Maria Snyder - Sea Glass

My thoughts drifted and without a window in my cell, I lost track of the time. I slept on the single piece of furniture in the room—a hard metal ledge. The jangle of keys woke me. A door slammed and two guards appeared in front of my cell.

“Come on,” the guard on the left ordered. He unlocked my door.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“You’re wanted for questioning.” He swung the bars wide.

His word choice failed to hearten me. “By whom?”

“Councilor Moon’s First Adviser. Turn around.”

I hesitated and his partner stepped inside. The larger man held a pair of manacles.

Holding my hands up, I said, “They’re not necessary. I’ll cooperate.”

“Good to know,” the man with the cuffs said. “Turn around.”

He loomed over me and I wondered if towns sought bullies to hire as guards on purpose or were they naturally drawn to the job. Or perhaps the mean disposition was a side effect of the position. If I had to deal with guarding criminals all day, I would probably be surly, too.

“It’s really not—hey!”

He spun me around and pushed me against the wall. Before I could draw another breath, my wrists were shackled together behind my back.

“Sorry. Orders.” He pulled me toward the door.

He didn’t sound sorry. I tripped over the threshold and the other man steadied me before I fell into the corridor. I glanced at Janco’s cell. He stood near the door.

“What about my companion?” I asked.

“The Ixian…” The guard’s mouth twisted as if he had a piece of gristle stuck between his teeth. “Stays here.”

“But I’ll be bored and lonely without her,” Janco said.

“Not my problem. I have my—”

“Orders.” Janco rolled his eyes. “Now I know where all the truly brainless Sitians can be found. Right here with all the wimpy Sitians.”

The bully stepped toward his cell.

“Nic, stop,” the guard warned. “He’s trying to bait you.”

“Listen to your friend, Nicky.” Janco smirked. “He’s going to save you from major embarrassment. You’ll never live down getting beaten by an Ixian.” He made shooing motions with his hand. “Now run along like a good little puppy dog.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling as I remembered a lesson learned from Yelena’s brother Leif. Never underestimate the power of the pest.

Nic’s body tightened, and a slight tremor traveled through his muscles as if he fought the desire to strike out. He turned his back on Janco and strode down the corridor. An impressive display of restraint.

Disappointment creased Janco’s face.

Before the other guard could move, I said, “If you get too bored, think of a better ending to your quartz story. The rock-glowing-in-the-moonlight part didn’t make any sense. And having a meeting at midnight is such a cliché.”

“But that’s my favorite part,” Janco whined.

“Come on.” The guard wrapped his thick hand around my upper arm and led me down the corridor.

I glanced back at Janco and met his gaze. He nodded, signaling he understood my hint. If I didn’t return tonight, he would escape and meet me at Quartz and Moonlight’s stable around midnight. I smiled at the irony.

Of course, my plan included my own escape—a more doubtful prospect. The next time Janco and I had a few minutes together, I would ask him to show me how to pick a lock. It was a skill I hadn’t needed before my apprentice year at the Magician’s Keep, but, by the way trouble kept finding me these past two seasons, my lack of knowledge could be fatal.

The Masters should add lock picking to the Keep’s curriculum, but then again it could backfire on them. The Keep’s cells were warded against any magical escape, but I didn’t know how they protected against mundane methods. Guess I would know the answer in time. I shuddered, thinking about how upset the Council would be when I finally returned.

My escort believed I was cold, and he wrapped my cloak around my shoulders. Nic joined us as we exited the station and walked across the street to the Councilor’s Hall. The white dome of the expansive building could be seen from most places in the city. Fulgor was the capital of the Moon Clan’s lands, and housed all the government and military buildings for the Clan. Constructed from white marble streaked with green veins, the walls reflected the early-morning sunlight.

Wedged between the two guards, I could only glance at the quiet streets before we entered the Hall. There my companions handed me over to the Hall’s guards.

The lobby’s black-and-white tiles reminded me of a huge chessboard. I marveled at the glass chandelier hanging down from the dome high above the lobby.

Even though I had seen it before, the chandelier’s delicate ice-blue panels and snowflake pattern still awed me. And Gressa had designed and crafted the piece when she was only fifteen. Unfortunately, her ego matched her talent.

My new attendants led me up the grand staircase to the first floor and down a long hallway that ended in ornate double doors guarded by two soldiers. They opened the door without uttering a word and ushered us into a huge reception room. Padded leather armchairs lined the walls, books rested on dark mahogany tables and a vast ebony desk filled the center and almost blocked the door on the far wall. My boots sunk into the plush carpet and I worried about leaving dirt on the pale pink floral design.

The desk dwarfed the blond woman sitting behind it. She wrinkled her nose in disdain, but waved us toward the far door, saying, “She’s expecting you.”

I turned to my guard. “I thought you said I was being questioned by the First Adviser.”

“This is the FA’s office,” he said. “All our officials have offices befitting their stations.”

I suppressed a whistle. If this was the FA’s, what did Councilor Moon’s look like?

The interior office was as ornate as the reception area and twice as big. In the far right corner loomed another expansive desk and another woman. She faced the large windows with her back to us. Sunlight highlighted her straight black hair and a feeling of familiarity tugged deep within me.

Stained-glass sun catchers refracted the sunlight, causing bright pinpricks of color to dot the walls and ceiling. Distinct glass vases decorated her neat desk.

“Gressa,” I said.

Ulrick’s sister turned around. Her resemblance to Ulrick was uncanny. Her long, graceful limbs, strong jaw, prominent cheekbones and eyes the color of grass on a sunny day matched his. Except this time, instead of being drawn to her because of the similarity, I was wary. Since Devlen switched bodies, seeing even a likeness of Ulrick’s face triggered a flinch.

She studied me with a cold, unwelcoming expression for a moment, then gestured toward a chair. “Sit down.”

I perched on the edge of an overstuffed maroon chair. She dismissed the guards to wait in the outer office without ordering them to unlock the manacles binding my wrists. At least she could have told them to remove my cloak. I sweated in the warm room.

Gressa picked up a glass letter opener and tapped it on her desk. “Why did you break into my factory?”

“I needed to talk to you.”

“You could have sent me a message.”

“I thought you might be in hiding.”

“Really?” Her thin arched eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Why?”

“Because of making the fake diamonds and helping the Councilor’s sister.”

“Oh, that.” She waved her hand in the air as if her past was as insignificant as the dust motes floating in the sunlight. “Obviously, it worked out. I offered my services and my knowledge of Akako’s plans to Councilor Moon. After Akako was arrested, the Councilor offered me a position on her staff.”