Agnes felt as if a spider had crawled down her throat and was scuttling around in her stomach. Matthias was working with the Lekke? But he’d told Agnes to stay hidden. If he wanted to sell her out to the Triumvirate, he certainly had the chance now and wasn’t taking it.

“There will be a council soon. The Aerin is calling for war against Kaolin. You know how the Lekke feels about violence.” Matthias nodded. “The decision to close the ports weighed heavily on her. As does the fighting that erupts there daily. She hates to see her country torn so. And now Ambrosine has made matters worse.”

“What has my mother done?” Matthias asked.

“She has attacked Princess Rahel’s pleasure ship,” Nadia said. “And taken the Byrne and his companion away with her.”

Agnes felt relief wash over her, heady as a dream. Her grandmother had Leo and Sera. They were safe.

Matthias did not seem to be having the same reaction Agnes was. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “Oh no.”

“Yes,” Nadia said. “It was the worst possible move at the worst possible moment. Now the Renalt is more inclined to take action. She is even threatening to leave Banrissa and sail after Ambrosine herself.”

Matthias took off his glasses and cleaned them on his sleeve. “Damn my mother,” he muttered.

“The Lekke requires your advice before the council is convened and the vote for war is taken. I have been sent to bring you to her.” She leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. “Your queen needs you now, my friend. She needs the honest and unflinching guidance you have given her throughout your years of service.”

Matthias took a deep, fortifying breath. “Yes,” he said. “All right. Tell the Lekke I will arrive at Banrissa within the hour.”

Nadia stood in one fluid movement. “I will never understand how you are related to that family.”

He flashed her a watery smile. “Not all Byrnes are like my mother,” he said. “You never met Alethea. She was . . .” He swallowed hard. “She was the very best of us.”

Nadia turned and was gone in a swoop of her cape. Agnes didn’t realize Vada had been clutching her arm until she released it and the blood flowed prickling into her fingers. Matthias yelped when he saw them hidden behind the shelf.

“I told you to stay in the archives,” he said.

“You work for the Triumvirate?” Agnes demanded.

“I advise the Lekke when she requests it,” Matthias said. “And, as you plainly saw, I have no interest in revealing your presence here in Ithilia. But you must leave the city at once.”

“That’s the plan,” Vada said.