“General Jhiton did, unfortunately, yes. Unbeknownst to me, he’d gotten his hands on hydra-scale powder, a drug that lowers your inhibitions and leaves you inclined to answer questions.” She pushed up her sleeve, though the needle had slipped in and out without leaving a mark. She almost wished ithadmarked her so Oyenar would be more sympathetic.
His jaw was clenched, his eyes frosting over. She didn’t know if his feelings were directed at her or toward the stormers and didn’t ask, afraid of the answer.
“They only got the location of one shielder out of me,” Syla said, “but it’s the one that matters most to your people.”
Oyenar closed his eyes. “Yes.”
“Are you sure they didn’t get more?” one of his officers asked.
“I’m sure. After the questioning, I remembered what we discussed.”
“I’m relieved, but…” The officer frowned at Syla. “How comethey didn’t take advantage of the situation to extract the locations of all of the shielders?”
“I got lucky and escaped.”
“You escaped General Jhiton? And however many of his riders were with him? How? Your dragon ally was stuck here. Or… were you questioned here? On our island? And we didn’t know it?”
“No, they took me to a camp on the mainland. As I said, I got lucky, and cave crawlers and, apparently, a lake kraken—though I never saw that—attacked their camp from within.” Of course,thathadn’t been what ultimately allowed her to escape, but she didn’t want to mention Vorik, much less explain their atypical relationship in front of all these men, most of whom she’d yet to meet formally.
The officers stared at her. In disbelief? She wasn’t sure.
“The gods must favor you,” one said.
“That would be nice,” Syla said, “but from what the stormers say, the world out there is dangerous, and terrible predators attack their camps often.”
“That is true. There’s a reason they want our protected islands. If they’re coming here, we’re going to need assistance. General Larek.” Oyenar looked at one of the officers. “Find a fast ship—multiple fast ships—and deliver messages to Castle, Frost, and Vineyard Islands. Ask them to send their fleets to help us. If Bogberry Island falls, it’ll cause trouble for the whole Kingdom.Moretrouble.”
“Yes, my lord.”
As the general left to set the request in motion, Oyenar looked back to Syla. “Your Majesty.” Before continuing, he gazed around the room. “Actually, I need everyone to take a break.”
“My lord?” the senior officer remaining asked.
“We’re going to have a discussion that includes the secret location of the shielder,” Oyenar explained.
“The secret location that thestormersnow know? Does it matter if we learn it?”
Oyenar hesitated, probably realizing it was true that there might be little point in withholding it from his men now, but he ultimately waved toward the door. “Just take a break.”
“Yes, my lord.”
After the men stepped out, Oyenar looked pointedly at Fel, Tibby, and the Royal Protectors. Syla waved for Fel to lead those men out. The protectors were probably used to being dismissed for important meetings, but Fel frowned. Syla was tempted to let him stay, but Oyenar would object. After all, the island lords had all been sworn to secrecy regarding the artifacts. Not all of them even knewthe locations of the shielders on their own islands.
“You can stand outside the door,” Syla told Fel.
He grumbled, started for the hall, but noticed that nobody had asked Tibby to leave. “Isshestaying?”
“She already knows the location,” Syla said.
“Ah.” Tibby lifted a finger. “Actually, I don’t.”
Syla waited for Fel to leave and close the door before saying, “You worked in the salt mine, and you don’t know?”
“I worked on repairing and building magically enhanced machineryforthe salt mines,” Tibby said. “I didn’t wield a pickaxe and shovel in them.”
Syla didn’t point out that the Kingdom valued the salt and that there was nothing ignoble about that profession, especiallysince Oyenar distracted her by saying in a startled tone, “It’s in the salt mine?”
“You didn’t know?” Syla almost berated herself for speaking of its location openly, but what did it matter at this point? Everyone would get the gist as soon as the stormers appeared at the mine. Besides, she needed Oyenar in on the planning. As a former general, he had a lot of military experience to offer, and she had nothing.
