as best I can, my queen.”

“Good enough for now,” Jala said. She took the earring out of his hand and slid it into her ear, then took Azi's hand.

“Do you think we'll ever do anything that mad ever again?” Azi whispered.

“I hope not,” she said. But she could still remember putting on the uncarved mask, could still taste river-water at the back of her throat. She still saw the fire masks when she closed her eyes. No, things couldn't stay the same as they had. Not anymore. “But I don't think we'll have much of a choice.”

“The wind blows where it blows,” Azi said. “We'll hang on for our lives together.”

Holding hands, they walked back up the beach.

This book has been in the works a long time, and for much of that time it wasn't very good. Without the heroic support of our family and friends it probably wouldn't exist. We want to thank Dave Ross for reading the very first drafts and being the first to point out major character issues; Jenn Kastroll for reading every draft since and being the best friend and cheerleader any writer could ask for (but if they DO ask, you're ours, and they can't have you!); Joe Monti for sticking with the book and pushing us to actually write a real ending to it; Barry Goldblatt for stepping in after Joe fell through the looking glass; and superassistant Tricia Ready for doing all the things. Thanks to Marc Simonetti for the amazing cover illustration. Finally, thanks to our editor Lou Anders, our copyeditor Julia DeGraf, and the rest of the Pyr team for their awesome work getting the book across the finish line. You all brought this book to life.

Rachel and Mike Grinti are a husband-and-wife writing team. They met at a writing workshop and have been writing together ever since. They live in Pittsburgh, PA, with their Boston terrier, Miles, who interferes with their writing at every opportunity.

Photo by Jenn Kastroll