Of Sea and Stone (Secrets of Itlantis) (11 page)

The glass and pearl-colored metal walls curled like a ribcage around the walkways, stores, and common areas, keeping the seawater out and letting little dancing ribbons of distorted sunbeams in. The light had a curious, almost alien glow to it, but there was something about it that was familiar. The same ribbons of light had played across the underside of the rock bridges and carved formations in my old village. Seeing the same patterns here made my throat close up tight.

I crossed the commons, a large expanse of space devoted to exercise, training, and artistic expression. The ceiling glowed with a heatless, white-blue bulb of light far above me, illuminating everything in sharp detail like a weak sun, and everywhere, artisans plied their trades. Painters splashed color across the walls, making a dolphin mural. A dozen dancers draped in silk swirled together and then apart to my left, making the shape of a flower blooming with their movements. To my right, shirtless men practiced with swords. Combat training for the war? My footsteps slowed as I stopped to watch.

The instructor barked orders, and the men obeyed his commands with clean, precise movements as their blades swept the air in a dance of practiced death. Their bare shoulders gleamed with sweat, and their hair clung to their foreheads in tangled curls. I thought I saw one of them looking at me, but the instructor called out another round of orders, and his eyes shifted away as he lifted his sword.

I found the blue tile pattern in the floor and kept walking.

The headdress covering the scarf was heavy, but it was necessary to shield my face in case anyone looked too closely. I tugged it around my nose and mouth as citizens passed, laughing and talking among themselves.

Soon, I heard the rush of water and saw the glitter of fountains. A path of glass led between them to a pair of doors, wrapped in ornate filigree.

The school.

I swallowed to ease the dryness in my throat and took a deep breath to fortify myself. Then I walked confidently between the spray of the water and through the doors.

Inside, cool air wafted over me. Music played from some unknown location, soothing tones that contradicted the buzz of excited voices as the students crowded into the halls. Colored glass floors shone beneath our feet, and rounded walls and ceilings arched over us, decorated with ornate murals of fish, seaweed, coral, and what appeared to be underwater ships. I stared a moment, fascinated, until someone bumped into me.

“Excuse me, Lyssia,” a voice murmured, and a girl brushed past.

I drew back, nervousness shooting through me, but she hadn’t looked twice.

Straightening my shoulders and lifting my chin, I stepped farther into the crowd, looking until I found the study room Lyssia had described.

The students sat on cushions in a circle, with the instructor in the center. He was a thin man, dressed in flowing robes striped with violet. He wore a pair of brass spectacles on the end of his nose, and he peered at us through them with a frown.

“Lyssia,” the teacher said.

I jerked my head up in a panic.

“Are you feeling well?”

“I am well,” I said, my heart hammering so hard I was certain everyone around me could hear it. “I apologize. Too much exertion yesterday.”

By exertion I meant six hours of scrubbing floors and tubs, and another four doing laundry.

The teacher paused, his eyes resting on me, and I thought I was going to melt with terror beneath his gaze. Had I been discovered? Would he step forward and snatch off my veil? Declare me an imposter?

If I were discovered, I’d surely be punished. It didn’t matter that I was following my mistress’s instructions, I knew that much. She’d be punished, and I’d be punished worse.

The silence in the room hummed loud as the churning of ocean waves. My fingers curled into fists as I waited for his shout of denunciation.

But after another moment, he began to administer the exam.

I sagged, my muscles liquid with relief. Perhaps I would survive this fool’s errand after all.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. The rest of the class and I looked up expectantly, and then my heart turned to stone and sunk to my stomach.

Merelus.

He was looking straight at me.

“Lyssia,” the instructor said, pinning me with his gaze. “Your father needs to speak with you.”

Merelus’s mouth pressed into a thin line at the word
father
. He said nothing. A roaring filled my ears as the entire class turned to look at me. My legs trembled as I stood. Fear spread through me like ice, turning my insides brittle.

“Come,” Merelus said, curving one slender finger in a crook.

I gasped a breath and followed him outside the classroom.

