The Alcazar Read online

  Dedication

  For Matt,

  spring to my summer, winter to my fall

  Map

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Part One: Arbaz, Island of Thaetus, Pelago

  Chapter 1: Sera

  Chapter 2: Leo

  Chapter 3: Agnes

  Chapter 4: Sera

  Chapter 5: Agnes

  Chapter 6: Leo

  Part Two: The City Above the Sky

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Part Three: Ithilia, the Island of Cairan, Pelago

  Chapter 13: Sera

  Chapter 14: Agnes

  Chapter 15: Leo

  Chapter 16: Agnes

  Chapter 17: Sera

  Chapter 18: Agnes

  Chapter 19: Agnes

  Chapter 20: Leo

  Part Four: The City Above the Sky

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Part Five: The Island of Culinnon, Pelago and the Island of Braxos, Pelago

  Chapter 25: Sera

  Chapter 26: Leo

  Chapter 27: Agnes

  Chapter 28: Sera

  Chapter 29: Leo

  Chapter 30: Agnes

  Chapter 31: Sera

  Part Six: The Island of Braxos, Pelago and the City Above the Sky

  Chapter 32: Leela

  Chapter 33: Leo

  Chapter 34: Sera

  Chapter 35: Leela

  Chapter 36: Agnes

  Chapter 37: Sera

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books by Amy Ewing

  Back Ad

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Part One

  Arbaz, Island of Thaetus, Pelago

  1

  Sera

  SERA WAS PERCHED IN THE CROW’S NEST OF THE MAIDEN’S Wail when the Pelagan coastline came into view.

  She liked it here best, where she was high up and could see for miles. They had been at sea for fifteen days since fleeing Kaolin and Xavier McLellan. Sera still shivered remembering that night—the theater with all those people staring at her, the way the sprites had burst forth from beneath her dear Arboreal friend Boris, Errol the mertag clinging to her back as he shattered the glass ceiling, running across the rooftops of Old Port City until they reached the Seaport. She could still see Boris’s beautiful silvery bark charring as the sprites lit her leaves and branches aflame, still feel the twist of anguish that the gentle tree had sacrificed herself to give Sera and Errol the chance to escape.

  But the only thing Sera could do to honor that sacrifice was to be free, as Boris had wanted. To find the tether that connected this planet to the City Above the Sky and return home.

  “Land, Sera Lighthaven!” Errol cried out as he erupted from the water, his filaments flashing in shades of pearl pink and lilac. Then he vanished beneath the waves.

  Sera swung over the rail and climbed down the rigging to join Leo McLellan where he stood alone on the deck. His sister, Agnes, had been welcomed warmly by the sailors, but not Leo. Violetta had made it clear at the very start that if he gave her crew any of that “patriarchal Kaolin horseshit,” he would promptly be thrown overboard. They tolerated his presence because he was a guest of hers—the Pelagans thought Sera was Saifa, the goddess of life. Sera did not know how to explain to them how wrong they were.

  “Pelago,” she said eagerly, jumping the last few feet and landing lightly on the deck. “We’re almost there, Leo.”

  “I never thought I’d see it,” Leo confessed as he tied back his thick black curls with a leather thong. His hair had grown long and unruly over the course of the voyage. He’d complained about it for days until Sera told him she thought it suited him quite nicely. It made him look freer, somehow, and different from the person she had met back in Kaolin. He never mentioned cutting it again after that.

  “I wonder what it’s like,” Sera said. She hadn’t realized how uncertain she’d been that they would ever reach the country at all. But even now that they had, the island of Braxos where the tether was planted was still miles away, far to the north. There was a lot more journey left to go.

  “Did you see?” Agnes came running up to them, her eyes bright, her cheeks flushed. “It’s Pelago! We made it!”

  “You will love the city of Arbaz, I am thinking,” Vada said, sauntering up behind Agnes. “It has the largest market in all of Pelago. Even the one in Ithilia cannot compare. Though don’t tell the Ithilians I said that.”

