Page 53 of A Steeping of Blood
In the distance, coconut trees leaned toward the sun, monkeys darted into the foliage. She could hear the trumpet of an elephant, the snorting of oxen. There were hens and cows loitering down one of the dirt roads that wound toward houses, and a river where women were gossiping while washing clothes. She glanced down at the shine of her polished shoes, her tweed suit, the thread work that was Ettenian through and through. Even the hat on her head was more Ettenian than she could ever be. More Ettenian than she everwantedto be.
And to think, she had regretted wearing a sari that matched her mother’s. And to think, she had, in some minute way, attributed her failure that night to her heritage. She clutched her anger as if it was a rope and she was hanging on for dear life. Better anger than sorrow. Better rage than pain. Better vengeance than anguish.
Ettenia had forced its way upon her. She never asked to be taken away to Ettenian shores. She never wanted to forge a life for herself in a foreign land. She never asked them to destroy her life and her country.
“Thompson & Thompson Grocers?” Jin sputtered and listed out the rest of the Ettenian storefronts he recognized. “Edith’s Spools, Beautiful For Ever—they’ve gotten comfy.”
Arthie said nothing. Beyond the shops and Ettenian replications, there were stacks and stacks of crates waiting to be loaded into the ships crowding the harbor. She could read the name spelled across a fanciful banner even from a distance.
EAST JEEVANT COMPANY GOODS
“Are you all right?” Matteo asked.
“Just fine,” Arthie said, her tone clipped as she refused to dwell on her emotions, refusing to do anything but focus on their goal.
Still, she made the mistake of meeting his eyes. He stepped closer, enveloping her in his scent. “If you could use a distraction, just let me know.”
Arthie glared, drawing a laugh out of him that she devoured as eagerly as one who was starved.
Jin was watching the exchange but knew better than to voice his thoughts. “I don’t see the fortress. Maybe we deciphered it wrong?” He froze and panic flared in his gaze. “What if Flick’s cipher is wrong? What if some of her other findings are wrong too? What—”
Arthie pulled him down to a crouch. “Beyond the trees. There.”
She gestured to the massive, sprawling stronghold farther inland, just behind the port city, gray-brown stones rising at a slant to parapets. It was difficult to see at first, blending into the wildlife, but once one saw it, it was impossible not to.
The fort was built along the adjacent sea line. Cannons jutted out of windows, ready to protect what was theirs. She bit back a snort. A lighthouse rose toward the sea. Closer, a clock tower with a face in bold black counted away the minutes. Flags had been planted at intervals along the parapet. Not a single one of them was Ceylani.
“It’s a lot larger than I thought it would be,” Matteo said. “Then again, I’d never seen a fortress.”
“And a lot more fortified,” Jin said. What did either of them thinka fortress would be? “Perfect place for a sanatorium to house vampires—if one escapes, they can cordon it off.”
“How do you reckonwe’llget inside it, then?” Matteo asked.
As they watched, gates rattled open for a line of carriages and a bullock cart. Each was blanketed in black coverings, rocking beneath weighty contents. The Ram wouldn’t have built the fort for the vampires alone. It wasmassive, and she wasn’t one to waste an opportunity. The place likely housed everything she wanted protected for her colony. The silver sigil embroidered on the carriages was familiar, as were the men in charge:Horned Guards.
They inspected each one and the gates immediately rolled closed once they’d passed within.
“That’s how we’ll get in,” Arthie said.
Jin twirled his umbrella. “I’ve always wanted to commandeer a carriage.”
16JIN
Jin thought Arthie’s plan was simple enough, but the heat made everything sound laborious: Track down a Horned Guard carriage, commandeer it, sneak through the fortress gates. Still, he couldn’t complain, for it served as a grand distraction from Flick, and the deep-seated ache he felt from being so far from her.
He had vowed not to worry for her welfare, but that didn’t make it easy. She was capable, and she was armed, he told himself. She could handle whatever was thrown her way.
They stumbled down the hillside—he and Matteo did, anyway. Arthie navigated the brush like she had lived in it her entire life. Half was just as long, he supposed. As they neared, the township seemed to grow exponentially, spanning roughly a quarter of the size of White Roaring.
“I could probably pick the gate’s lock if we can’t find a carriage,” Jin said. He’d picked all sorts of locks. There was even that one time on Imperial Square where, long story short, a wealthy—for it was always the wealthy—lord had locked him in a cage in his bedroom.
“I’m sure we can ask the guards to hold on while you do,” Arthie said cheerily.
“Oh, how I missed your commentary, sister,” Jin replied.
“A tea shop!” Matteo said. It was more of a hut, really. And not even staffed by a Ceylani. He grimaced. “Truly puts Spindrift to shame, eh?”
As if conjured by his words, Jin could smell a perfectly brewed cup of Lady Slate with a raspberry streusel on the side. He ignored the flop in his stomach. He didn’t need a reminder of what he couldn’t consume anymore.