As soon as we were alone, Merelus turned on me and yanked off my headdress and scarf. My feet froze to the ground and my heart thumped.

I was caught.

“YOU?” MERELUS SAID, flustered now. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth tugged down. “I thought—well, never mind, come with me. We’re returning home immediately.” His expression changed into something thoughtful, almost calculating, if Merelus could be calculating. “Come,” he repeated, and wandered for the door.

I followed him without a word as visions of punishment filled my head. We passed the fountains and crossed through the commons filled with dancers, and with every step, my stomach grew sicker.

Merelus led me inside the house and through the halls to his study without a word. Nol sat at the desk, copying something, and he rose when we entered. His eyes flicked over me knowingly. I wanted to strike him.

He’d told Merelus. He’d seen me leaving dressed in Lyssia’s clothing, and he’d betrayed me.

We were both prisoners here. Why was he so insistent upon being my enemy?

“Go find my daughter,” Merelus said without taking his eyes from mine. Nol left with one more glance over his shoulder at me.

I steeled myself for the coming diatribe.

Merelus sank into the chair Nol had vacated and steepled his fingers together.

“I wondered what was going on when my daughter began getting better marks in school,” he said. “Then when I heard rumors that she was getting someone in the house to help her, well...it made sense. But I didn’t expect it to be you. One of the older ones, perhaps, a former scribe. Of course, when it was reported to me today by a servant that Lyssia had actually convinced one of the Indentureds to take her place for her exam, I had to put a stop to it.”

I swallowed.

“You are aware that it’s forbidden for an Indentured to receive schooling without permission from his or her master?”

“I...yes.”

He studied me. “You could have been punished severely for impersonating my daughter. Not to mention the fact that you were helping her cheat.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

I was stupid, stupid, stupid. I clenched my fingers and gazed at the ground. What was wrong with me, risking so much for someone like Lyssia? I needed to focus on escape. Now I might have ruined everything.

“However, I would like to tutor you, if you’ll agree to it,” Merelus said.

I jerked my head up and stared at him. I must have misheard.

Merelus met my eyes without blinking. “You show great promise. I’m intrigued. I’d love to see what you could do with help. What do you think?”

Finally, I found my voice. “Me? A slave?”

“Indentured,” he corrected. “And yes. It would be a waste not to explore your talent. You have a sharp mind, and you learn and adapt quickly. You could join Nol in receiving lessons, learn a bit of a trade that you can take with you when you’re finished with your debt.”

“I don’t understand. Am I to be punished or not?”

He sighed. “No. I don’t see the need to punish you. You are an Indentured, Lyssia is your mistress. The responsibility is hers, really.”

“I chose to help her.”

“Then you are very loyal. That, at least, is to be commended. Not the cheating.”

“The lessons were simple,” I said. I didn’t want him having false expectations about my cleverness.

“It is a simple set of courses,” Merelus agreed. “My daughter does not share my scholarly interests, and I chose her instruction accordingly. Still, you are untrained, uneducated, yet you scored well above the others.”

“I know how to read,” I said, stung by the implication that I was a complete barbarian.

“Of course,” he said, “but you also have motivation, curiosity, intelligence, and a quick mind. Those are gifts. I wonder what you could do with guidance, and I confess I have often longed for someone whose education I could oversee. Lyssia...well, as I said before, she does not share my scholarly interests.” His mouth quirked in a flash of a smile. “That’s what I get for marrying a dancer, I suppose. Thought she was exquisite.”

I realized I’d never seen Lyssia’s mother, and I wondered in a fleeting moment who she was and where she had gone.

“It will be simple, really,” Merelus said. “I’ll tutor you here in the evenings, after dinner and your duties have been finished. I’ll speak to Crakea about lessening your load a little. We won’t speak of it to the others for now. It will be a secret, just to see how it goes without upsetting the whole household. Does that sound agreeable to you?”

The door opened behind us, and Lyssia stepped inside. She stopped at the sight of me, her face paling.

“Father, let me—”

“Daughter,” Merelus said, “your scheming has been discovered. No need to invent a story.”

