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I sip as little of the caviar-laced tea as I can without causing Cal offence, then turn talk to what the Merged are doing here.
Cindy’s smile fades. “I know he’s your friend,” she says to Inez, “but do you really think we should share this with him?”
“If we’d met by chance, I wouldn’t have involved him,” Inez says, “but while his run-in with Orlan and Argate has nothing to do with our plot, they’ve played him into our orbit and he’s part of this now.”
“How so?” Cindy frowns.
“Archie lives in London,” Inez says, “but we can’t send him back home.”
“Why not?” I ask.
Inez arches an eyebrow at me. “You said they were circling the streets, searching for you.”
“That’s what they told me,” I nod.
“Do you think they’ll quit now that you’ve given them the slip,” she continues, “or return to London to search for you again?”
I hadn’t considered that.
“Rachel and George,” I whisper. “I can’t disappear again without telling them...”
Inez shrugs. “You can go back if you like, but I’d suggest you give London a wide berth for now. It’s not safe for you there, and it won’t be safe for your foster parents either if the killers catch you while you’re with them.”
I gulp. “Could I ring and...?” I stop, not knowing what I’d say to them.
“You reached out to me, even if it was subconsciously,” Inez says softly. “I’m happy to shelter you, but you’ll have to stick with me if you want my protection, and my journey’s about to take me back to the Merge. Do you want to come or not?”
I’m torn. I long to return to the Merge, but if I go, there’s no telling when I’ll make it back, or even if I will, as I get the sense that Inez is involved in another dangerous mission.
“It’s not his call to make,” Cindy says coldly. “I decide who joins us or not.”
“That’s true,” Inez says, “but if you reject Archie, I’ll rule myself out too.”
“But you already agreed to help,” Cindy yelps.
“Friendship comes before everything else,” Inez says.
Cindy gawps at Inez, then studies me suspiciously. Finally she sighs. “Fine. If he wants in, he’s in.”
“Archie?” Inez says. “Do you want to go home or stick with us?”
“It depends,” I say quietly.
“On what?” Inez asks.
“What I’d be getting into,” I tell her. “Why are you here with Ghita and Hugo? Who’s Cindy? What’s the deal?”
“Well, in short,” Inez says, “we want to protect a prince and save a realm from forcefully falling under the control of the SubMerged.” She laughs, pokes me in the ribs with an elbow, and adds, “You know — the usual.”
When we’ve stopped chuckling, Inez nods at Cindy, who explains.
“I’m one of Queen Malina’s envoys,” she says. “I’m like a diplomat. The queen sends me in her place when there’s a delicate matter she can’t deal with personally.”
Cindy seems like an odd choice for a diplomat, but I don’t point that out.
“And Malina’s from which realm?” I ask.
Cindy looks at Inez with incredulity.
Inez shrugs and says, “Archie’s been to Diamond and Sapphire, and knows a little of those places, but almost nothing about the rest of the Merge.”
“All the more reason not to involve him,” Cindy grumbles, but when Inez’s eyes narrow, she relents and says, “Malina’s from Topaz.”
“There’s a lot of ice in Topaz, right?” I say, recalling Winston mentioning it.
“The boy’s a genius,” Cindy remarks to the room at large.
“Be nice,” Ghita tuts, and gives my knee a comforting squeeze. As before, that makes me tingle, and I have to force myself to focus on what Cindy’s saying.
“There are seven royals in Topaz,” Cindy goes on. “King Sheng, Queens Suqi and Malina are Merged. Kings Oki and Joona, and Queen Gaia are SubMerged.”
“An even split,” Hugo says grimly.
“Then there’s Prince Hiroto,” Cindy says. “He’s a lovely boy who’s only been in the Merge a handful of years.”
“He’s being raised by all the royals,” Ghita says. “That’s what happens when a young Family member’s brought to a realm. Every royal has the right to educate and influence them, to try and convince the newcomer that their way is best.”
“When does the child get to choose?” I ask.
“It varies from Family to Family,” Ghita says, “but usually after twenty or thirty years.”
“We have high hopes for Hiroto,” Cindy says. “He’s close to Gaia, but leans more towards the Merged in his general outlook.”
“Sensible boy,” I smile.
“But he’s too open about his intentions,” Inez sniffs.
“Malina had a spy in Reap, the SubMerged capital,” Cindy says. “An agent who’d been there a long time and worked his way up the ranks. He’d become a trusted advisor to a duke who was a member of the Dictate, the governing body in Ruby. Just over a year ago, he got word that plans were afoot to target a pair of young royals, to try and turn their realms’ alignment.”
“I was one of them,” Ghita says sombrely. “Malina was the person who warned me of the threat and told me to go on the run. If not for her, I’d have fallen to Orlan and Argate months ahead of the vote.”
