“Sir, here are the orders for today.”

The messenger boy’s livery was so obviously different from the ranks of soldiers’ uniforms on the Green that Lee’s eyes were immediately drawn to it. He had been watching the boy’s approach as his men went through their morning drills, momentarily losing focus on the stamping feet and glinting blades behind him.

“Yes, what is it?”

The boy opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a sudden uproar. The soldiers had broken their ranks; some were pointing to the palace, others already running with spears and bows drawn. The glass window of the Throne Room was shattered, and an inscrutable figure was swinging away from it. Lee pushed the boy roughly away as he too went running, eyes trained on the escaping figure. It was not familiar, and yet…

“A woman! It’s a woman, and she’s getting away! Shouts went up, and some of the archers grouped together with their longbows ready, about to aim their arrows. Lee was squinting in the strong sunlight, watching as Stella went swinging effortlessly from rope to rope. The palace guard had not been vigilant enough. He calculated that the ropes had been tied under the cover of night, from the palace’s many spires. It was only a matter of climbing up to the roof unseen, then taking a firm hold and swinging straight into the Throne Room at the right moment. A clever deception. Their enemy wasn’t one to be trifled with. They were adept at dirty tricks and unwelcome surprises. But what was that, tied to the woman’s back…?

Lee came to a halt. It was Anna! There could be no mistaking the limp figure, the bright bandanna so distinctive, even in the blur of motion, against the palace’s gray stone and the crisp blue sky. With a growing panic, he turned to the group of archers a few feet away and yelled for them to stand down. “She’s not alone! You can’t risk it!” He tore the longbows from the soldiers’ hands, throwing them down on the grass. “Follow the woman! Go, what kind of solders are you?!”

The men immediately snapped to attention, and Lee led them along the palace grounds with his eye fixed on Stella as she went gliding through the air.

Meanwhile, the Throne Room was in turmoil. Marisa, eyes shut against the painful glare of Stella’s flash bomb, was kneeling on the floor and waiting for the ache to subside. Orris and Luke were the first to recover, and together they went straight for the window. By then, however, Stella was already halfway around the palace perimeter, heading at a steady pace towards the glittering bay.

“That woman again,” Orris said grimly, already turning from the window to help his young charge regain her footing. “Mistress, you must return to your rooms. It is not safe.”

“Orris, I can’t leave her! And you know I won’t go back to my rooms, so please stop. I refuse.” With a swirl of the green velvet cloak, Marisa was leaving. Orris, frowning, went after her. Luke and Jesse were staring after the girl as she departed with her armored companion. Had their eyes been damaged by that brilliant flash? Or did she really look exactly like Anna?

“Stop right there! Who are you?” Luke ran forward as Jesse moved to block their path. Their cutlasses were drawn. Orris, with surprising speed for someone in such heavy armor, whipped around with his lance at the ready. Marisa turned around, an impatient expression on her face.

“Does this have to be settled right now? Anna is in danger! You’re all idiots and there isn’t any time to waste. Orris, ignore them. Let’s go!”

Frustrated, Luke lowered his blade and signaled for Jesse to do the same. They followed Marisa and Orris down to the palace grounds, their thoughts in as much chaos as their surroundings. Jal, watching from behind the two guards who had shielded her, was silent for some time as she considered what should be done.

“AKROS! You oaf, where have you been?! Do I look like I have wings? Do I look like I can fly? What have you been doing up here?! Waiting for a decade to pass??” Stella was irritable, despite the fact that she had accomplished what she had set out to do. Decent henchmen were nearly impossible to find, these days. Her brigands were more often buffoons, burly and yet brainless. With an exasperated sigh, she gestured for Akros to throw her the very last rope, with which she would lower herself and Anna to the ground. The ropes had been rigged so that Stella could swing from one to the other all the way around to the south side of the palace, where Akros and a few of his men would be waiting. Some were positioned in certain places, ensuring that the ropes held as Stella made her way from one to the next.

