Of Sea and Stone (Secrets of Itlantis) (22 page)

“Esteemed members of the senate,” Annah began. “We recommend that an immediate retaliatory move against the Dron be made before—”

Merelus stood. “Wait.”

Though he spoke softly, the word reverberated through the room. Annah halted in confusion. The senators looked at Merelus.

“Merelus,” Grimulus said, recognizing him. “This is not the time for deliberation.”

“But it was not the Dron who attacked Celestrus,” Merelus said.

Every word dropped as deliberately as a stone into a pond. Murmurs filled the room.

“Not the Dron?”

“He speaks madness.”

“Who does he propose it was, then?”

“The attack was made to appear as though it was our enemies, but instead it came from within,” Merelus said.

“From within?” Annah repeated in horror, speaking above the rest.

“Do you have proof of these remarkable claims you’re making?” another senator asked angrily.

In the back of the room, I saw a man stirring to his feet. He had dark hair and piercing eyes, and he wore a grim expression. He moved toward the door.

A cold ripple of shock shook me. I knew that man.

He was the one who had destroyed my village and ordered me killed. He was here. He could see me. I struggled to breathe. I grabbed Merelus’s arm.

“Merelus—that man—”

I pointed, but he’d already vanished.

“Aemi,” Merelus whispered. “Now.”

The man was gone.

I had to act now.

I stood. My legs trembled, but I lifted my chin and straightened my back to appear unafraid. “I witnessed the attack. One of the ships was shot down, and as it fell toward the ocean floor, I saw a skull and bones etched on the side. I knew from my studies that such a symbol was commonly thought to belong to the Dron, but that was not true. It sparked my suspicions, and I told Merelus.”

“Together we returned to the Celestrusean depths to search for the sunken ship,” Merelus said. “And we found this.” He lifted the documents in the air. “An order of attack, signed with the seal of Governor Nautilus of Volcanus.”

The room erupted in noises of outrage, shock, and protest. Grimulus jumped to his feet and held up his hands for silence. Senators stared at each other, onlookers shouted questions and curses. In the confusion, I saw someone slipping from the seats toward the edge of the room. Valus. His expression was one of determination and shock. Had he known?

As I watched helplessly, he stepped behind a curtain and vanished.

“And who is she? How do we know this is not some kind of elaborate plot, some trick?” someone else shouted. “What makes her testimony of these things valid?”

Merelus and I exchanged a glance. I was a former slave, an Indentured, a surfacer.

“She—” Merelus began, but this time someone else interrupted.

Dahn
.

He spoke clearly, loudly, and his voice carried through the entire room.

“She is Aemiana Graywater, heir to the family of Graywater, the wealthiest family in Verdus.”

I SAT IN a small room with no windows and walls that gleamed like the inside of a seashell. The silence hummed in my ears, matching the restless energy flowing through my veins.

She is Aemiana Graywater, heir to the family of Graywater
.

Dahn’s announcement still rang in my mind, filling me with a fire that might have been fear. It might have been shock.

It might have been rage.

I didn’t have words for the things I was feeling. I clasped my hands in my lap and exhaled through my nose, trying to find a sliver of calm.

When the door in the wall slid open noiselessly, admitting two men, I knew them at once.

Dahn.

Myo.

They both bowed.

“You,” I said to Myo, a mixture of anger and confusion coloring the word. “What are you doing here?”

He raised his head and smiled at me. “My lady, I am here to explain.”

My lady
. Hearing him call me that felt false, wrong. I shook my head, and he seemed to take the gesture as questioning of his trustworthiness.

“I have always had your safety in the forefront of my mind,” he said. “The first time I saw you—saw your birthmark—I knew who you were. I knew you had to be kept safe. I made sure you were taken and not killed, my lady, and then I made sure that you were settled with a good man who would leave you alone until I could have your blood tested to ensure that you were, in fact, a daughter of the Graywater family.”

I remembered. He’d pricked my arm. He’d taken my blood.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“My lady, I served your father before his death.”

“My father?” I repeated. Something turned over in my chest. It felt like disbelief. It felt like fear. It felt like longing. I’d never had a father. Never known his name. Never thought much about him.

Now, suddenly, I had one.

“Criston Graywater,” Myo said. “I am sorry, but he is dead.”

He is dead
.

I swallowed.

Myo continued. “Your mother still lives, and your sister—”

“My mother is dead too,” I said. “She died of sickness years ago. I watched her die.”

Myo’s lips thinned. “The woman who stole you from your family’s house when you were four years old was not your mother, although no doubt she told you as much. She was an Indentured in the service of your true parents.”

Not my mother
.

My head spun. My legs trembled. I pressed one hand over my eyes to hide their sudden stinging tears.

“As I was saying,” Myo continued, “your mother and sister are staying in the family estate in Verdus, and they will be informed of your presence here in Primus at once.”

“Sister,” I repeated, raising my head to look at him again. I had a sister.

I could barely absorb this information. My mind was numb. My thoughts spiraled.

Sister.

Not my real mother.

Mother.

My mother was still alive.

Something twisted inside me. I didn’t want another mother. I had a mother. I felt hard and brittle. Breakable. I bit my lip until it bled.

“Your sister is two years younger than you,” Myo was saying, “and almost identical to you in appearance.”

Another thing he’d said registered in my shock-numbed mind. “Did you say family estate?”

“You are from one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Itlantis.”

It was too much. I stared at him a moment, then took a deep breath to calm myself. I needed to make sure I had all my questions answered. This was not the time for panicking or sinking into utter disbelief.

