Chapter 9
9
I had Elias arrange for a convoy to escort Qian, Nix, the rest of Jade Mountain, and myself to Mount Makiling, which provided a much-needed distraction. I had one last thing to do before we left to ensure I didn’t hurt anyone while we were away, and no one could know about it.
I changed into a simple linen skirt and a soft cotton blouse and tied my hair up in a ponytail. When I glanced at myself in the mirror, I looked more like I did when I was growing up in the human world, and that was the perfect disguise from looking like a queen. For the finishing touch, I grabbed a cloak and pulled the hood over my head.
I left the palace as hastily as I could, avoiding anyone by hiding in small alcoves or behind large planters until the coast was clear. The heavy rain held most people’s heads down, focusing on not slipping and keeping the mud out of their shoes, so I was able to sneak out of the palace unseen. Sneaking around the grounds, just like how Lucas, Nix, and I had when we solved my father’s murder, used to give me a slight rush. Doing it alone now felt…wrong somehow.
The Royal Dock, despite the rain, was bustling with activity. Most of the ships waited for the storm to pass before they set sail again, so sailors sat under palm-woven lean-tos, playing cards, drinking from brown jugs, or napping until they got orders from their captains. Fortunately, no one looked my way as I headed toward one ship in particular, the Paradise . I didn’t know a lot about boats, but it was a big one, with three masts and a sirena carved into the wooden bow. Its sails had been hoisted, and it bobbed in the churning waters.
A long-haired man with an equally long sword sat near the wooden plank leading to the main deck, shielding himself from the rain with a wide-brimmed salakot perched low on his head. He looked up at me from picking some dirt out from under his fingernails with a toothpick. At least, I thought it was dirt.
The man practically snarled at me when I approached, his face twisting a long, pale scar on his cheek. He snorted and then spit a great green loogie at my feet, stopping me in my tracks. He snorted and put the toothpick in his mouth.
“What’s your business?” he asked. He didn’t recognize me.
“I need to speak with Romulo.”
“What for?” He snorted again and swallowed whatever was in his throat. Gross.
Trying not to gag, I said, “That’s between me and Romulo.”
Romulo was a smuggler, one of Lucas’s contacts. While Lucas was in charge of protecting the crown, he had to know of the black-market dealings, and when it came to dangerous and forbidden books, Romulo was his go-to source of information. For a hefty price. Lucas had hired him to find The Mysterious Properties of Magical Herbs , a reference for making all kinds of poisons. If anyone was going to have any information, Romulo was my best bet.
Romulo’s man, though, didn’t seem convinced. He scanned me up and down, still sneering. “He’s busy.”
“I can wait,” I said, and folded my arms over my chest, hoping it came off as confident.
“Be my guest.”
So that’s exactly what I did. I sat on top of a few weathered wooden crates, pulling my cloak tightly around me to block out the rain, and waited for what felt like hours, even though it was probably only twenty minutes. I was starting to get used to the smells of brine and fish guts when I heard a voice coming from the ship, getting closer. It was Romulo.
“As always, it’s a pleasure doing business, Sir Lucas.”
My heart skipped, and I lowered my head, shielding my face with my hood when I heard his name.
What was Lucas doing here? If he saw me, it could ruin everything. He’d start asking questions—questions I was absolutely not ready to answer. Plus, he’d blow my cover. I couldn’t let him notice me. I did my best to blend in with the other sailors lying about on the docks, even started swaying a little like I’d imbibed a few too many drinks at the pub, but my heart was beating furiously as I pricked my ears to listen.
Lucas’s heavy footsteps pounded on the wooden planks leading to the dock. He stepped into a puddle in front of me and turned, the stitching with the looping L on his boot unmistakable. His tone was professional when he said to Romulo, “I trust I have your discretion.”
“Of course, good sir. My discretion is as good as your gold.”
Lucas paused, probably giving Romulo a nod before he turned and walked down the dock. He didn’t break stride when he passed me, and I lifted my eyes to watch him go. He pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head and left his secret meeting with the smuggler like nothing was out of the ordinary. Of course, who was I to talk? I was going to be doing the exact same thing, but why was Lucas talking to Romulo now? What business did he have that needed such discretion?
“This one’s been waiting for you, boss,” the man with the toothpick said, and it snapped my gaze away from Lucas.
Romulo stood on the gangplank, looking exactly as I remembered him: brown skin, bald head, long, scraggly brown beard, and tattoos covering both of his arms. He wore a sleeveless jerkin and pants, and in one hand, he held a small canvas pouch. “And you are?”
I lowered my hood and stood, and at the sight of me, his expression blanched.
“You all right, boss?” the toothpick man asked.
Romulo didn’t answer. He just waved me on board.
The captain’s quarters on the ship were cramped, serving as both his room and office. His bed, raised on pulleys, hung above our heads over a large table, where a series of maps and a lumpy sizable sack sat, open and ready for business. Romulo stuffed the bag into his pocket, and it jangled, no doubt full of coins. It smelled like tobacco in here, and I did my best not to wrinkle my nose.
