The building was four stories tall, long but not particularly wide. Its storefront was well lit with two iron lanterns and she could hear the sounds of mugs clanking and music from the bar within. Not wanting to raise suspicion by lingering, Vi entered and headed directly for a back hallway.
It looked like rooms one through ten were on the first floor, so Vi proceeded to the second. Sure enough, the first room she crossed had the number eleven painted on the door. Halfway down the hall was fourteen.
Vi stood outside the door, contemplating the latch for a moment. She could mask her face withdurroe, see who it was first and then come back as Yullia. She could force entry and catch them flat-footed and off-guard.
Balling her hand into a fist, Vi went for the simple and most direct approach—she knocked, and held her breath as the door cracked open.
Her eyes met a familiar dark pair. They were framed by a short-cut fringe and hair that didn’t extend past the ears. Even though the woman’s clothes were different, Vi recognized her with ease. That meant anyone else could too.
“What in the Mother’s name are you doing here?” Vi half-whispered, half-snarled. Then looked around quickly to make sure the hall was still empty. Thankfully, it was.
Zira opened the door slightly wider, and Vi took the invitation, allowing herself in. The swordswoman didn’t speak until the door was closed once more and locked. “I had to come and warn you.”
“Warn me?” Vi did a quick sweep of the room. A bed against the wall to the right, a chamber pot in the corner to the left, a dresser… the lack of things made the sword’s presence all the more noticeable. “You brought the sword back? You even made a stand for it?” Vi balked at the little wooden stand, emblazoned with a silver phoenix.
“It felt right to give it a place of honor, even when I was on the road.”
“I told you not to let anyone know you even had it.” Vi spun, advancing on the woman. The conspicuous stand was the least of her worries. “Are you mad?”
“I had to bring it with me. I wasn’t about to entrust it to anyone else,” Zira said, defensive, holding her ground as Vi intruded on her personal space.
“Of course not, because you were supposed to take it East. By now you should’ve been past the Crossroads, by now it should’ve been long free of their reach.” Vi wanted to scream. She’d never been so angry. She never expected someone to make her feel more vicious than Jayme had.
But here they were.
“I am only here one night,” Zira said calmly, levelly, as though speaking to Raylynn during a tantrum. “Only one night to warn you.”
“You leavenow.”
“Then let me say what I came to say. I’m here anyway.”
“Very well. Speak.”
“I did as you said—I went to the Nameless Company and waited. Eventually, word of my ‘death’ arrived back to me. I left the Nameless Company and traveled on the road through the deep Waste, places where the Knights of Jadar are strong. There, I learned that they’re planning an attack on the castle with forces they’ve gathered from Adela. They say they have powers beyond what we can imagine. Powers of the Pirate Queen and—”
Vi held up a hand for silence. She took several deep breaths, more like panting, to prevent herself from shouting. Her plans… all her careful plans… were coming undone because of one woman’s foolish honor and ill-thought decision.
“I know about the plan to work with Adela,” Vi said, dangerously composed.
“You do?” Zira seemed honestly surprised. “They were speaking as though it was just coming together, as though—”
“Why do you think I sent you away?” Vi gripped the woman by the collar. Zira’s hands flew up, grabbing Vi’s wrists so hard the bones popped. But Vi continued to cling through the pain. “What do you think prompted the sudden urgency?”
“Unhand me,” Zira commanded, deadly soft.
Vi obliged, but only reluctantly. She spun away before she really did try to throttle the woman. Vi ran a hand over her hair, smoothing away the pieces that had escaped the taut braid she’d woven through and around a knotted bun.
“All right, listen.” Vi looked back to Zira. “We can still fix this. You take the sword and go now, tonight. It isn’t safe in this city.” Especially not with Twintle on the move. “Go back to the Nameless Company once more, wait just a week or two to make sure no one is following you, then continue on.”
“And you’ll still meet me in Cyven?”
“Yes. I’ll find the sword wherever you are, have no doubt about that.” Even now, it called to her. Perhaps it was all the work Vi had been doing to further explore and manipulate Yargen’s magic. But she felt it even more keenly than before—even with it wrapped tightly in layers of leather, even without touching it. “I’ll leave now. Wait just a little, to let anyone following me do so, then you slip out after.”
“All right.” Zira nodded curtly. “Yullia, I was only trying to—”
“I know.” Vi met her eyes. “I know you were trying to protect our Empress. But you must have faith and believe me when I say that protecting Fiera is my current, sole goal. All of this is for her, and her child.”
“Very well. I’ll trust you, and meet you in the East.”