I shifted my attention to Dahn, who had so far said nothing. “And him? Who is he?”

“My brother,” Myo said, with a quick glance at him. “He remained in Merelus’s household to keep an eye on you and make sure you were safe until we could be sure of your lineage.”

“And you are sure?”

Myo nodded. “We are sure.” He paused. “Is there anything you need?”

“Yes,” I said. My mind was swimming. My body was a mess of agitation and emotion. “I need to see my friends.”

~ ~ ~

Lyssia threw her arms around me as soon as she saw me. “Father told me everything,” she gasped. “I’m in complete shock.”

Beyond her, Tob lingered, his shoulders hunched and his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets. He avoided my gaze until I called his name.

“I guess I should call you Your Grace or something now,” he said, and his ears turned pink.

“Absolutely not.”

He turned his face away, and I grabbed his shoulders. “Tob. I asked that you come specifically. I can’t lose my friends. That would be the worst thing imaginable.”

“It would be,” he agreed. Something like awe glittered in his eyes, and I snapped my fingers at him.

“Stop that. I’m still Aemi.”

“Still Aemi,” he repeated, but I wasn’t entirely sure he believed it.

I released him and approached Merelus, who stood with his back to the rest of us, staring through the glass at the sea beyond and the ships passing by. I stopped by his side and followed his gaze to a pod of whales in the distance.

“The senate sent word. Governor Nautilus was in Primus. He was in the senate when we began to speak, but he left as soon as he realized his plot was uncovered. He has taken to his ships and fled Primus for Volcanus.”

My heart thudded. My mouth went dry.

The man who’d destroyed my village had been in the senate. He’d left halfway through.

“Describe the governor,” I said. “Please.”

Merelus frowned. “Dark, curling hair, imposing manner, tall. Has a scar on his chin—”

“It was him,” I interrupted. “Governor Nautilus was the one who led the soldiers to attack my village. He was the one who wanted me executed for seeing his face.”

Merelus mused over this. “It may have been connected to the attacks on Celestrus, then. Perhaps he was even stealing the people of your village to serve as his own personal soldiers in the attack. We’ll need to find out more.”

“You said he fled Primus. What does that mean?” I asked.

He sighed. “They’re taking his decision to flee as a confession of guilt. It could mean war. But who’s to say what will happen yet?”

“Volcanus controls the military,” I said.

“Yes, but Primus has a substantial army stationed in its waters, and Volcanus will be cut off from the resources of Verdus and Arctus. How can they fight a war without food or medical supplies?”

“Why did he do it?” I muttered. “Why did he attack his own people?”

“His house here in Primus was raided under orders of the senate,” Merelus said. “Papers were uncovered, and some who were complicit in the scheme have been persuaded to talk. We are beginning to believe a war with the Dron has and continues to be in Nautilus’s best interest, and he was concerned that Itlantis was moving away from such matters. An attack as devastating as his would ensure another thousand years of conflict.”

I was silent, mulling this over.

“His son, Valus, did not manage to escape. He has been imprisoned, and will face questioning.”

I expected to feel satisfaction, or at least relief, but I felt nothing. These arrests could not bring back Nol. They could not bring back Mella. They could not restore the destroyed city.

I was numb thinking about it. Tears sprang into my eyes.

I realized I’d spoken the thought aloud.

“I know you miss him,” Merelus said quietly. “There is a chance he’s still alive. Reports say that others fled away from the ships, toward Verdus. He could be there. He could have been picked up by another vessel and taken with them.”

An ache filled me. “I miss him,” I said. “He was frustrating and infuriating and half the time I couldn’t stand him, but I miss him.”

Merelus was quiet for a moment. Then, “I miss him too.”

“I’m going to find out what happened to him,” I said. “I’ll find his body, if that’s all that’s left. I’ll find my friends from the surface too. I have to find them.”

“You’re a wealthy woman now,” Merelus said. “You have the resources to try.”

More ships passed before the glass. I watched the sunlight scatter across their shining hulls. Fish darted around the slow-moving vehicles. Beyond lay the open sea, dark and full of secrets.

Somewhere out there was the man who had destroyed Celestrus, the man who had killed my friends.

“I’m afraid a battle is coming, Aemi,” Merelus said. “Do you know where you stand?”

I glanced at him.

“Your family may try to control your choices, but they are yours to make,” he said. “You are not only a free citizen, you are a powerful one. You have influence.”

Influence.

I shook my head slowly. I didn’t know what I wanted, or who I was, not yet. I belonged to two worlds at the same time—the surface, the Village of the Rocks, with Nealla and Kit and the woman I’d called mother, but also here, in this watery world, with Tob and Lyssia and Merelus.

I was Aemi, of sea
and
stone.

BOOK 2 COMING IN LATE SPRING 2014!

Kate Avery Ellison lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two spoiled (but extremely lovable) cats. She loves dark chocolate, fairy tale retellings, and love stories with witty banter and sizzling, unspoken feelings. When she isn’t working on her next writing project, she can be found reading, watching one of her favorite TV shows, working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with friends. She also loves hearing from readers!

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~Kate Avery Ellison

Scott, for being willing to fall asleep to the sound of me typing at the keyboard without (too much) protest, for listening to and offering feedback about my latest story ideas for hours at a time, for always putting up with my middle-of-the-night bouts of inspiration, for accommodating my zany author work schedule, and for tireless assistance in formatting and proofreading. Thank you for always encouraging, supporting, and listening. You are my bedrock, my friend, and always my first reader. I love you.

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