“What can I do for Her Royal Majesty?” Romulo asked, rolling up the maps and organizing his table.
“I was hoping you could help me.”
“Help from a simple merchant such as myself?” That was putting it nicely.
“I need a few items that I’d like to be kept…quiet.”
Romulo seemed amused. “Such as?”
“Do you have any kind of…manacles? Shackles?”
“Shackles?” The way Romulo stared at me, I knew it was an odd request. What kind of a queen ordered shackles? “None of my business to know why. Luckily for you, I’ve got some shackles on board. You know captains have needs for such things, though I rarely like to use them.”
“Are they made of iron?”
Romulo narrowed his eyes at me. “Of course. Made by the finest dwende ironworkers of Tikbalang, enchanted to fit any wrist.”
“I will take a few,” I said, though I shuddered to think what they’d been used for. But if the book said that the manananggal was vulnerable to iron, it could be enough to keep me contained if— when —I became one again.
Romulo whistled through his teeth, summoning one of his men, who fetched the shackles for me.
“Anything else I can do for you?” Romulo asked.
“Yes, actually. I was hoping you could find information. About a princess of Biringan, Yara Liliana.”
Surprisingly, Romulo seemed confused. Rarely did he not know something. “Who?”
“She was one of my ancestors. I need to know more about her.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of her.”
“It seems no one has. I discovered some discrepancies in the royal records, and I want to know why hers are missing.”
“Not sure how much I’ll be able to find if even the royal archive doesn’t have anything.”
“That’s why I came to you. If there is information about her out there, I knew you’d be the one to find it.”
Stroking his ego seemed to do the trick because a self-assured smile replaced his confusion. “Correct, Majesty. I know of a few places to start where I can loosen some tongues. Of course, you remember my services are not free.”
“I know,” I said. “You’re not going to hurt anyone, are you?”
“Of course not!” Romulo scoffed. “Finding your lost ancestor shouldn’t require too much blood to be spilled. If I haven’t heard of her, I doubt other people have, so my usual—uh— techniques would probably be unsuitable. Shouldn’t take more than a few days.”
I wasn’t sure I had a few days, but I had to believe he could get what I needed. “Okay, good.”
My eyes went to the rolled-up maps and the bulge of coins in his pocket before I said, “What were you and Lucas talking about?”
“Afraid that’s client confidentiality, Majesty,” he said, smiling. “The same courtesy, of course, would be extended to you. But it will cost you. Which I’m sure won’t be a problem for one such as yourself.”
It was true. I didn’t care about the money. And while the desire to know what business Lucas had here was almost too hard to ignore, I couldn’t push my luck with Romulo’s good graces. I needed his help, and I didn’t want to squander it now.
“Thank you, Romulo. I know you won’t disappoint,” I said.
When I returned, the caravan was waiting for me outside the palace gates, along with my bags, which Jinky had packed for me. The iron shackles weighed heavily in a rucksack slung over my shoulder. I’d stuffed my bag with spare clothes and anything else I could think of to bring with me.
Qian and his retinue had already chosen their horses and were preparing for the afternoon’s ride through the mountains with small provisions and weather gear. The mountains were known for their sudden rainfall and passing storms.
The sky above the palace had cleared up significantly. Droplets still clung to the white sampaguita blossoms and sparkled in the sunlight like diamonds. The air smelled alive, and everything looked impossibly green. It was as if the weather itself had realized we needed a break. I took it as a good sign as I walked toward the back of the caravan line.
Nix stood halfway inside a covered calesa and waved when I approached. It was a relief to see her smile. Qian’s men, on the other hand, stared at me as I passed, no doubt thinking I looked far from royal because I was still wet from the rainstorm. Qian was the only one who smiled.
“Hello, Your Majesty,” he said, and I nodded to him. I felt his eyes on me when I reached Nix.
“You’re okay riding in the calesa?” I asked her.
“Yeah,” Nix said. “Elias mentioned you requested they get your horse ready.”
I adjusted the rucksack on my shoulder. “I want to show everyone that I’m not some pushover who needs to be driven everywhere.”
Nix’s eyes narrowed when she took in my face. “Are you sure you’re okay to ride?”
She knew something was wrong. For a moment, I wondered if maybe I should tell her about what was happening to me. She’d been my friend for long enough now that I knew I could trust her, but at the same time, I didn’t want to frighten her. Before I could open my mouth, I noticed Elias and Lucas walking toward me, with Lucas leading a horse by the reins. My heart at first leapt upon seeing him, on instinct at this point, before it plummeted to my toes. Lucas being here could only mean one thing.
“You’re coming with us?” I asked him.
Elias answered instead. “Lucas is your datu. You may feel that you’re safe in a remote home in the mountains, but you still need protection.”
Lucas’s gaze captured mine momentarily before I forced myself to look away. What was he planning with Romulo? It ached not knowing. “Fine,” I conceded.