  Vada was the only sailor who treated Sera like a normal person, the only one who actually called her Sera and not Saifa. Sera had a suspicion that Agnes had much to do with that—the two girls were very close and had grown closer over the voyage.

  “I can’t wait to see it,” Agnes gushed. “And Leo, Eneas said his sister works in the market; perhaps we’ll be able to meet her.”

  “Sure,” Leo said, tugging at his shirt, “we can meet whoever you want, as long as I can get some new clothes.”

  Vada grinned. “You are not enjoying Jacoba’s leftover things?”

  Agnes choked on her laugh. Leo had been wearing one of the tallest sailor’s hand-me-downs, since his fancy clothes from the theater were entirely inappropriate for life on a ship.

  “Surprisingly, no,” Leo said dryly. “At least, not after two weeks in them.”

  “You know, I think you will be looking very fine in Pelagan clothes,” Vada said. “You have the figure for them.”

  “Fashion is the least of our concern,” Agnes said, tucking a loose strand of hair up into her bun. “And it’s Ithilia we need to get to, not Arbaz.”

  Ithilia was the capital city of Pelago, on a different island called Cairan. Pelago was nothing but islands, and even though Sera had been looking at maps of it for two weeks, she still felt disoriented by them all. When she had gazed down at this planet from the City Above the Sky, Pelago had seemed so small, a collection of misshapen brown-and-green dots. But now she was realizing just how big this world was.

  “Actually, it’s Braxos we need to get to,” Leo reminded her.

  “But our grandmother is in Ithilia,” Agnes said. “She’s expecting me. And I know she can help us.”

  “If there is anyone in Pelago who can be helping you besides the Triumvirate itself,” Vada said, “it is Ambrosine Byrne.”

  Sera hoped Ambrosine was a kinder person than Agnes and Leo’s father. She did not have an ounce of pity for the man who had imprisoned her, but however cruel and callous, he was still the twins’ only living parent. They knew almost nothing of their mother, Alethea Byrne, or her family, except that the Byrnes were very powerful and influential in Pelago. Agnes clung to the idea of Ambrosine the way Sera clung to her star pendant at night, the one her best friend, Leela, had given her.

  She pulled the moonstone necklace out from beneath her shirt and rubbed it with her thumb, grateful that she had this one tangible reminder of her City. The stone was cold today—it seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to temperature, rarely reflecting the air around it or even the warmth of Sera’s body. She wondered if it had always been like that when it had sat hidden in Leela’s bedroom in the City Above the Sky. And the other night, Agnes said she had woken abruptly in the room they shared and swore she heard it humming from around Sera’s neck.

  “I’m coming, Leela,” she murmured. “I’m coming, mothers.”

  Leo squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll get you back to them.”

  But he didn’t know that for sure, not really.


  “What did she say?” Vada asked.

  Sera felt a familiar surge of frustration. She was convinced there must be a way for her to communicate—not just understand, but speak and be understood—with the humans on this planet, whether they spoke Pelagan or Kaolish. She could not believe that the Cerulean of old would have gone down to a planet and blood bonded with perfect strangers, or given their blood away, willingly or not. So far those were the only two ways Sera had managed to make first Agnes and then Leo understand her. There had to be a way of communicating without her having to sacrifice quite so much. Especially now that she knew blood bonding with humans meant sharing memories.

  She kept thinking back to that night when she had accidentally blood bonded with Leo while she was trapped in the crate. She hadn’t been touching him, yet she had seen into his mind and he into hers. He had had her magic inside him already, of course, but Sera was certain there was some way for her to speak to everyone on this planet as naturally as she had spoken to Errol that first night when she woke up in the theater.

  Leo translated for her now and Vada gave her a sympathetic look.

  “I am still not quite understanding where it is you are coming from,” she said. “But I am hoping you can return there safely.”

  Sera smiled at her in thanks.

  Suddenly, Errol appeared again, and this time the filaments that hung over his bulging eyes flashed in dire grays and reds, his webbed hands flapping as his fishtail wriggled wildly.

