“What better place for rebels to hide?” Arie shrugged. “The castle is rundown, but they have all that they need. Shelter. The lake isn’t far away. Towns within a day’s ride for food, and some game in the area. It’s ideal.”
The spymaster supposed he was right. Valrun had such a poor reputation that even he did not have spiders there to tell him what was afoot. For a hidden rebellion, it was an ideal headquarters.
“I want to go there,” Saga said stoutly. “Mother said I needed to find Vale.”
She had, though that was when Inga, like Lord Riis, had believed Vale was making his way to House Balik’s castle. Behind stone and wards that Lord Riis felt sure Valrun could not match. He was about to say as much when Arie spoke.
“We can stay the night here, and I’ll take you. It’s not too far.” Arie cleared his throat. “You may have a bit of trouble at first, but if Vale and Neve vouch for you—Saga . . . are you well?”
The princess’s eyes had clouded and widened. For a long minute she said nothing, though her body stiffened, her hands balled into fists so tight her hands turned white. Then, a scream cut through the room and Lord Riis scrambled.
He slammed a hand over Saga’s mouth, muffling the sound. “Shhh, Saga, you’re safe. You’re safe. You’re safe. It’s a vision.”
The princess continued to scream; her body as tight as a bowstring ready to launch. Briefly, the spymaster consideredusing his magic, the power to negate another’s magic, to stop the vision, but would it hurt her? He did not know, so he opted for a more common course. “Arie, get water.”
His son scrambled to pour water from a pitcher on the side table. With shaking hands, he returned.
“Pour it on her head.” Lord Riis had no idea if this would work. Seers were rare and the ways they entered and left visions were numerous. He’d seen this happen once, and the family had jolted their seer out of it.
Arie hesitated. “She’sthe princess, Father. I?—”
Saga gasped. Her body slumped over, and the spymaster released his hand over her mouth only to help hold her up.
“What did yousee?” From the look on her face, he would guess it had not been pleasant.
“Vale. Neve. Thantrel and Luccan and others were there too.” Saga let out a cry. “They were screaming and surrounded by something hard and white.”
“Hard and white?” Arie shook his head. “An avalanche?”
“Fates! It could be!” The princess wrung her hands. “I’m still not in complete control over my seer powers, and this one came and left so fast that I can’t be certain but that makes much sense. We have to warn them!”
“They’re not in the mountains, not anywhere near them, but at Valrun Castle, Princess Saga. They’re safe. See?” Arie pulled out the map his father had given Luccan, and his older brother had passed to him so that Arie could find their father with ease. “They—wait a second, Vale is moving west . . . Than and Luccan too—just as the princesssaid.” His eyebrows drew together. “They’re moving quite fast, not walking or riding.”
Lord Riis shook his head. “They cannot fly for more than a few minutes in these conditions.”
Arie’s face turned red. He’d not told all of their story. Bleeding skies, what else had his sons and those with them gotten up to?
“When we, um, traveled to Bitra.” Arie cast Saga a glance, and the spymaster nodded. She might learn about the heists, but for the time being they weren’t important. “Thantrel suggested we take the gryphons from our castle. The pegasi too.”
Annoyance flared in the high lord. “You meanmyprize racing gryphons andmypegasi?”
Those beasts had cost him a small fortune. The Lord of Tongues valued them for they reminded him of how far he’d risen in life.
“Thantrel was trying to impress a female.”
The spymaster pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course that was what Thantrel had been up to. As a youngling, just like now, Thantrel had loved attention. That desire continued as he grew and became an adult. Thantrel was as fluid as the sea in his tastes for bedmates, and he’d often done absurd things to win them over. Grand gestures abounded.
Lord Riis had often thought that maybe his son took after him in that manner. He had, after all, kept Inga’s power a secret. That was far more dangerous than stealing a few gryphons and pegasi from an estate.
“If they continue at this pace, and the weather doesn’tdeteriorate through the night, they may well hit the Red Mist Range by late morning,” Arie added thoughtfully.
Lord Riis looked down at the map. “What’s there that would draw them?”
“I don’t know. Everything was quiet when I left. Fae were ready to ride out the cold at the castle.”
The spymaster swallowed. “Then we must make haste and travel to Valrun tonight to find out.”
Chapter 42
