Page 41 of Mistress of Bones

XXVIII

AZUL

Azul was still thinking about her conversation with the emissary a few hours later, when Nereida knocked on her bedroom door and suggested they go out for a stroll.

Azul accepted immediately, glad to have an excuse to get out of the house and away from Virel Enjul. She had meant to infuriate him in the parlor downstairs, to rattle the invisible emissary mask he hid behind, but all she had gained was the disturbing knowledge that he was human after all.

What kind of man would the Emissary of the Lord Death be if the god and his Order hadn’t gotten their claws into him?

Azul yearned to know.

Ever since their talk outside the City Guard’s headquarters, a part of Azul had been looking forward to another encounter.

No, even before that—ever since they had struck their bargain at the ambassador’s house.

It had been exhilarating, the rapid exchange of words, of ideas.

It was a game—or a contest—to see who could put a chink in the other’s belief.

And, oh, how Azul had missed someone to play games with, a constant, dependable companion in life as well as her heart.

And constant the emissary would be; of that, she was certain. From now until the end of her days, the man would chain himself to her side.

It might not be so bad.

Admittedly, it would be much better than ending up chained in the Order’s dank cellars.

Azul hastened her steps to match Nereida’s, whose idea of a stroll was all but a jog. But then, Nereida wasn’t here for leisure, was she? So, neither was this walk leisurely.

They crossed a bridge, then turned into an alleyway that spat them onto a rare patch of greenery by the riverbank—a space no bigger than the guest bedrooms at Almanueva, filled with soil and grass, with a lone tree growing at its center, its foliage still sporting the green lushness of spring.

To their right, another bridge crossed the narrow stretch of water, and the opposite bank was nothing but houses made of gray stone walls.

Someone had painted a mural of the Lady Dream on one, golden yellows and pastel browns a contrast with the gray of the stone.

The goddess’s blue eyes appeared fixed on Azul no matter how much she shifted position, casting judgment upon her.

And for the first time, the thought occurred to her that she did not want to pray to such a judgmental god, so she turned her back to the mural and the river, with its soothing murmur, its dank smell, and the remains of bright blue Anchor blinking from its bottom.

Several paces away, from inside a passageway, her shadow tipped his hat in salute.

Nereida gave him her back. “I have found you a way inside the ossuary.”

Azul fought not to gasp. After a smile to her shadow, she also averted her face. “Just me?”

“I have no need to go inside.”

“But the person you wish me to bring back?”

“Do not concern yourself with that, Del Arroyo.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Azul’s gaze drifted to the goddess’s mural, and she cursed herself for the turn of phrase. “How will I get inside, then?”

She daren’t believe that the time to bring Isadora back to her side was at hand. She had grown complacent, focusing so much on these games of cat and mouse with Enjul, the reason for her being in Cienpuentes had faded into memory.

No longer.

“Someone will come to you during Noche Verde and get you inside,” Nereida said.

“You trust this person?”

“Yes.”

“Who are they?” Azul pressed.

Nereida’s eyes grew a faraway look. “Miguel Esparza, an old friend of my sister’s.”

Azul recalled their conversation back in Del Valle’s guest bedroom in Monteverde. “You have a sister and a brother.”

“I do.” Nereida’s voice had become strange, but Azul couldn’t tell if that was because she missed her siblings or because she did not.

“Are they in Cienpuentes?”

“One moved away a year ago, the other remains here in Cienpuentes.”

The words were stilted now, and Azul was surprised they were coming out at all. Nereida was a book with multiple locks.

“I am glad you have them with you,” she said. “Losing a sister… I would not wish it on anyone.”

“But you have so many to choose from,” came the reply, sharp and meant to sting, although Azul couldn’t fathom why.

Surprised, she studied Nereida’s expression. It gave nothing away. Those cool green eyes met hers, and Azul lowered her head.

“Forgive me… Azul. I shouldn’t have spoken so.

” Nereida’s attention drifted toward the river again.

“My siblings and I haven’t always gotten along.

It’s hard when you grow up with so many of them.

I sometimes envy your position—having one sibling by your side, but with so many available should the need arise. ”

Azul could barely swallow a bitter laugh. “That’s not how it works, is it? A sibling you have never met might as well be a stranger. What bond is there? They’re not interchangeable dolls.”

“De Gracia seems to hold you in high esteem.”

“He has known about my existence for years.”

“Do your other half siblings not know of you?”

Azul gave in to a sudden impulse and crouched to run her hands through the patch of grass by her boots, sinking her fingers into damp soil. Someone must come to water the grass regularly, she realized, for it hadn’t rained since they got to town.

“In truth, I do not know whether they do or not,” she answered.