Akros grunted apologies as he threw the rope across. Stella caught it with a gloved hand, accustomed to more precarious situations on board ship as they tossed in storm winds. Anna wasn’t heavy, and she had been sitting around on deck for far too long. It was welcome exercise, a long overdue opportunity to use her cunning as well as her limbs. And with luck, it would get her what she wanted as well. Stella waved a hand to tell Akros to begin lowering them to the ground; it was a long drop, otherwise.

These royal types were really quite easy to fool, Stella mused. Anyone mildly noble was usually just as gullible. She had been betting on this, and her gamble had paid off quite nicely. Here was the girl, the one she had been searching for all this time, and conveniently knocked out as well. When she came to, they would be long gone, out on the open sea where she would be unable to escape and any would-be rescuers would be hard pressed to find her. Stella smiled, and jumping down on at the base of the wall, took off at a run. She knew she wasn’t home free yet. And she was right, for her pursuers were on her heels already.

“Tch. This is what I get for relying on men.”

Lee pulled the javelin out of his dead enemy’s chest, annoyed that he had been forced to waste his time fighting Stella’s delayed henchmen as they jumped down from the roof. Their leader had managed to get through the soldiers and was already gone, helping his mistress escape no doubt. Swearing, Lee didn’t even bother to clean the blood from his weapon. He ran on, and Luke saw him from several yards away as he too went in pursuit.

“Jesse, we might not make it there in time…who knows what her plans are when she reaches the dock? Cut through and get to the ship. Bring her around if you can and maybe we can surprise the woman. That bay shouldn’t be too difficult to block.”

Nodding, Jesse was off. He ran past Lee, who knew well that if one brother was present, the other must be as well. Indeed, he could see Luke a few steps behind the Ambassador of Leiden and her constant companion, the armored Orris. Swallowing his urge to ignore the Pirate King’s successor, Lee slowed his pace somewhat until he and Luke were side by side.

“Why has she taken Anna?”

“I don’t know,” Luke replied, quickening his pace. “But knowing her, this isn’t going to be easy.”

Anna’s eyes fluttered open. There was a pounding in her skull, like a thousand small hammers all driving thousands of nails. The last thing she remembered was a brilliant burst of light, and then a cloth clamped over her nose. The hand that held it was exceedingly pale, as if carved from perfect alabaster; a ring set with a stone the color of a winter night adorned the third finger. After that, emptiness, and an odd dream in which she was flying…soaring from mast to mast, over the steady roar of the ocean…

It was then that she realized two things. First, she was being carried over the shoulder of a woman with deep black hair, the curls glossy and untamed. Not far behind were the lumbering footsteps of someone else, most likely the woman’s accomplice. Second, her feet had not been bound; only her hands, although a rope was still loosely coiled around her waist. Her kidnappers were obviously counting on her staying asleep the entire time. Willing her heart to cease beating like that of a frantic bird, Anna shut her eyes again quickly. She must not make a sound. Perhaps they would be careless, and she could find a way to somehow escape.

From the quick glimpses she allowed herself, she could see that they were in the small stretch of woods against the palace’s southern wall. They were peculiar trees, as she remembered from first catching sight of them; twisted, and a strange shade of gray. If driftwood could be planted and made to take root once more, it would have grown into this forest. The whorls and patterns in the bark looked loose and flowing, slippery like water. The trees were almost tangled together, and there was no path to follow. Nevertheless, Stella and Akros were making excellent time. Their pursuers, although not too far behind, would not have counted on them taking the route through the trees. Anna realized the third thing, then: these people must be clever. Cleverer than she wanted them to be.

“Akros, the men are ready on the ship?”

“Yes, Lady. They know their orders.”

“Go on, then. Fail me and I will gut you myself.”

Moodily, Stella watched Akros hack through the last stretch of woods, towards the harbor. Already, the noise of the sailors and merchants was growing louder as they neared the end of the small forest. The girl had not stirred, but Stella had seen her pursuers as she paused briefly at the top of the wall, just before she dropped into the shaded undergrowth. They were coming at a vigorous pace—the old man in armor and the girl from the Trade Delegation among their number. Smirking, Stella emerged from the cover of the odd gray trees. The plan was going well so far, but there was no time to lose.

