Page 18 of These Divided Shores
“We’re counting on Nathaniel Blaise being willing to talk,” Vex tried.
“You mean instead of shooting us on the spot?” Nayeli rubbed her shoulder where one of the Emerdian raiders had shot her last time they’d been in Port Camden.
Edda faced Kari. “What’d you do to convince the syndicates to unite last time? Nate will have better information about what is going on in the Port Camden prison.”
Kari sighed. “We—the rebels—spent months persuading the Heads to speak with us, and months after, trying to coordinate demands between them. Ultimately, there was one desire that appeased them: autonomy in the new government. Which many of the rebels refused, until the war turned dire.”
Heaviness rippled over her face. Vex knew what shemeant now bydire—she meant the final battle, the night Argrid took the revolutionaries’ headquarters.
The night Milo Ibarra had tortured Lu.
Rage made Vex shoot forward. “We’llmakethe raiders unify. Only... I realize that after that whole bill to eradicate raiders, most raiders would rather we string you up as a show of solidarity. Which, hey, might unite the syndicates anyway.”
Kari gave Vex an unimpressed stare. “I was under house arrest because Iopposedthe Council turning on raiders. I can use that to my advantage, and I will find another way to win back the raiders’ respect.” She shifted, smoothing her skirts as she surveyed the gray-black horizon. “We go to Port Camden and meet with Nathaniel Blaise. I convince him to join our cause. We use the combined might of the Emerdian and Tuncian syndicates to break into Port Camden prison and free Cansu.”
“And Ben,” Vex added. Kari frowned in confusion. “Elazar has him. He’ll force Ben to finalize permanent magic that would make Argridian defensors unstoppable.”
Kari sighed. “That Argrid has begun using magic against us is so inconceivable, I cannot keep that piece of the war clear—let alone that the Crown Prince has defected. He followed your father’s example, it seems.” She gave Vex a smile he couldn’t return and smoothed her skirts again, one of her few nervous tics. “After we rescue Cansu—and the prince—we gather in Port Mesi-Teab and, with Cansu andNathaniel, we seek unification with the Grozdan syndicate and use our numbers to push Argrid out of Grace Loray.”
Silence followed, everyone digesting the plan.
“If you don’t mind”—Kari sat back on the crate—“I would like to be alone.”
Nayeli squinted. “How? It’s a really small boat.”
Edda punched her in the arm. “We’ll do what we can.”
Edda and Nayeli moved away, but Vex hesitated.
“You didn’t know, did you?” Vex swallowed. “What your husband did. That he was feeding information to the Argridians.”
Kari looked up. “I fear he may have done more than that.”
Vex wanted to ask what she meant. But, just as strongly, he didn’t want to know.
He’d had two weeks with the knowledge of Lu’s death, and it still poked holes in his lungs, wrapping cold fingers around his heart and squeezing,squeezing.
He should talk to Kari. But what could he say to give her any comfort?
Vex looked down at the teak deck. “I think I loved your daughter.”
Kari didn’t try to hide the tears spilling out of her eyes, or the blotchy redness to her face. She bowed her head—a thanks, an offering.
Edda squeezed Vex’s shoulder, and they made for the pilothouse, leaving Kari alone.
Vex had to admit that Elazar’s takeover of Grace Loray had been perfect this time.
Cansu’s raiders sailed up to Port Camden at midday. The last time Vex had been to this city was months ago, to steal crates of Healica for the Argridian bullies who’d threatened to kill his crew if he didn’t give them what Elazar demanded. Remembering that time, when it’d just been him, Nayeli, and Edda racing around the island, trying to avoid his uncle’s lackeys while planning how to hide away from any war—god, it almost seemed simple now.
Like the other main ports on Grace Loray, Port Camden had been built by a specific group of immigrants and mimicked the styles of its Mainland counterpart—in this case, Emerdon. Sharp roofs peaked over towering, narrow structures of crisscrossing timbers and white panels, compliments of Emerdon’s fixation on masonry: the cobblestone roads, the arching bridges, the chimneys hugging most buildings.
But that was where the similarities between Port Camden and the fairly well-off country of Emerdon ended. Because Port Camden was apit.
Every building needed upkeep, and garbage littered the streets. The Emerdian syndicate liked to blame Port Camden’s deficiency on the Council—once the rebels had won the war against Argrid and instituted arealgovernment, the Grace Loray Republic had taken control of magic tradewith the Mainland countries. Any time the Council sold magic to the Mainland, it wasofficialand sent money into the Council’s coffers; any time raiders sold magic to the Mainland, it wasillegaland sent raiders into the Council’s prisons. The syndicates lost their main source of income, which spiraled all four of them into poverty.
But the Emerdian syndicate, and Port Camden by extension, had been hurting long before then. From what Vex could tell, they’d had a run of irresponsible Heads—and Nate wasn’t much better, sinking money into elaborate steamboats or feeding his Emerdian obsession with fine leather goods. Rumors had it that his husband was trying to turn things around, but for now the poverty gave off a dangerous energy.
Cansu’s raiders steered the boat slowly, weaving around other vessels moored on the banks, but traffic in the waterways was nonexistent. No one stood in doorways; no patrons bustled toward markets. Loose shutters banged against windows. The chirp of a child’s cry cut off with the slam of a door. A stray dog shot into an alley, its tail curved between its legs.