  “Ships,” he called. “Ships are coming, with dark sails and cruel faces.”

  “What did he say?” Agnes asked, worried.

  But before Sera had a chance to translate, a horn sounded. Vada jumped as sailors began pouring onto the decks.

  “Triumvirate ships!” Vada’s mother, Violetta, cried as she raced up to them. “Vada, hide Saifa. Now!”

  The Triumvirate was the ruling body of Pelago, composed of three queens. Vada had told them that these queens didn’t always get along or agree, and so depending on which one you were loyal to, things could get dicey if there was a conflict within Pelago.

  Violetta snapped orders at other sailors to make sure the cargo they were carrying was safely hidden as well, and to bring out the diversions, whatever that meant. Sera didn’t know what sort of ship the Maiden’s Wail was, but could only guess it was carrying something illicit—besides herself, of course.

  “What in the name of Bas are Triumvirate ships doing out in these waters?” Vada said as she grabbed Sera by the arm. She led her over to a low wooden bench along the railing and lifted it up to reveal a small rectangular hiding space. Sera needed no urging to climb inside.

  “Get the boy in too,” a wizened old sailor named Breese said. “We do not need the Triumvirate thinking we have kidnapped a Byrne.”

  Apparently Leo looked so very much like his mother that he was actually recognizable in a country he’d never stepped foot in. It was quite tight with the two of them, but with a little bit of shifting, they made do. Sera’s heart was in her throat as Vada closed the bench. Thankfully there was a narrow crack running between two planks of wood, and if they positioned themselves just right, they could see a fair amount of the deck. Leo’s head was level with her waist and her feet were jammed against his stomach. Sera felt a strange lurch in her chest. She’d never been this close to him before.

  There were several thumps as Vada put things on top of the bench to cover it, and Sera heard her mutter to Agnes, “Keep your head down and your mouth shut. Your Pelagan is very good, but no need to risk it if we don’t have to.”

  Vada had been teaching both Agnes and Leo Pelagan and had been shocked at how quickly they picked up the language. Soon both twins could easily converse, though Leo seemed to have a slightly better ear and grasp for it than Agnes did. Vada commented that perhaps it was their Pelagan heritage that had given them some unknown advantage, but Sera suspected it was her own magic, living inside both twins, that was responsible for their startling aptitude. She was grateful Agnes had that ability now, to appear as Pelagan—if there was one thing she knew about Kaolin and Pelago, it was that the two countries hated each other. And the discovery of Braxos had only made things worse.

  “We’ve been at sea for so long,” Leo muttered. “We have no idea what’s been going on with the rest of the world.”

  He did not sound optimistic and Sera’s heart sank—they were not the only ones headed for Braxos. The humans believed the island was filled with treasure or possessed some magical properties. Could they damage the tether if they reached the island before Sera did? She bit her lip and tried to swallow her fear. Right now, the important thing was to stay quiet and escape detection.

  It seemed forever before she heard shouts and cries of, “Hold there!” Agnes and Vada were lined up on the deck alongside the other sailors, hands clasped, heads bowed. There was the sound of wood creaking and then the thudding of footsteps. Sera barely held back her gasp as the most frightening woman she had ever seen stalked into view.

  She was very tall and wore a high-necked sleeveless leather tunic of mottled black and purple that covered her thighs, split in front and back to allow for freedom of movement. Heavy boots laced up to her knees over dark, rough-spun pants, and her forearms were enclosed from knuckle to elbow in leather cuffs woven with overlapping circles of copper. Her high collar was adorned with matching disks and her hair was cropped short, sticking up in spikes to frame a face cold and devoid of emotion as she stared down at Vada.

  “Who is the captain of this ship?” she demanded.

  Violetta stepped forward. “I am. Violetta Murchadha, at your service. The Maiden’s Wail is a simple merchant vessel, returning from a journey to Kaolin.”

  The woman snorted. “Merchant vessel.” Then she turned to others Sera could not see. “Search it.” Other women dressed in similar garb passed by the bench—Sera heard some of them going down into the hold. She felt Leo tense beside her.

