Read an Excerpt
1.
If you could eavesdrop without anyone knowing—if you could turn yourself into a barrel, or a coil of lines, or a clump of canvas on deck where two people are standing together, whispering secrets to each other—are you sure you wouldn’t?
Eavesdrop. I wonder where that word comes from. Did people used to climb into the eaves of a house and snoop on conversations? Then drop? Then what? Yell “Surprise!” and watch people jump and throw their papers around?
That would be funny. I’ve never done that.
I asked Giddon his opinion, but he had no ideas about eavesdrop. He said he’s fond of the wordsnowdrop, and he’s right; it’s a good word. It snows almost every day now here at sea, so it’s nice to imagine white petals drifting down onto my face. But it doesn’t help me witheavesdrop.
He said it aloud, “Snowdrop,” as we stood on the foredeck of the Monsea, where the plunge of the prow into each wave is more extreme than anywhere else on the ship. I like it there on the foredeck. It feels like exciting things are going to happen.
Then he said, “Foxglove, that’s a nice word too. Moonflower,” he added, staring across the gray water like he was having a revelation. Giddon is big and tall and handsome in a noble sort of way, with a neat dark beard and pale skin like mine, and he has a fire inside him that he reserves for Bitterblue. I could see him mentally picking a bouquet for her. “Larkspur,” he said, so I said, “Skunk cabbage,” because I was getting tired of Giddon.
“Skunk cabbage?” he said, turning a look of indignation upon me. “Of course not.”
“Impatiens,” I said significantly, but he wandered down to the main deck with a dreamy expression on his face, and I wished, as I’ve wished many times, that Giddon and Bitterblue, who’s the Queen of Monsea and secretly my half sister, would confess their newfound romantic relationship to me. I’m not stupid. I’m a spy. It’s my job to figure things out. And she’s my family, even if hardly anyone knows that. They should tell me.
I’ll ask Teddy about eavesdrop when we get home. Teddy’s part of Bitterblue’s Ministry of Education. He’s clever with words, cleverer than Giddon. My mother once told me, in a moment of lucidity, to keep a list of cherished qualities I would like in a friend. I never have. It’s not like people line up for me to choose from, with their qualities listed on their chests. But if I did keep a list, maybe “Clever with Words” would be on it.
Not that Giddon lacks good qualities. He would tear off the head of anyone who hurt my sister.
I used to jump out and surprise my mother, actually, now that I consider it. I would hide myself from her, then make myself visible suddenly. Reach for her, arms outstretched, laughing. One time, when I did that, she screamed in such terror that the king, my father, came running. So I hid quickly, and never did that again. It wasn’t safe to startle my mother. Too often, she wasn’t in her strong mind.
Anyway, my point is, I don’t have to climb into the eaves to eavesdrop.
I can stand right in front of you, plain as plain, do a trick on your brain, and you see something else. It’s my Grace. Are you in a room now? Look around. I could be right there and your eyes slide over me and see a coat on a hook instead, or a potted tree that you would realize is vaguely person-shaped if you only looked harder, but you won’t. Is there some part of the room that’s especially boring to you, some corner you don’t seem to want to focus on? That could be me. It’s not your fault. I’m discouraging your attention, and changing what you think you see.
Anyway, it was just an example. I wouldn’t do it as a trick. In fact, I’m not supposed to do it at all, not without Bitterblue’s permission, and only on official queen’s business. Of course, seeing as I’m a spy, one could argue that I’m always on official queen’s business. It’s my job to keep her safe. I do that by hiding and snooping. By not trusting people. And by having adventures; I’ve sailed to the other side of the world and crossed the sky in a flying machine. I’ve talked to silbercows in the sea and pulled a pin that made a bomb explode. I’ve stolen formulas for weapons that will make my sister powerful. I’ve been to Winterkeep, and now we’re going home again.
