Reluctantly she sank back among the ropes and bait. The boy turned the canoe’s prow toward land, and sent it shooting in with the next wave. Up and up they slid along the wet sands. Just as the canoe shuddered to a stop, the boy jumped onto shore. “Out!” he cried. “Now!”
Anna tumbled from the canoe into the surf. The boy waved her farther onto land. “Come on,” he said.
He dragged the canoe into the underbrush at the edge of the forest. With only a glance behind, he set off down a faint path that wound between bushes and trees. Anna stumbled after him. When she fell behind, he stopped to let her catch up, but she could tell he was nervous. Robbers or brigands lurked in these parts, she suspected. The same who had kidnapped her, or ones just like them. She walked faster.
Soon they came to the coastal road, which was deserted at this late hour. The hard-packed surface meant they were close to the city, but the boy seemed even more nervous than before and urged Anna to hurry, hurry, unless she wanted to fight off the island’s wild dogs. Still, it was another hour before they reached the thatched cottages that surrounded Iglazi’s outer walls.
Twilight had fallen and the first faint stars appeared overhead. They were on the westward side of the city, opposite where the garrison stood. It was this same gate she and Maté had taken on their ill-fated expedition to find Aldo Sarrész just a day before.
Anna stepped forward and pounded on the gates. A guard peered through a spy hole, scowling. But when Lady Vrou Iljana Klos gave her full name and demanded entrance, others swung the gates open at once.
“Lady Vrou,” said one guard, his voice filled with amazement. “They told us— We thought you lost to the brigands. How did you escape?”
Anna turned to find her guide, but he was gone. How strange. Then she recalled his comments about harbor crows. “Never mind how. Call a chair to take me back to my inn. Send word for them to expect me. At once, do you hear?”
Her assumed role could do that much, at least. The guards left off their questions and shouted an order for a sedan chair, which arrived quickly, then helped her inside. Anna collapsed into the cushions. Now that she had escaped, all the aches and bruises returned with force. Her palms were scabbed, her wrists still tender from the burns. And her clothes had dried into stiff, uncomfortable folds.
I want a bath. I want food. I want...
What she really wanted was Maté’s sensible, familiar presence. At the thought, her throat squeezed shut. She wiped away tears with the back of her hand. Tomorrow she would find the garrison commander and demand that he take action against the pirates. It was what Vrou Iljana would do. It was not quite enough for what Anna Zhdanov wanted, but it was a start.
The bearers carried her into the inn’s courtyard. Bondsmaids hurried forward to help her from the sedan chair, while farther along, slaves opened the doors and knelt on the stones in silent welcome. The innkeeper himself came forward and exclaimed over her terrible misfortune. “We thought you lost forever, Lady Vrou. Your man Raab came to us with the report about bandits. We notified the garrison at once, of course. The commander promised to launch a search the next day. Not soon enough, your man Kovács said—”
Anna cut him off with an abrupt gesture. “What—What did you say?”
“That your man, Kovács—Ah, here he is.”
Anna spun around. Not a dozen steps away, Maté had paused on the threshold, looking tall and mountainous and more than a little overset. His clothes looked rumpled, as though he’d slept in them, and his face was creased with lines that made him seem suddenly much older.
“You,” she whispered. “You’re alive.”
“My lady.” He covered the dozen steps between them and clasped her hands. For a moment they were Anna and Maté, good friends and equals. Then Maté took a step back and Anna remembered that ladies, even those of questionable character, did not treat their servants as friends.
Maté had remembered as well, because he swept into a bow. “My lady. We are amazed and relieved by your appearance. How did you escape?”
“They were careless,” she said. “I escaped and swam to shore. We can discuss the particulars later. And you, you escaped as well, I see.”
Only now did Maté take in the condition of Anna’s clothes and her injuries. “My escape does not matter. We must call a surgeon for those burns. Come. You’ve had a terrible ordeal, my lady. Let me support you to your chambers.”
He offered an arm, which Anna gladly took. Only when they had passed from the entry hall and mounted the stairs did he quietly say, “What did happen? How did you get those burns?”
“Magic gone astray,” she said in a low voice. “But Maté, they let you go. They told me—”
“They knocked me over the head,” Maté said with a scowl. “Their captain was a man called Koszenmarc. He bundled us all into his ship. Dropped me and the boys on shore near Vyros. Told me to wait for instructions about your ransom.”
Ah. Yes. The ransom for the mythical Lady Vrou Iljana.
“What about the guards?” she asked.
All the joy vanished from his face. “Those gods-be-damned pirates murdered two of our boys. The other four…” He drew a deep breath, and for a moment it was as though he still saw those guards as soldiers under his command. “They’ve cracked skulls and some nasty gashes, but nothing worse. The surgeon promises they should recover soon enough. I filed a complaint with the garrison commander, of course, but he seems curiously reluctant to chase after our new friends. I suspect he takes bribes. But as you said, we shall discuss the particulars later.”
They had arrived at her suite of rooms. Maté gave orders to Lady Iljana’s personal maids for a warm bath and a meal. “And quiet,” he said with a worried glance in her direction. “She’s had a wearisome adventure.” To Anna, he said, “Vrou, let me call a surgeon to attend you.”
Anna had no desire to argue. Her maids led her to her private bedchamber, where they soon prepared a warm, scented bath. They offered her soft sponges, perfumed soaps, and fragrant oils, while others laid out a fresh dressing gown and slippers. When she was clean once more, they helped her to dress and brushed out her hair, winding it into damp, dark coils tied with ribbons. Her meal waited for her pleasure, they told her with an obeisance. Her man Kovács had sent a slave to fetch the surgeon, who would attend her within the hour.
For once she was grateful for her assumed identity. She could dismiss the servants and eat alone, and they would only think her eccentric. As for the surgeon, she would see him to please Maté.
She ate slowly, relishing the flavors. Cool broth spiced and thickened with unfamiliar greens. Slices of flatbread smothered in honey. With every spoonful and mouthful, her strength trickled back.
Home. Home and safe. Neither was exactly true, but at least she was alive, and so were Maté and Raab. She rubbed her head, gently exploring the knot beside her temple. It no longer hurt, but it was still tender. A trace of the captain’s signature remained, faint and unfocused, along with stronger traces from the healer named Thea.
Why had he let her go?
She was fairly certain he had. He could have sent any number of boats after her once she escaped. He might have done exactly as that cheeky boy had said—waited until dark, waited until she was exhausted and starved, then captured her once more. She sighed and poured herself a cup of hot, strong tea. As she went to replace the teapot, a square of paper tumbled from the table onto the floor. Anna paused, suddenly wary, before she bent down to pick up this mysterious paper.
The paper was a simple square, folded over once. The outside was blank, with no address, nor any wax to seal it. Her heart beat faster as she unfolded it.
I’m glad you found my boy a useful guide. —Andreas