Elias sensed the tension in the air and glanced at Lucas, too. He knew all about our breakup, but it didn’t seem like Elias was at all worried about that interfering with Lucas’s duties.
Meanwhile, Lucas excused himself with a stiff bow, leading his horse toward the front of the caravan.
I thought I’d had enough to worry about. I clenched and unclenched my fists in an attempt to calm myself down, but I heard a shrill voice cut through the air.
“Wait for me!”
To my dismay, Amador came into view from around the bend, a gaggle of servants in tow, carrying a cartful of luggage. She walked ahead of the group, head held high as she led the way. She was not dressed for a journey; instead, she wore one of the finest silk dresses I’d ever seen her in.
Is she for real? I thought, then asked, “Who invited her?”
Elias said, “I did.”
“Why?”
“Members of the other courts should go, too, for diplomacy. It’s a sign of respect. The bigger the trip, the more serious you seem. It proves that you really care. And you need the full support of the kingdom to have any leverage, MJ.”
I let out a huff. This was just getting worse and worse. I chewed on the inside of my cheek and glared at Elias, but he only gave me a single raised eyebrow, as if to say, Be nice .
I took a deep, measured breath and glanced at Nix, whose cheeks had turned a bright red upon seeing Amador. The promise of a relaxing trip was crumbling down. But it was too late now. Amador was here. Not even a minute had gone by before she was already annoying me.
“Don’t tell me we’ll have to ride horses all the way there.” Amador scoffed, scowling at the dirt trail that would lead the way through the mountain.
Something horrible rose up my throat, a vicious and biting anger that made my blood boil, but I swallowed it down and forced myself to take a breath. I would not give in to this ugliness inside me, even if it tried to claw its way out and tore me apart in doing so. Those iron shackles Romulo gave me had better work. “You can ride in the calesa,” I said. Anything to make sure she was as far away from me as possible. “Or you can be dragged behind it. Your call.”
Amador’s eyes darted to Nix, still standing in the doorway of the covered calesa. Of course she would want to be in a comfortable carriage for such a long trip. I shouldn’t have subjected Nix to that kind of torture, being with Amador for a whole day, but surprisingly, Nix didn’t put up a fight.
Nix blinked, the color deepening on her cheeks, as she and Amador stared at each other. Finally, Nix mumbled, “She can ride with me if she wants. Or whatever.” She ducked inside. She must be so angry with me for offering it to Amador, but I’d make it up to her somehow.
Amador let out a haughty huh and inspected me with a pinched expression. “That will be acceptable, I suppose.”
She instructed her valets to arrange a mountain’s worth of luggage into the back of the calesa, and I was relieved to walk away from her.
Nearby, I found Lucas adjusting the stirrups on my saddle for me. He didn’t look at me while he worked, but I got the sense that he was forcing himself not to do so. His gaze was flat, like he wasn’t seeing anything at all.
“I can do it,” I told him.
“I know you can.” His hands kept moving the straps through the golden loops.
“So let me.”
“I’m making sure it’s secure.” His jaw muscles were as tight as his shoulders.
“It’s secure.”
“I’m just doing my job.”
“I will tell you when I need help,” I said coldly.
Finally, Lucas’s gold-flecked eyes met mine briefly before he held up his hands in surrender. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
A part of me wanted him to fight with me, to argue for a little while longer. I ached for a reason to talk with him, even if it hurt, and instead, he had given up so easily. Somehow that hurt even more.
I adjusted my stirrups while Lucas tended to his own, and we worked back-to-back in silence, readying ourselves for the journey. I could feel him behind me the whole time, and his presence burned like a bonfire. I was drawn to his heat, always aware of where he was and how close he stood to me. I had hoped this trip would be a way I could be rid of him, but of course I couldn’t escape Lucas. He was my head of security, after all—my loyal datu, above all else.
I noticed he cinched his weapons into holsters on the horse’s saddle, and my breath hitched. I knew it was a precaution, to protect me. But would he kill a monster even if the monster was his queen?
He noticed where my attention was, and our eyes met once more before I hauled myself onto my horse and took off without him.
We were nothing more than a sovereign and a knight. What we’d had couldn’t interfere with our respective duties. There was too much at stake now. Nix relied on me; my kingdom relied on me.
At the front, Qian was waiting for me, hunched casually atop his gelding, his arms crossed lazily on his saddle horn. “I didn’t expect you would ride with us,” he said.
“Then I’m full of surprises.” I meant to sound flippant, but my words didn’t have any heat behind them. I realized it was because I actually meant it. Having been raised in the human world, I wasn’t going to act like any other queen he had ever encountered.
Seemingly impressed, Qian smiled, and together, we led the way down the trail. Lucas and General Heng rode behind us, and the rest followed after, with Nix and Amador taking up the rear.
It was going to be a long day’s ride, and the whole time, I could feel Lucas’s eyes on me. I never looked back.