“It reminds me of Circle Bay or Valara,” Leena said, gazing at the whitewashed buildings surrounding the market square.

“I think settlers from Circle Bay built up Kitish after they drove the pirates out a hundred years ago,” Boktar said.

Leena nodded. Kitish was one of the larger islands in this part of the Gilded Sea, and the only one with a deepwater port, making it a frequent stop for ships heading between Tyrsall and Nysa. There were other islands where ships could stop along the way, particularly for fresh water, but only if they anchored out at sea while sailors rowed a boat to shore. The convenience of having a real port at Kitish had resulted in a town that was entirely dependent on business from passing ships.

Leena held up a head of cabbage and looked questioningly at Boktar. The dwarf nodded, so she piled several more on the counter, along with the squash, onions, and garlic they’d already picked out. This early in the year, no local fruits or vegetables were available yet, so the only fresh produce came from farther south, where the growing season lasted longer. The selection was limited to crops that could travel long distances by ship without going bad, and everything was more expensive than Leena was accustomed to.

“Seventeen copper,” the seller said.

Leena winced, but Boktar paid it without complaint. They loaded everything into the carry bags they’d brought, then placed the bags in the two-wheeled, hand-drawn cart they’d rented. The cart merchant seemed to do brisk business—Leena had seen three more carts just like theirs.

“What else do we need?” Boktar asked, grabbing the handles.

“Most things are holding out, but I’ve used up a lot of the flour already,” Leena admitted. She was teaching herself new northern dishes with help from the ship’s cook and the recipe book she’d bought, but to compensate for her shortcomings, she found herself falling back to baking time and time again, producing breads or pastries for most meals.

That would have to stop soon. Peregrine had an oven, but once they reached land, baking over a campfire would be too time-consuming. She’d need to improve her other cooking before then. That is, if she was even supposed to stay with the group after they reached Cordaea. Her Seeking hadn’t told her anything useful since the ship had left Tyrsall.

“Flour will be expensive here. Can you hold out until Nysa?”

“I…yes. I’ll make it last.”

“What about those dried hot peppers?”

“I don’t think your friends would like them,” she said.

The dwarf nodded. “We’ll just get enough for you and me. And I bet Shavala would try them.”

“We should buy eggs too. The cook will sell me a few cockerels for roasting, but all the eggs go to the crew.” She’d been surprised to discover that the ship’s crew kept chickens and pigs on board, though the pigs were treated more like pets than food.

“Eggs and peppers. Anything else?”

“Do you know how to butcher a goat?” she asked. She could slaughter a chicken, but she’d never learned anything larger.

Boktar raised his bushy eyebrows. “A goat?”

“There are only so many things I can make with salted pork or dried beef. Fresh meat would be good.”

“Let’s see if we can find a butcher here on the island, and get something fresh for tonight. We’ll wait to do our own butchering until we’re back on land. Shavala hunts rabbits for us, or sometimes deer if we think we can use it up or sell the rest before it goes bad, but you’ll want to keep things simple when we’re on the road—roasting it over a fire or adding it to a stew.”

Leena nodded. It wasn’t the first time Boktar had hinted that he knew she wasn’t really a camp cook. He’d hired her because she’d been the only person to inquire about the job. “I’ll do that,” she said.

She still had no idea what she was supposed to be doing here. Her best guess was that she needed to be in Cordaea and this ship was the easiest way, but why had the Seeking provided her with a job rather than a route? Becoming a cook certainly wasn’t going to help her avenge her parents.

Should she give up and Travel back to Tyrsall? It was outside her Seeking range, but she’d Traveled farther before, and if she was ever going to master her skills, she had to stop depending on Seeking as an aid. The ship had reached Kitish in twelve days, a day and a half earlier than expected. Was twelve days too long for her to remember Tyrsall’s signature and get back there? Would she end up in the ocean again?

Or what if she did make it back, and her Seeking told her to get on another ship headed to Cordaea? Leena sighed. She’d come this far—she might as well see it through.

Things could have been worse. The job was a lot of work, but no worse than the bakery, and Ellerie, the elven woman who seemed to be in charge, had come through on her promise. After every meal, Nedley now stayed behind to help wash up. Officially, the young man was employed as the expedition’s groom, but since they wouldn’t be buying horses until they reached Nysa, he had nothing else to do on board the ship.

Ellerie herself had sought Leena out a few more times for brief, awkward conversations. The silver elf was exotically attractive, but Leena just couldn’t think of anything to say to her. It was easier to speak to Boktar. As the group’s quartermaster, he was in charge of buying the food and supplies she needed for her duties, and he limited their conversations to business. He seemed to sense her reticence in talking about herself.

Leena’s demonborn roommate was the only person around who knew about her past, or at least part of it. Leena had never spent much time around demonborn before, and Razai reminded her of a pit viper, waiting patiently until it was time to strike. She was friendly enough, but in an intense and vaguely frightening sort of way, and Leena hadn’t felt comfortable outright lying to her. She didn’t want to draw the woman’s ire.