  The woman turned back to Violetta. Her tunic was belted with an assortment of short, curved knives that glinted cruelly in the sunlight. A silver moon was emblazoned on her chest. “I am Rowen Drakos, head of the Aerin’s guard,” she said.

  The Aerin was one of the queens, Sera recalled. Another one was called the Renalt, and she couldn’t remember the name of the third. When they ascended the throne, Vada had explained, they gave up their first names and assumed only the family name. Sera thought that rather strange and sad—she could not imagine having to suddenly call Agnes the McLellan.

  Violetta gave a curt bow. “An honor to meet you,” she said. “My family has paid its respects to the Aerin since the days of my grandmother’s grandmother.”

  “I am not interested in your respects, I am interested in the truth. Do you carry any Kaolin passengers, perhaps ones seeking the sacred shores of Braxos?”

  “I carry nothing but a few platters, some rugs, several spools of copper wire, and a cracked urn that I paid far too much for in Old Port City,” Violetta replied smoothly. “My crew and I were grateful to leave that filthy country behind and return home. By the grace of the goddesses we have made the journey safely. But I must say, never in all my years has a Triumvirate ship stopped me before entering Arbaz.”

  “Times are changing,” Rowen said. “All the eastern ports have been closed and no one is to dock without permission—the Triumvirate voted not four days ago. Three to zero in favor.”

  Violetta looked surprised. “A unanimous vote?”

  “Desperate times,” Rowen said. “Kaolins are pouring into this country, all seeking to pillage what is rightly Pelagan. Even the Lekke could see that drastic measures must be taken. Anyone harboring or aiding a Kaolin will be arrested and imprisoned. The dungeons of Banrissa are quickly filling up with Kaolins and traitorous Pelagans alike.”

  “A bold move,” Violetta said, “and a wise one. Was it the Aerin’s idea? She has never been one to shirk from a call to action.”

  That seemed to pleas
e Rowen—her mouth quirked into an imitation of a smile. “It was,” she said. Her gaze traveled down the line of sailors. “This is your whole crew?”

  “It is,” Violetta replied.

  “And you trust them?”

  “With my life. We have no interest in Braxos—we only wish to return to our homes.”

  Rowen smirked. “That would make you the only crew in the entire country that has no interest in Braxos.”

  Violetta hesitated, then said, “Has anyone found it yet? As you can see, we have been woefully ignorant of the happenings of the world.”

  “No,” Rowen said. “It has not been sighted since those damned Kaolins first stumbled upon it. Six vessels have vanished looking for it so far—at least, six that we know of. The Aerin is putting together an elite team with specially designed ships to begin her own search.”

  “May Farayage bless their journey,” Violetta said, touching her forehead.

  Rowen snorted. “They would not need the sea goddess’s blessing if Ambrosine Byrne weren’t such an uncompromising bitch.”

  Agnes shifted, and Rowen glanced at her, but then one of her comrades was calling out, “Nothing belowdecks!” and Rowen’s attention was diverted.

  “Very well,” she said. “Violetta Murchadha, I grant you leave to dock in Arbaz, by the power vested in me by our blessed queen, the Aerin.” She handed the captain a slip of paper. “Present this to the dockmaster when you arrive. May the goddesses go with you.”

  “And with you,” Violetta said, bowing again.

  Sera held her breath as the soldiers returned to their ship. There was another creaking of wood and then a splash. For a long while, no one on the Maiden’s Wail moved. Sera’s back ached and her legs cramped, but she stayed as still as stone, waiting. . . .

  “Do you think they’ve gone?” Leo whispered just as the top of the bench was flung open.

  “They’re gone,” Agnes said breathlessly, reaching down to help Sera out. She blinked in the sunlight and saw the ship off in the distance, a black outline against the horizon.

  “This is not good,” Vada said as Leo climbed out after Sera, stretching his arms over his head. “Misarros stopping Pelagan ships?”