I blush and revisit his previous question. The First and the Seventh, I think. There aren’t any representatives from those Reflections.
“Precisely.” From the corner of my vision I catch the crook of Ky’s mouth twitch. His eyes are for the countess alone, but that smile is all mine. “The Garden of Epoch spans between the Seventh and First. The Seventh is said to be the only way into the First aside from death.”
“The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning . . .” Dimitri’s words play across my Scrib memory.
Was he on to something? The whole “time is a loop” thing? Are the Reflections a loop as well?
“That’s what they say.”
Excuse me. I wasn’t thinking to you.
“We’ll have to work on that one then.” Another knock to my knee. “You need to learn to control what I can and can’t hear. Not that I want you to.” I can’t view his full face, but I swear if we were alone he’d be wiggling his eyebrows right about now.
How do you know so much about this? I watch the council exchange words back and forth, but it’s like they’re on mute. Their mouths move, but the only voice I hear is Ky’s.
“Didn’t your mom ever read you Fairy tales as a kid?”
What, like Snow White and Cinderella?
The most indistinguishable shake of his head. He rests the arm opposite me on the table. “More like Lament of the Fairy Queen and The Scrib’s Fate.”
Is he joking? My mom didn’t want me to know anything about the Reflections. She pretty much stuck to normal, Third-type stuff.
Beardy pounds his gargantuan fist on the table.
I jump out of my head—Ky’s head—and back into the present.
“I’m no fool,” the man says. “Give it to me straight. What are we up against?”
“Now, now, Isaach.” The countess lifts her hands, palms out, surrender style. “Let’s remain civil.”
“We ain’t got time for civil, woman.” Another fist pound. If the countess is bothered by his disrespect, her face gives nothing away. “Time’s a wastin’. I forfeited a Unicorn Joust to be here.”
Unicorn Joust? Really?
“Isaach, please,” the dwarf woman—Odessa—says. “Let us hear what Ambrose has to say.”
“My sister and I agree.” The older gentleman raises a hand as if to second a motion. “Go on, Ambrose.”
Isaach grunts, crosses his arms, and burrows down into his chair.
Odessa folds her hands on the table and nods for the countess to continue.
“As I was saying, David and his partner, Gage, are nowhere to be found.”
My insides flip. So it is true. Joshua and Gage were together. Double ugh.
“Fortunately, I would never keep the real Midnight Rose on display for all to see. The one David took was a decoy, which only proves the Void is messing with his mind. He’s smart, so he should’ve figured out it would not be so easy to steal from me. It won’t be long, however, before he discovers it is, in fact, a counterfeit.” Her grin holds a childlike mischief. It’s hard to see her as the cold woman I met upon our arrival. “Anyone after that particular rose would be seeking to use its properties straightaway, especially with a mere three Callings remaining functional.”
“What does it do?” Khloe sits on her knees, bouncing like a kid eager for recess.
The countess either ignores my sister’s question or doesn’t hear it. I’m inclined to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. I have a feeling it’s the former though. My curiosity gets the better of me. I will my thoughts toward Ky.
“I’ve no idea what it does,” he thinks.
And here I thought you knew everything.
“Very funny, sassy pants.”
“We must move forward.” Ambrose rests her attention on Ky and he shifts. Sits a little taller. “Kyaphus, upon your last visit you informed me you seek information regarding the origins of the Void.” She makes eye contact with each crew member in turn. “Am I correct in assuming your entourage is up-to-date on things to this point?”
“Go on.” Gunner waves a hand dismissively. “We’ve seen Captain Warren—er, Kyaphus? . . . Sorry, weird name, bro—has been touched by the Void. And we don’t care. He’s never hurt us. We just want the treasure. Isn’t that right, Flint?” He nudges Flint, who sits one chair over, with his elbow.
“You idiot, there is no treasure. It was a cover. He was using us.” He keeps his head down, studying the table.
My pulse speeds. Can Flint be trusted? He and Ky seemed close on the ship. But now that he’s seen Ky’s secret, will he remain loyal?
“No treasure?” Gunner’s puppy dog eyes are so pathetic, I almost feel sorry for him.
“No treasure, Gun.” As she pats the kidult pirate on the back, Charley’s tone hovers between disappointment and pity.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” a new voice says from the second door. Everyone at the table transfers their gaze to where Tide stands. I’d nearly forgotten about the countess’s son. Does that make him a count then? Weird.
Tide lifts a book into the air like a trophy. “There is treasure. Just not the kind we expected.”
The countess beams. “Ah yes. I believe I’ve uncovered something but have not had the opportunity to share with my council. Please, Kyaphus, fill everyone in before we proceed.”
Ky rises, the legs of his chair scraping as he does. He shoves his hands into his pockets and makes eye contact with each person at the table just as the countess did. When he reaches me he pauses longer than necessary. “First to my crew, I sincerely apologize for keeping the true purpose of our voyage undercover. I worried you would either think I was crazy for wanting to destroy the Void—”
“Destroy the Void?” Gunner again. I suppress the far-from-professional laughter I so want to let go. “Awesome. I’m in. Where do I sign?”
“Would you be quiet?” Flint growls.
“—or not trust me because of this.” Ky holds up his right arm, still visible through his torn sleeves. The interruption doesn’t seem to have fazed him. “I was wrong to hide the truth, and for that I ask your forgiveness.”
Gunner and Tide nod. It’s Tide who says, “Yeah, man. No big deal.”
Flint continues to stare at the table. I recognize the glaze in his eyes, the hunch in his back. Because I’ve been there. He feels betrayed. It will take him time to recover.
“As Countess Ambrose here knows,” Ky goes on, “I’ve been searching for information on the origins of the Void and the Verity. There is next to nothing to be found on the subject. Those I’ve spoken with have said the Verity and the Void have always required vessels. This is how it’s always been and always will be.”
But they’re wrong. A piping hot cup of anticipation brews. Dimitri was on to something indeed. “. . . all things begin somewhere,” he wrote.
Yes. Yes, they do.