Anticipation by Melodie Winawer

Author:Melodie Winawer [Winawer, Melodie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2021-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

We arrived in the port of Messina the last week of March. I wobbled onto land with intense relief. Vicenzu grabbed my arm and turned me to look back at the port where we’d just anchored. The harbor was enclosed by a graceful sickle-shaped curve of land that protected the port from the open sea, and an imposing stone fortress stood on the hills by the water’s edge, its battlements bristling with soldiers. The port smelled of fish and tar, but a breeze carried the scent of oranges, and citrus trees grew on the hills behind the harbor. The quay bustled with sailors and passengers, merchants shouted orders as their crews unloaded barrels and crates, and fishermen hauled nets of thrashing silver fish from their boats.

Vicenzu gestured me to look at an armada of hulking warships clustered near the shore. They flew the Angevin colors—gold fleur-de-lis on a field of blue—and the golden crosses of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Charles’s most recent acquisition. Alongside flew flags with the papal crossed keys. The decks were packed with soldiers. The ships menaced, oars ready with heavy iron chains pulled taut, sails furled and waiting.

“King Charles’s fleet,” I whispered. “And he has the pope’s backing.”

“Sì,” Vicenzu whispered back in Sicilian. “He plans a crusade with Constantinople as the target, and Sicilian men as the weapons. We have a week to stop the ships from sailing.”

We, Vicenzu said in Sicilian—nuautri.

We would arm the island against the absent, oppressive king, with the weapons we’d smuggled here. We would help incite the brewing revolt to overthrow his rule. Though this was my first moment on Sicilian soil, he included me in that we.

“Nuautri,” I said, and Vicenzu gripped my arm.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.