“I know about them because it’s hard not to know where one’s mother disappears to for months at a time.

” Not when your tutor tells you to write letters to her and shows you how to address them.

Not when that tutor gossips with the cook or other temporary help over the latest rich family in need of a child but unable to bring one to term.

“But my half siblings? I assume most of them are raised to believe they’re fully their parents’ children. ”

She stood and fixed a wicked smiled on Nereida. “ You could be my half sister, and you might never know it.”

“The gods wouldn’t be that mean.”

“Are you sure? I bet you have been remiss in your prayers.”

Nereida barked a laugh. “You might be correct on that. It has been a while since I thought they looked after me at all.”

Azul couldn’t help but look at the mural. “I often wonder the same. I often wonder if they ever looked after us.”

After all, didn’t some tales say they regretted giving up their bones? Hadn’t the Lord Death stolen her sister—twice?

“The gods look after each other,” Nereida agreed, “so we must look out for our own. Will you be able to get away from your escort on Noche Verde?”

“Yes,” Azul said.

Nereida did not appear to doubt her. Having siblings of her own, she must know Azul would do whatever it took to see Isadora again.

“You never told me who you want me to bring back,” she said.

“And I don’t mean to.”

“I will find out when it’s time to raise them.”

“Something for you to look forward to.”

Azul half expected Nereida to turn on her heel at those words and stride away, but she stayed put. Perhaps this little nook of greenery reminded her of home, as it did Azul.

“Your family isn’t from Cienpuentes, is it?” Azul asked.

“I grew up in the northern countryside.”

“Temple school?”

“For three years.”

“Isadora went to one too,” Azul murmured. For the first time since Diel, memories of her sister didn’t induce a pang of grief. Just the bittersweet aftertaste of things once held dear. “One of Mother’s clients’ gift.”

“Not you?”

“I was left behind in Agunción.”

“I wish I had been left behind at home too.”

The words were sour and full of regret, and Azul found them surprising.

Isadora had been sorry to be away from Azul, but she enjoyed her time at the Temple immensely.

Nereida looked like the kind of person who would have enjoyed her time there—hadn’t she been a star at court?

The queen’s very mistress? “Is it because of the queen?”

Nereida frowned in confusion. “The queen?”

“Her death…”

A short laugh. “The queen and I did not last that long.” The words didn’t have any bite to them or any resentment. However their parting had come to pass, it wasn’t the drama Azul had expected given the rumors.

“I was looking for excitement,” Nereida continued, her gaze growing distant, “and she offered me a world as bright as all the Anchor in the continents. I thought I was prepared for the court, but the fever of being chosen caught me off guard.” Nereida shook her head.

“We burned like the strongest of flames, but there was no real depth to it. It was never meant to endure. We both knew it, I think, but decided to enjoy ourselves nonetheless.”

“Were you with her when she died?” Azul couldn’t resist asking.

“No. Our affair had been over by then.”

Something in Nereida’s tone told Azul she was done talking about that matter, so she returned to their previous subject. “Then why do you wish you had stayed home?”

“It would’ve given me more time with my family,” she said simply.

“You are young—there is still time to find them. Go visit your sister, go talk to your brother.”

At least you still have them.

“I might.”

“Is your brother still here? Does he belong to the court?”

Nereida’s countenance grew dark, and Azul guessed the two hadn’t parted on good terms, as happened with siblings sometimes. “Is he younger than you?”

“Older by a year.”

“Being a younger sister can be hard,” Azul said. “Sometimes it’s like you are the older one, for they refuse to look after themselves.”

Nereida nodded, her voice strange and wistful as she responded, “You grow tired of checking in with them, so you look away, and when you next glance back, there is nothing to find but razed ground.”

“Yes. A heartbeat away from your attention, and everything you know is gone.” Azul blinked away the sudden burning in her eyes, wondering what had happened to Nereida and her siblings that she could speak Azul’s feelings with so much precision.

But she knew Nereida would not share, so she asked instead, “Do you miss being at court?”

“No.”

“You won’t return after we’re done?”

“No.”

“What will you do?”

“Not be in the court.”

It was Azul’s turn to laugh. “Will your contact come to me before we arrive at the first ball?”

“Yes. While you’re on the way.” Nereida gave her a sidelong glance, her gaze resting on Isadora’s Anchor earring. “The court is bright like the stars, like Anchor itself, but it has mined anything good it ever had to offer. There is little joy to be found there.”

“Then why did you stay after the queen’s death?” Azul asked, full of curiosity.

“I wasn’t done with the court then.”

Nereida’s tone spoke of harsh satisfaction, and a shiver of apprehension ran down Azul’s back. “And you are now?”

Nereida’s smile was all teeth and full of dark promise. “Yes.”