Page 80 of The Dark Mirror

‘Paige, without us you’ll have no idea where you’re going,’ Verca said, grasping the side of the boat as it rocked. ‘None of you know Capri. It will take too long to search by yourselves.’

‘We are not leaving you after just having found you,’ Nick bit out. ‘Don’t do this, Paige.’

‘Nick, I hate to pull rank, but I’m still Underqueen. I’m ordering you not to come.’ I faced the others. ‘I can’t order the rest of you, but I’m the only one whose gift might be useful on this island. Even fire and bullets won’t work against its guards for long. Let me handle this.’

The hydromancers looked to Verca, who spoke to them in Napoletano, presumably skirting around the specific reasons I was stopping them from coming. None of them argued.

After a short exchange, Verca switched off the lamp on the deck, and Federico started the boat. When we reached the right place, he brought theErcolein as close to the island as he could. Sheer untamed rock toothed the coastline, but I could see plenty of natural ways up.

Nick went into his medical bag and handed me a delicate silver earpiece. ‘Domino gave us encrypted transceivers,’ he said. I clipped it on. ‘You take one, too, Terebell.’ She hooked it over her ear with clear reluctance. ‘Stay in touch. Call when you need us to come back.’

‘All right.’ I touched his elbow. ‘I’m sorry. This is a risk I need to take alone.’

‘You always think you need to take the risks alone.’

‘Nick, this is personal.’

‘No, it isn’t,’ he said under his breath. ‘Domino backed this because Warden might have crucial intelligence. Respectfully, I am a Domino agent. I have more right to be on this than—’

‘I’m not doing this for intelligence. I think it’s more than likely Arcturus doesn’t know a damn thing, because he would have been chained up in some dungeon for months. I’m doing this because I owe him, and because I want him back. And I can’t let any of you die for that.’

He breathed out slowly.

‘Please be careful, Paige,’ Verca said. ‘Maria will never forgive us if anything happens to you.’

‘I’ll be fine. Any hint of Scion, you get out of here,’ I said. ‘I’ll hide with the Ranthen until you can get back to us.’

We had agreed not to use my torch until we left the coast behind, in case any patrol ships came. I switched on the small light in my watch, then climbed down to the sea. A deep tremor coursed through me as I let go of the ladder. Keeping my chin above the water where I could, I swam the short distance to the rocks, which the Ranthen had already reached. Lucida extended a gloved hand to help me out.

‘Do you still feel Arcturus?’ Terebell asked me. I nodded. ‘Then let us move swiftly.’

‘Hold on. Nick,’ I called, ‘we need the mine detector.’

He threw it. Terebell caught it with one hand, and we both watched the darkness swallow the boat.

‘You know the sickness turns us into Emim,’ she said. ‘A secret we swore to protect.’

‘Arcturus didn’t break his oath. Someone else told me, and I confronted him about it,’ I said. ‘I wish you’d trusted me with the truth, Terebell.’

‘You would not have been reasonable before you knew us well.’

‘What should I do if a Buzzer attacks you?’

‘If any of us are bitten or clawed, the sea will take care of our need for salt, allowing us to take aura again. We will have to use yours, Underqueen.’

‘What am I supposed to do, drag you to the sea?’

‘We have collected seawater.’ She handed me a flask on a strap. ‘You will not breathe a word to your allies about the sickness. Not even your mollishers. It would degrade us in their eyes. If you do not mind your tongue in future, I will cut it out. Is that understood?’

I answered her with a taut nod. She thrust the mine detector at me and strode ahead, her coat dripping.

We filed up the steps to a coastal path. I found the pole star and tried to keep it in front of me. For a while, the five of us made our way inland, undisturbed by anything.

After a time, we reached a wider path, which took us uphill again. I was already tired, but I couldn’t let the Ranthen see even a flicker of weakness. This was a golden opportunity to win their respect, which I still hadn’t quite secured. I was working against centuries of indoctrination. As soon as they weren’t looking, I took the stimulant Ducos had given me, the same one used by spies in Scion. It was the only way I was going to make it through the night.

It was strange to be leading a team of immortals. Other than Arcturus, the Ranthen had remained in the background of the revolution, funding our efforts, but handling their own politics in private. Now four Rephs towered around me like bodyguards. Errai refused to take my shorter legs into account – he marched ahead without a backward glance – but the others kept to my pace,managing not to complain. Even with the stimulant, the aster weighed on me.

Capri had looked beautiful on Omnia, but at night, with all the streetlamps out, I couldn’t see much just the path underfoot, flowers and foliage to our right, trees on the other side. A few weeks ago, this place must have been thronged with tourists enjoying the end of summer. Now it truly had become the Lugentes Campi, the Fields of Mourning quiet and forsaken, named for grief. I stopped to put on my gloves, protecting my hands from the cold, before I held out the mine detector again.

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