Sensing the sudden warmth of sunlight as they left the forest, Anna opened an eye for a quick survey of her surroundings. As she had thought, they were on the harbor, taking a more roundabout way through the lesser-used docks in order to attract as little attention as possible. Should she make her move now? There were very few people about, it would be useless to call for help or make a struggle. Biting her lip, Anna shut her eyes again and decided to wait it out a bit longer.

Moored just ahead, alongside a merchant ship and a passenger vessel, was a ship bearing Gareth’s colors, a late arrival the night before. Fear of the Fever and general unrest in the royal capital due to what had happened to its crown princess had sent even the usually steady harbor guards into a bit of a frenzy. Hardly anyone noticed anything strange about the ship that pulled in, its figurehead a winged woman with eyes streaming tears of dark blood—Stella’s ship, the Erinye. Almost ghostly in the moonlight, the vessel had sailed in with its blue flags fluttering faintly, its captain a burly man with a gruff voice who announced that they had just come from Quinn. Checking the flags and the insignia of the kingdom on the captain’s somewhat tattered jacket, the stressed harbor guards gave them leave to dock in Asphel Harbor.

Luke and Lee went running through the harbor, searching frantically. The port was still as busy as always, and it was difficult to see over the milling people and stacks of cargo. It was even more difficult to weave through the crowds, and Luke was momentarily reminded of that summer morning long ago when he and Anna had made their way through to the Pirate King’s ship. A distant memory, a distant past; he shook it away, and began to elbow past workers and passengers as Lee did the same. Both were watching with an anxious eye, suspecting that the woman would surely board a ship and set sail at once. But which ship?

“Mistress, please return to the palace. I will find your sister.”

“I refuse, Orris. I must find her myself. I must see that she is alright. I…I’m afraid…if that woman hurts Anna…like she wanted to hurt me…”

“Your worries are without reason, Mistress. As I have guarded you, so will I guard your sister. She will be safe.”

Orris turned briefly to his young charge, and although she could not see his face for the heavy helmet that he wore, Marisa knew that he was giving her a look of reassurance. Orris had been her father’s most trusted guardian, sworn to the Selfaro family for life. There was no one more loyal and more trustworthy. Orris had protected their caravans for years, and had refused to let the Trade Delegation assign her a different companion. His adamant refusal to leave her side had earned his place. Marisa knew that Orris would never allow anything to happen to her, or to Anna. Nodding silently, Marisa went on following him as they did their best to get through the crowded harbor.

Not as far away as they thought, Anna was no longer slung over Stella’s shoulder. They were on board a ship now, she could tell, and Stella was giving orders to her crew. Orders to set sail immediately! Time was running out. She had to get away, and fast. But how? Her only hope was if Luke and the others were somewhere near…if they could somehow prevent the ship from leaving port, or intercept Stella’s plan…lying on her side, feeling the warm planks of the ship’s deck against her cheek, Anna continued to keep her eyes shut and willed her muscles to relax. Whatever happened, until she was ready, her enemies must believe that she was still asleep. Her mind went through scenarios and possibilities as she forced her limbs to go steadily limp, her breathing to slow into the cadence of slumber. Stella, busy overseeing her men as they carried out their orders, glanced at her captive from time to time, but Anna was playing her part well. None suspected that the girl was awake.

Neither did they suspect that she had come up with a plan. For, as she lay there in mock slumber, Anna had managed to loosen the ropes that bound her wrists together. The knots had been difficult, and her fingers were now probably bent in impossible angles, but she had done it. As she heard Stella’s distinctive boots stepping away, she slowly inched one hand to pull her locket from the folds of her shirt. Deftly, she undid the lock and rolled onto her back, as though restless in her dreaming. With one eye trained on Stella’s back, Anna opened the locket with her free hand and watched the beam of light fly out into a cloudless blue sky.