“The threat to Hiroto wasn’t as imminent,” Cindy says. “According to Malina’s source, they were still judging him, and were going to allow Gaia a few more years to work on him. But if, at that time, they felt he was wavering, they were going to ensure he never got a chance to decisively side with the Merged.”
“So if it looks like he might align himself with the Merged, they’re going to kill him?” I whisper, eyes growing round.
Cindy nods grimly. “Like they would have killed Malina’s spy,” she says. “It became clear to the plotters, when Ghita went on the run, that they had a mole. They started aggressively going through their ranks to root him out. He knew it was only a matter of time before they unearthed him and found out all that he knew, so he...”
She stops, takes a breath, then draws a finger across her throat.
“We’re lucky they haven’t fast-forwarded their plan for Hiroto,” Ghita says. “They could have decided to kill him ahead of time, in case the spy had told Malina about their designs for him.”
“But they can’t be sure if he knew that Hiroto was being targeted too,” Cindy says. “Malina has been careful to give nothing away. She hasn’t arranged extra protection for the prince, or acted as if she’s worried about him. It seems to have worked, so we think we still have a couple of years to play with.”
“Why are they doing this now?” I ask. “If he doesn’t have to make a call on his alignment for another twenty or twenty-five years, what’s the rush?”
“It’s because of Suqi,” Inez explains. “She’s switched alignment before, and they’re hopeful she’ll do it again. She sided with the SubMerged in her youth, then had a change of heart, but they’ve been courting her heavily in recent years, and it looks like she’s close to rejoining them.”
“If that’s the case, why bother with the prince?” I ask. “If Suqi takes their side, there’d be four SubMerged royals out of seven. They can call for a vote and change the realm’s alignment then, can’t they?”
“He’s not so ignorant after all,” Cindy grins.
“Archibald?” Cal snorts. “Ignorant? You’d struggle to find a sharper boy.”
“The SubMerged will gain the upper hand if Suqi swaps allegiance,” Cindy says.
“But it will be a slender majority,” Ghita says.
“And Suqi could switch again,” Cindy sighs. “She’s always blown this way and that. If Hiroto sides with the Merged, they’d regain their majority if Suqi returned to the fold. But if Hiroto was out of the equation...”
“...the realm would stay aligned to the SubMerged,” I murmur.
“Exactly,” Cindy says. “If Suqi joins the SubMerged and Hiroto’s killed in an accident, it won’t matter if Suqi becomes Merged again. The realm will remain under the control of the SubMerged as long as it’s three royals against three.”
“Wouldn’t there be uproar if a prince was killed?” I ask.
“Only if we could prove that foul play was involved,” Cindy says. “Even then it probably wouldn’t make a difference. Suqi would be horrified, but we think Oki, Joona and Gaia would overlook it, and since the rule of the royals has to be obeyed, we’d have to accept the situation.”
“It would be hellish for the poor Topazers,” Cal rumbles.
“Yes,” Cindy says bleakly. “And Malina thinks it’s a hell we’re destined to face unless we – the people in this room – can stop it. That’s why I was so reluctant to tell you any of this, Archie, because of what’s at stake.”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” I assure her. “I won’t breathe a word to anyone.”
“I want to believe that,” Cindy says, but I can see that she’s troubled.
“I was in Topaz on business,” Inez says after an uncomfortable pause. “Malina’s been counterplotting for a while and had drawn up a shortlist of camels. I was the first who happened to pass her way.”
“You’re underselling yourself,” Cindy smiles. “You were her number one choice. You saved one endangered royal last year. She trusts you to save the other too.”
“Either way,” Inez sniffs, “I heard her out, agreed to sign up for the job, and smuggled Cindy out of Niffelheim.”
“That’s the realm’s capital,” Cal informs me.
“People think she’s on a spiritual retreat,” Inez says.
Cindy laughs when I cock an eyebrow. “It doesn’t seem likely, huh?”
“Inez arranged this meeting so that Cindy could tell Ghita and me about Malina’s plan, and seek our backing,” Hugo says.
“They took some persuading,” Cindy says.
“I’m still not convinced we’re doing the right thing,” Hugo mutters.
I frown and ask, “What does the queen want to do?”
Cindy gulps and looks at Inez, who nods firmly. Cindy scowls, then says, “Malina wants Hugo to kidnap Hiroto and raise him in Sapphire.”
I gawp with shock. “She wants you to kidnap a child?” I ask Hugo.
“I know,” he grumbles. “It sounded crazy to me too.”
“It’s not a normal kidnapping,” Cindy assures me. “We won’t brainwash him, and when he’s old enough to make an informed decision, he’ll be given the option to return to Topaz. We won’t hold him against his will.”
“I don’t get it,” I say. “Why not kidnap him herself? Why ask Hugo for help?”
“Devisers are loyal to Family,” Inez reminds me. “If Malina tried to hide Hiroto in Topaz, Oki and the others would force their devisers to unravel the realm in search of him.”
“Whereas in Sapphire,” Hugo says, “the devisers are loyal to me.”