The others were polite, but Leena hadn’t made any effort to get to know them. What was the point, if her Seeking was going to send her in a different direction as soon as they arrived in Nysa? She felt guilty about lying to them, but they could always hire another cook—probably someone better suited for the task.

That was at least a week and a half away, though. For now, the job would provide her with free passage across the sea. Once they arrived, she’d try Seeking again so she could figure out what to do next.

#

Melithar was startled out of sleep when a resounding boom rattled the Glass Palace, reverberating from the inner windows in the Stone Wall out to the Glass Wall and back again.

He rolled out of bed and ran for the door, not bothering to find a shirt or shoes. As he sprinted down the corridor in the ambassadorial wing, various residents and visiting dignitaries poked their heads out of their rooms. He almost ran headlong into the Chondoran ambassador, dodging around the man and ignoring his shouted questions.

A few turns later, Melithar reached his destination. Four sentinels still stood armed and ready at the high arch leading through the Heart Wall into the inner palace. The two men in front carried tower shields, which they’d braced on the floor in front of them, and they’d drawn their arming swords in preparation for an attack. The men behind them carried halberds which were long enough to reach around the shields from the rear position.

Good. The barrier sentinels had kept to their post, waiting while the other squads searched for the source of the commotion. Melithar had a good idea where it was coming from. He’d heard it before.

The sentinels recognized him just as another boom sounded. They nudged their shields apart enough for him to run through the gap, then closed it again behind him.

He stopped at Princess Vilisa’s quarters first, but they were empty, showing signs of a struggle. One of the sentinels assigned to Vilisa’s night guard lay dead in front of the door, his eyes staring glassily up at the ceiling.

Melithar turned and dashed in the direction of Queen Revana’s chambers. If his daughter’s personal guards had been killed, he wasn’t sure he could stop what was happening.

He passed a squad of sentinels headed in the opposite direction. “With me!” he shouted. They turned and followed. The sentinels might not know his name—or at least not his real name—but they knew he was one of Her Exalted Majesty’s advisors.

Halfway between Vilisa’s quarters and Revana’s, Melithar slipped on something wet. He fell and slid across a sheet of blood, slamming into a wall.

The sentinels helped him to his feet, and he tried to piece together what had happened. Blood was splattered from the floor to the walls for thirty feet around, and even up to the high ceiling. He turned his gaze away from the small bits of flesh and bone mixed in with the mess. Vilisa’s second night guard lay to one side, and near him were the bodies of two men dressed in all black.

Idiots, Melithar thought to himself. Idiots or amateurs. Black was fine for sneaking around outside, but once they’d made it into the palace, the intruders should have switched to the uniforms worn by the servants or the sentinels if they didn’t want to attract attention. No matter—at least it would make his job easier.

“Come on,” he said. “To the queen’s chambers.”

“Wait!” one of the sentinels exclaimed. “He’s alive!” He’d been checking the night guard’s body.

“One of you stay with him and one of you go look for a healer,” Melithar said. “The rest of you, come with me.” He could spare two of them. They wouldn’t be able to help with what was happening anyway.

Another squad plus Revana’s two night guards were gathered at the queen’s door, staring inside, but they hadn’t gone in themselves. Or someone had ordered them out.

“Let me through!” Melithar said, pushing his way past them.

Like the corridor outside, the sitting room was bathed in blood and body parts. Vilisa stood at the center of the room, blood coating her face and nightgown as she stared down coldly at two men kneeling before her, both dressed in black. Their arms were bound behind their backs with a glowing golden light. Their ankles were bound and their mouths gagged in the same way. Smart girl, Melithar thought. If they were wizards, she’d neutralized their ability to cast spells. A gag wouldn’t stop other mages, though. He’d have to have a talk with her about that.

On the other side of the sitting room, Queen Revana stood at the door to her bedchamber, clutching at the doorframe for support. It was difficult for her to walk so she rarely left her bed these days, but no one could have ignored what was happening in her sitting room. Her own dressing gown was clear of blood, so she couldn’t have been there for long.

Vilisa had been muttering under her breath when Melithar entered the room. Before he could stop her, there was another boom, and one of the kneeling men exploded outward in a shower of blood and tiny pieces. The sound was far louder than could be accounted for by the body itself, and must have had something to do with how the spell worked. Melithar got his hands up in front of his face to block the worst of the blood spray, but Revana was splattered with it. She spit, then rubbed her eyes, grimacing with distaste.

Vilisa turned to the last man and started whispering again.

“Exalted, wait!” Melithar shouted at her.

She turned, a snarl on her face, but then recognized him. “Ambassador,” she said, ice in her voice. “Can we deal with your interruption later?” She had no idea he was her father, but she was normally polite to him, or at least civil.

“We need to question him, Exalted. Remember? Like we talked about last time?”

She stared at him expressionlessly for a moment before the spell’s hold over her loosened. “Fine. Question him.”

“The gag?” he reminded her. “And your mother needs your help.”

