“Very good.” Lord Riis stood and wiped his hands on his trousers. “I wish for you to gather weapons, whatever effects are most important to you, and leave for Riis Tower now. From there, you will take Clemencia with you—she is too associated with Princess Neve to remain safe, and join Prince Vale, Neve, Sir Caelo, and Anna.”
Luccan’s eyebrows knitted together. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to wait until they return to our Tower? Surely they will, if only to rest after their travels.”
Lord Riis gave a sly smile. “I would not wish for them to come so close to Staghorn Castle. House Vagle will ally with King Magnus, so we must intercept Neve long before she arrives at the Tower and keep her safe.”
“Buthow?” Luccan was a gatemaker, and given enough time, might make a gateway to anywhere. That was useless, though, if he did not know where the others were.
“This map will tell you where they are.” Lord Riis pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. “Right now, they’re in Vitvik. Move quickly, using the gateways you’ve already established, Luccan. I will join you when I can.”
Luccan ignored the utter look of shock on Duran’s face when his father admitted he was a gatemaker. He took the parchment and opened it.
On the map of Winter’s Realm, a dot of red that looked like blood glowed in Vitvik. Three other dots glowed in Avaldenn. Small names hovered above the dots. Vale’s was in Vitvik.
“And these areus?” Luccan pointed to the dots in Avaldenn, clearly labeled with his name and that of his brothers’.
“Obviously,” Lord Riis said. “I gave Vale a potion with his wine while he was in Riis Tower. One that would allow me to follow his progress. He disappeared for a time in the mountains of the southwest, which I cannot explain; however, he reappeared a coupleof days ago.”
“And you’ve given us the potion at some point,” Arie muttered, annoyed.
“You’re my sons, I have a right to know where you are. Some of you needed supervision.” His lips curled slightly as he cast a side glance at Thantrel.
“I don’t see twenty other dots on the map,” Arie shot back. “And the Fates know you have a few daughters that should be monitored at all times.”
Luccan bit back a laugh, knowing exactly the half-sisters that Arie referred to. Triplets who thrived on a touch of chaos. The sisters had been terrorizing the city of Grindavik practically since the day they’d emerged kicking and screaming from the womb.
“The mothers of my other children would not allow my monitoring,” Lord Riis replied. “I can respect that, and all that matters is that you are safe, and you can find Vale.”
“But how will you find us if we take this?” Luccan asked.
“I’m the spymaster for a reason, son. Trust, Iwillfind you.”
Luccan folded the parchment back up and stood. “Then I suppose we should get going. Duran, come with me. I’ll get you a weapon and clothing. Brothers, meet me downstairs when you’re ready.”
The brothers Riis and Duran left the spymaster in the sitting room, standing before the fire, staring at the flames.
Chapter 18
VALE
Rynni handed another potion to Caelo. “Drink this.”
That had to have been the fifth glass he’d downed in an hour. Was it a bad sign?
Darkness approached, and we’d been planning our exit from Vitvik all day, packing up items we’d need for the ride north. For Rynni, that meant packing the most precious items in her life. But now I was of a split mind about what to do. Should we leave so that no one discovered Neve or stay here so that Caelo could continue to rest and recover?
“Do you think we should stay another night?” I nodded to my best friend.
Neve’s eyebrows shot up, but Rynni answered before my mate interrogated my line of thought.
“The wounds are sealed, but are not healed,” Rynni said. “Sir Caelo went through a lot. Princess Neve too, however, I think they can both handle the journey if we go slowly.”
“I feel well enough,” Neve said. “You were injured too, Vale.”
“Minor injuries.” I’d dealt with much worse than I’d endured, but despite fighting side by side for many turns, I’d never seen Caelo so beat up. And Neve had lost an astounding amount of blood. During the ride to Vitvik, her face had been so pale, I’d worried the Fates would cut her life thread at any moment.
“If we go slow, the knight can ride,” Rynni repeated. “Which I’d rather do. I ran many errands today that I’m sure garnered notice from my neighbors—not to mention last night.”
She’d gone to another healer’s establishment and one of Lord Riis’s brothels for us.