Lyssia’s shoulders sagged. She bit her lip and plucked at the edge of her dress. “I’m sorry. Am I in a great deal of trouble?”

Merelus studied her a moment, his eyebrow lifting. He looked convincingly stern.

“Well,” he mused. “Cheating is wrong. Find another way to deal with your problems in the future. One that doesn’t implicate others in your rule-breaking. You are a resourceful girl, but you need to think before you involve someone else in something that might get her in trouble.”

She sighed. “Yes, Father.”

“That is all I wanted to say. You may go,” he told her.

Lyssia hesitated. “What about Aemi?”

I raised my head in surprise.

“That is none of your concern,” Merelus said.

Lyssia clasped her hands together. “It was all my idea! Don’t blame her. She didn’t have a choice.”

Something tugged in my gut. She was defending me?

“I have no doubt you were very persuasive,” he said, “although we always have a choice. But I am not going to punish her in your stead, rest assured. Now go.”

Casting me one last mournful glance, she left.

I am not going to punish her in your stead
. I was oddly grateful as well as relieved. The feelings made me dizzy.

When we were alone once more, Merelus paused and gazed me in the face. “It occurs to me that you have not agreed to my plan.”

I found my voice. “Does it matter if I agree?”

“Of course it does. I’m not going to make you do something you do not wish to do.” His mouth quirked. “Lyssia is still learning that.”

“I volunteered. To help her, I mean.”

“Yes, but she needs to learn not to put others in positions where they have to choose between loyalty and following the rules. So, the tutoring?”

“Yes,” I said, astonishment still tingling in my palms and the pit of my stomach.

“Good,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow after the evening meal.”

~ ~ ~

When I entered Lyssia’s room to bring her a breakfast platter the next morning, she tossed back her coverlet and ran to me, eyes wide. She grabbed the platter and dropped it onto the bureau with a clatter of utensils, then seized my shoulders.

“With Father finding out about—I never even thought about what might happen to you if—well, I’m just glad he isn’t angry.” She paused. “Are you all right?”

I stared at her. She was worried about me?

“I’m all right,” I said. “He wants to tutor me. He says I show promise.”

“Tutor you?” Her forehead wrinkled, and I was struck with a sudden worry. Would she be jealous? Had I just made a new enemy?

Then she threw back her head and laughed. “This is wonderful! If he can pour all his scholar dreams into you, then he’ll leave me alone about my studies. He’s always wanted someone who loves books and studying like he does. Oh, Aemi. This is perfect.”

I wondered how it might impact my plans to escape as she continued to chatter, my mind miles away.

I REACHED MERELUS’S study that night, apprehension simmering in my stomach and a thousand questions crowding my tongue.

He was at his desk, head bowed over a book. I entered the room and stopped, uncertain. Should I bow? Speak? Remain silent? He was tutoring me. I wasn’t sure how this changed our dynamic, at least not here.

Then the scratch of a pen against parchment drew my attention to the left, where Nol sat in a chair in the corner.

Heat rose across my skin. I hadn’t realized lessons would mean being forced to endure time with that traitorous scumbag. He’d told on me, no doubt hoping I’d be mercilessly punished or sold away.

Nol didn’t look up from his writing, although he was clearly aware of my presence. He lifted one eyebrow as if feeling the weight of my stare.

Merelus raised his head and removed his spectacles. “You’re here. Exquisite timing. Please sit down.” He indicated the seat next to Nol.

Nol still didn’t look at me. Silence settled over the room, broken only by the sound of his pen.

Merelus was waiting, so I forced my feet to move. When I sank into the chair next to Nol, he shifted slightly, angling his body away from mine. So he was aware of my presence, despite pretending otherwise. I sat straight, my spine stiff and my eyes fixed on Merelus.

“I understand from Nol that your previous situation was secluded,” Merelus said. “So your knowledge of basic geography and politics is scanty at best.” He paused, waiting, and I nodded. I wondered what Nol had told him about us. Had he followed Myo’s instructions to say nothing about our true origins?