Vilisa waved her hand and the band of light gagging the man’s mouth dissolved. She turned away and gave Revana her arm, leading her to a chair away from the blood.

Melithar stood in front of the last intruder. “Answer my questions truthfully if you want to live. If you lie, I’ll give you back to Her Exalted Highness. Understand?”

The man’s eyes were wide at the sight of all the blood, but he didn’t respond.

Melithar sighed. “Are you certain you don’t want to save your life?”

The intruder just glared at him.

“Shall I try?” The voice belonged to Eloina, the priestess assigned to the palace. She was tall for an elven woman. She carried the ceremonial staff of her position, and had taken the time to dress in the purple and white robes favored by the local order of Irisis. Melithar had never seen her less than perfectly prepared.

“There’s an injured sentinel that needs help,” he said.

“I’m no healer,” Eloina said briskly. “There are others on the way.” She laid a glowing hand on the intruder’s head. He tried to cringe away but his bonds didn’t allow him to move far. “Ask him your questions,” she told Melithar.

“How many of you are there?”

The man struggled, trying not to speak, but he couldn’t resist the priestess’s truth spell. “S-s-six.”

If that was true, then this was the only one left.

“You’re nilvasta. So was that one.” Melithar pointed to what was left. “What about the others?”

The man glared but nodded.

“How did you get in?”

“W-w-wizard with a phasing spell.”

Melithar gave the sentinels a curt nod. Half of them scattered to search all the palace walls, to make sure they’d phased solid again. “Did this wizard come with you?”

The man shook his head.

“A man or a woman?”

“A woman.”

“Was she the one who hired you?”

“No.”

“Then who did?”

“A m-m-man. I don’t know his name.”

“You expect me to believe that? I told you what would happen if you lied.”

The intruder didn’t reply. Melithar hadn’t asked a question, so the spell didn’t force him to speak.

“If you don’t know who he is, why are you working for him?”

“I was p-p-paid.”

“Did he come with you tonight?”

“No.”

“A stranger hired you and your friends, and you never bothered to learn who he was before doing his bidding?” Melithar rolled his eyes. Were all the decent assassins busy somewhere else, or did this particular employer not know how to find them? Perhaps he just wanted everyone to think he didn’t have access to real assassins? And if that was the case, had he wanted the attack to succeed or fail?

“I didn’t know them,” the man said. “I never met them or the wizard until tonight.” Apparently the truth spell had forced the fellow to respond to the first part of Melithar’s statement, rather than to the actual question.

“Enough,” Eloina said, stepping back as the glow faded from her hand. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. Frowning at the blood-stained furniture, she leaned against her staff for support.

“I need descriptions,” Melithar told her.

“You’ll have to wait until I can rest.”

“Can I kill him now?” Vilisa asked, rejoining them. Melithar shivered at the dispassionate look on his daughter’s face. It was just like the last time she’d cast the spell. It seemed to affect her somehow.

The intruder glared at them defiantly.

“No, Exalted,” Melithar said. “He may still be useful. Have the sentinels take him to the dungeon.”

She scowled, but finally acquiesced. Melithar had been accompanying Vilisa to High Council meetings for months now, and Revana had convinced her to take his advice, but she still got touchy when he tried to tell her what to do.

When she stepped away, Melithar turned to the queen. “Exalted, who is responsible for maintaining the wards on the palace walls?”

“Jorel will know.”

“I know,” Eloina said. “It’s one of my own priests.”

Melithar nodded. “Find him and wake him up. We need to learn whether the wards were breached or if he failed to renew them. Or if he was paid to sabotage them.”

“Don’t presume to give orders in my own chambers,” the queen said harshly.

“I apologize, Your Exalted Majesty,” Melithar said with a courtly bow. “My concern for your safety caused me to overstep my bounds.” He waited, staring at her pointedly.

Revana sighed, but there was a hint of her old smile, the one he’d been so enchanted with when they were younger. She nodded to Eloina, who turned and left without another word. The queen turned back to Melithar. “Go find the servants to clean this mess up.”

“Exalted, I recommend leaving it as it is until morning. Parade the High Councilors through here to see the results firsthand. Last time, you just described it. Obviously that wasn’t sufficient to deter them. It’s even better that this happened in your own chambers. The councilors know the last attack was on Vilisa. Let them believe that you’re still fully capable of defending yourself. The sentinels will back your story.”

“I am still fully capable of defending myself. But fine, have the servants prepare another room for me.”

Melithar bowed, but before leaving, he said, “You shouldn’t have given her your spell book.” He spoke quietly, not wanting the sentinels to haul him away for his tone.

“Don’t ever think you can tell me what to do,” Revana said coldly but just as quietly. “She needed the tools to protect herself, especially with Ellerie gone. She must produce an heir.”

“There are other ways she can protect herself,” he replied. Last time, the spell had only affected Vilisa’s personality for a short while, but Melithar couldn’t escape the feeling that his daughter was becoming more and more like her mother.