“But they have to do what Pitina and Farkas tell them, too, don’t they?” I ask.
“Only as long as it doesn’t rub against the grain of the Merged,” Ghita says.
“What does that mean?” I blink.
“Sapphire’s a Merged realm,” Ghita says. “If Farkas wanted a deviser to build a zone of fire, to incinerate people he didn’t like, the deviser could refuse, since that’s not in keeping with Merged laws.”
“Pitina and Farkas can’t force our devisers to target me,” Hugo says. “If they’d won the vote last year, I’d be theirs for the taking, but they didn’t, so they have to play by our rules. I’ll hole up in a kingdom with the prince, guarded by some of the best devisers in the realm, and nobody will be able to strike us there.”
“If we could rely on Suqi, Malina could do that in Topaz,” Cindy says, “but if Suqi throws in with the SubMerged and they call for a vote of alignment, then Malina and Hiroto would be fair game.”
“Won’t it lead to war?” I ask. “Between Topaz and Sapphire?”
“It would if I kidnapped him off my own bat,” Hugo says, “but Malina will make it clear that this was her call, which means it’ll be an internal matter. I’ll simply be keeping him safe on her orders.”
“If Suqi switches sides and they push for an invasion, Malina and Sheng will side with the Sapphirites,” Cindy says. “That would lead to a civil war if push came to shove. We’re gambling that our SubMerged royals don’t want to tear the realm apart, and we don’t think they will, if we can assure them of Hiroto’s safety, and that we’ll respect his right to choose his own alignment when he comes of age.”
“I don’t know,” I say uneasily. “It still seems wrong, kidnapping a boy.”
“That was my feeling too,” Hugo says softly, “but if it’s to save his life...”
“It’s a frightening thing, knowing someone wants to kill you,” Ghita says quietly. “It’s even more frightening knowing they can.”
“Tell me about it,” I sigh, recalling my recent run-in with Orlan and Argate. Then I cock an eyebrow at her. “You think this is OK?” I ask.
She grimaces. “I wouldn’t say OK, but I trust Malina, and if she believes this is the best way to protect him, then I’m in favour.”
Hugo shakes his head glumly. “I still have reservations. All other considerations aside, this will tie me to the Merge for a decade or two, when I was looking forward to spending some quality time in the Born.”
“But you’re still in, right?” Cindy presses.
“I suppose so, yeah,” Hugo says reluctantly.
“Beyond,” Cindy beams and gets to her feet. “Then let’s cross.”
“Now?” Hugo blinks. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“Orlan Stiletto and Argate Axe are in Moscow,” Cindy reminds him. “I don’t want to stay here a second longer than necessary.”
“When you put it that way...” Hugo says sourly, and stands.
“Wait a minute,” Inez stops them. “There’s one more thing before we leave.” She turns to Cal. “Can you play grop, even though you only have eight fingers?”
Cal gawps at the bizarre question, but pulls at his moustache and considers his answer. “I don’t see why not,” he says. “As a blocker, I only rarely have to handle the grop, just knock people over and pin them down, and I can do that just as well with eight fingers as ten.”
“Then I’d like you to be part of this too,” Inez says.
“Me?” he splutters.
“I know you’re Ghita’s bodyguard,” Inez says, “but if she clears you to come with us, would you be willing to help?”
“How could I?” he asks. “I’ve never kidnapped anyone before.”
Inez laughs. “It’s a first for all of us, but we might need some muscle, and I know the perfect way to have you close to hand. Trust me, you’ll have fun if you agree.”
Cal strokes his moustache uncertainly. “I don’t want the prince to come to harm,” he says, “but Ghita needs protection too.”
“I’ll be alright,” she smiles. “I got along fine for a long time without a personal bodyguard.”
“That was before the SubMerged targeted you,” Cal says. “Times have changed.”
Ghita starts to argue, then stops. “You’re right. I’d be crazy if I let you off and stayed here by myself. In that case...” She rises.
“You want to come with us too?” I ask, not unhappy at the thought of spending more time with the pretty princess.
“Are you crazy?” she hoots. “You guys will almost certainly be captured, tortured and killed.” She giggles when I blanch. “Relax, I’m kidding. But it wouldn’t be right to gamble my life as well as Hugo’s, and besides, somebody needs to stay on the touchline to help you guys if you run into difficulties. So I’ll hole up where there are loads of guards to protect me. Agreed?”
She looks questioningly at Cal, who chews his lip, then grunts, “Agreed.”
“Topaz here we come,” I say nervously, but Inez shakes her head.
“We’re not going to Topaz yet,” she says.
“No?” I frown. “Then where are we going?”
“To a place where I’ll be safe,” Ghita says, “and where the rest of you can link up with the group that you’ll be travelling with.” She smiles when I stare at her blankly, and says softly, “Sapphire, Archie. We’re going back to Sapphire.”