'Don't give us away, Piro,' Isolt pleaded.
'Of course not.' But they didn't trust her and this hurt. They should have asked her to come with them.
'I must go.' Isolt slipped a jar of wyvern-nip in her basket then clicked her tongue to call Loyalty. The wyvern scrambled over, reared up on her hind legs and put her front paws on Isolt's shoulders, nuzzling her neck.
Isolt laughed. 'She knows it's time for a swim.'
The wyvern sank to her feet and padded to the door. Isolt looked over at Piro, troubled. 'I don't want you to get in trouble with the mage because of us. Pretend you didn't know our plans.'
Piro could not think of a thing to say as Isolt slipped away. Right up until the door closed, she had been expecting Isolt to ask her to come along.
Tears stung Piro's eyes.
Byren and Fyn needed her. They all needed her. Surely this was a nexus point? She was not going to be left behind.
Piro blinked her tears away and darted out into the corridor. Down the spiral stairs she went until she reached the landing where the stairs split. One branch went to the kitchen, the other went far below to the grotto.
There was a sound behind her. Piro spun in time to see Ovido run away. She cursed. He would report to Tyro. Even if Tyro did not suspect, he might come down to the grotto to picnic with them, and that would spoil everything.
Piro ran after Ovido, but the boy knew shortcuts and by the time she reached the war table chamber, he was already at the door. With a grin of victory he slipped inside.
Piro heard Tyro's amused voice. 'Yes, Ovido?'
'Isolt goes to the grotto.'
Piro entered in time to see Tyro leaning over his war table. He held a piece as if he had been about to move it. Piro would not let herself look at her piece.
'Go play, Ovido.' Tyro dismissed him.
Now that Tyro knew they were going down to the grotto he would suspect something if she didn't invite him. But he looked too preoccupied to join them, so she took a gamble. 'Isolt and I are going to spend the morning in the grotto. Would you like to have lunch with us?'
Tyro glanced at Piro, taking in her open sandals, light muslin tunic, her hair loose to her waist. 'Tempting as that offer is, I must refuse. I have work to do. Come closer.'
Piro stepped forwards, determined not to let him see through her.
'Can I trust you, Piro?'
She went cold. 'I haven't told Fyn and Isolt about you.'
'No. Perhaps I should ask if you trust me?'
'Should I?'
He laughed softly. 'Good answer.' Then he grew serious as he removed the chain from around his neck, bringing the amber pendant into the light. Her mouth went dry with fear and she tried to draw back. He caught her hand, his eyes holding a plea.
'When I created this, I did not know the Piro I now know.' He turned her hand over, putting the amber in her palm. 'Accept it with my apologies.'
She lifted the chain so that the stone swung. Holding it to the light she expected to see herself trapped inside. Instead she saw an innocent air bubble. She gasped.
'It was illusion, Piro. I used the starkiss-scented candles to lower your resistance. I needed a way to keep you by my side, so I could ensure your safety. It was for your own protection but, by doing this, I forfeited your trust.'
She stared at the amber. She had never been trapped. A rush of anger filled her. She hated being manipulated.
'Stay with me today, Piro.'
Startled by the change of subject, she met his eyes. They were too searching. For her own protection, she pulled back. 'I can't stay. And I don't want this either.' She dropped the stone and its chain onto the war table. 'I don't like being tricked.'
'Then I have played the game badly.'
Piro turned on her heel and left him.
Fyn leant his head against the cold wall of the landing. The smell of savoury pastries wafted up one stairwell. Isolt had gone down the other stair. Despite promising otherwise, he was going to leave without her.
Last night he had tossed and turned, too troubled to sleep. It was wrong of him to take Isolt along just because he wanted her by his side. She was safer on Mage Isle. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.
Even if she was furious with him, he had to tell her before he left. He could not leave her waiting in the grotto for him, that would be too cruel.
Feet heavy with reluctance, Fyn padded down to the steps to the grotto, where he found Isolt paddling her feet while the wyvern frolicked in the water.
A pearly light made the limestone walls of the grotto glow, made Isolt's skin translucent and her eyes luminous. And he was going to refuse her. Fyn hardened his heart.
She sprang to her feet. 'I thought you were bringing a boat. I'm ready. I've brought the wyvern-nip but no clothes. I can wear yours and roll up the legs… What's wrong?'
'I'm not here to take you with me. I'm here to say goodbye.'
'No, Fyn!' She ran up the grotto's shallow steps to the entrance where he stood. 'Don't go without me. You could be killed.'
'I can't leave Byren to die, and I can't take you into danger.'
'You can't take me into…' Her eyes widened. 'How dare you decide my fate, marrying me off to your brother to save his kingdom? Maybe I want to make my own future!'
Fyn shook his head. 'I won't take you.'
Isolt's eyes blazed.
He was sure she hated him. It was for the best. Without a word he turned and left, striding up the stairs.
So deep in thought was he, he almost did not hear someone running down the steps. There was just time to duck into a storeroom doorway before Piro flew past him, hair streaming behind her.
What was she up to now? Silly little Piro.
Piro jumped down the last two steps into the grotto, expecting to find it empty, but Isolt was there by the pool with the wyvern's head in her lap, weeping silently.
Isolt turned at the sound of Piro's feet, her face awash with tears. When she saw who it was, she looked away, clearly disappointed.
'He didn't come?' Piro asked.
'He came to tell me he would not take me.' Isolt's voice grew thin with anger. ' Too dangerous, he said. But the real reason is that he sees me only as a prize. Fyn meant to use me in his game of Kingdoms, just like all the others. And I thought he was different!'
'Fyn is different.' Piro knelt beside her. 'I'm sure he was thinking only of your safety.'
Isolt wiped the tears from her cheeks with tight, angry gestures and stared across the pool, refusing to meet Piro's eyes.
'Look!' Her lips parted hopefully.
Piro followed her gaze. A shadow appeared in the low arched entrance to the Ring Sea. A small boat was riding the gentle swell into the grotto.
'Fyn?' Isolt stood and ran around the pool's edge.
Piro followed. Loyalty whined uneasily.
On the next up-swell, the boat slid into the grotto and four men lifted their heads. They were not Captain Nefysto's sea-hounds. Piro had a bad feeling as two of them swung coils of rope. With a powerful stroke of the oars, the oarsman drove the boat across the pool, reaching the far side. The men climbed out, blocking off their escape.
Piro glanced to the arch — could they swim for it?
Isolt made a dash, clicking her tongue for the wyvern. A man confronted her. The wyvern reared on her back legs, roaring. The skin on Piro's arm's lifted in primal response.
The first man grabbed Isolt as she tried to duck under his arm. Loyalty leapt for him. A second man stepped in front and slashed at the wyvern, who squealed in pain and writhed in mid-air, falling with a splash into the pool.
Isolt screamed. Her captor covered her mouth. She bit his hand, and he cuffed her over the head, stunning her. His companion hefted her over his shoulder.
Piro jumped on his back, knocking him sideways. He almost fell in the pool. Someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her off him. She tossed her head back into his face, heard a satisfying crunch of bone. Her feet were off the ground and she swung them hard, connecting with her captor's shins. He grunted in pain. They already had Isolt in the boat.