I hurried to unfasten his manacles with the heavy scissors in my hands, using the astrolabe as a meager illumination in the shadow. The manacles clattered away from the wall, still attached to his wrists but freed from the stone. He rubbed at where his skin had begun to go raw. It was a pain I remembered all too vividly.
Altair’s eyes fixed on me intently.
“The astrolabe,” he breathed. “You were the one. The one who met Merulina and brought her to me.”
“Always been a sucker for romance,” I answered, leaning down to scoop up the astrolabe again. “Have you seen Merulina since the attacks began?”
Altair took the bolt-cutting contraption without missing a beat. “Sadly, no,” he replied, strangely upbeat in spite of the words. “But if I know Merulina—and I think that I do—she is safe, wherever she is. I believe we all have some people in our lives who will never be made into fools, and who will ensure their own survival above all else.” My mind shifted to Michelle. Yes, in a way, I could see how an admirer might tout her strength, even if I couldn’t particularly understand it. “I will free the rest of the prisoners. Unless you think there is no time?”
“The guards and servants are no longer employees of the castle so much as they are mercenaries, concerned primarily with looting the palace. I doubt anyone would stop you, as it would divert valuable time… literally… from their acquisitions.”
“Then free the fire people I shall!” Altair cheered. He’d struck me as an optimist during our past encounters, but I’d never seen him happy until now. He practically skipped to the next cell, severing its latch with the scissors. “And then we will join our brothers in the fight.” He nodded at me, still illuminated by the astrolabe in an embankment of darkness. “You remind me of my mother. I should’ve seen it earlier. Naturally, Theon would be drawn to you.” He bowed, then wrenched open the next cell door, allowing the waiting prisoners inside to be released. “I forgive you for whatever ruse you must engage in to restore the kingdom to its former self, Queen Penelope!” he bellowed, skipping to the next cell and dismantling its lock.
Clutching the astrolabe to my chest, I forged my way up the stairs, pushed along now with a throng of escaped prisoners, uncertain. Altair raised a good question in my mind. Should I continue the illusion of servitude in order to stay near to the royal family, ensuring that an insider remained with them, but risking that the astrolabe be taken? Or should I go, dress myself in a coat, hunt Theon down in the snow, and present to him the astrolabe?
Nell
The question ended up being a moot one, and my decision had probably been poor. I wanted to find Theon, not because it was strategically wise, but because I felt better being with him. But… he wasn’t quite ready for a reunion yet. He still stood at the front line with his men, and I believed—with all the pride and faith that made a woman into a fire dragon—that this would be the first, and hopefully only, historic battle of his reign.
In any case, I’d gone upstairs and was hunting for a coat closet when Michelle found me.
“What are you doing? Where have you been?” the girl sneered, advancing on me. Her eyes flashed between the astrolabe and my face. Lethe and Vulott exited the throne room behind her. “That was all you got?” she cried, reeling back. The palm of her hand flashed out and caught me on the side of the face. My head snapped just slightly to the side, even though I could tell she had thrown the full force of several years of resentment into that slap. My eyes trained on her and simmered there, even as my head turned to face her again.
“Well done, girl,” Vulott praised, stepping forward and practically snatching the astrolabe from my hands. I almost fought him for it, but my fingers loosened and I let it go. Between the lot of them—surrounded by ice dragons as I was—there was no point. I would have to stay with them, and look for my next opportunity to seize it.
“And that was what took you so long, I suppose.” Michelle would not relent in her glower, nor in her suspicious tone. Of course, she knew me well enough to know that she wasn’t the only one who was not to be trusted between us. One thing we had in common was our steadfast refusal to follow anything but our hearts—the difference was that hers was firmly planted in self-interest, and Theon had mine. Anything I did outside of her direct supervision was suspect. Still, she was willing to take the risk and accept me as her servant girl, since that meant being able to humiliate me all day long.
“You see the condition the castle is in,” I explained, lifting my hand to make an example of the mayhem swirling around us. Even the sight of their own king and queen didn’t bring any of these ice dragons to a halt. “Everything I found was taken from me. The walls, the closets, the depositories, the windows, everything has been stripped of its valuables. Apparently everyone came to the same conclusion you did.”