“I can do that.”
“And you'll have to leave your knights behind.”
“No,” Sir Gilhu said.
The Dragon King looked at his knight.
Sir Gilhu grimaced.
“What's the plan?” the King asked.
“We leave here in your carriage and head toward the castle. When we turn a corner, we will jump out and the carriage will continue without us.”
The King nodded while Sir Gilhu groaned.
His nod was all the confirmation I needed. I headed for the stairs. At the bottom, I found Sir Vasren standing just outside a sitting room. The General was inside, comforting his family—his wife held in one arm and his daughter in the other. I didn't interrupt them.
The King did.
King Tor'rien went inside and said a bunch of comforting words. I didn't pay attention. I was at the narrow window beside the front door, peering around the curtain. Our watcher was still out there, waiting. And he was a fool. Several times, he angled his face into the light of a street lamp. I filed his face away in my mind. I would not forget it.
At last, the King joined us, and we went out to the carriage without looking around. The knights did, of course. It would have been odd if they hadn't, so I didn't advise them otherwise. As they took their positions on the carriage, the King and I climbed inside and pulled the window panes up, then closed the curtains. We were off in seconds, heading toward the royal castle.
This time, the King didn't try to touch me or make any kind of romantic advance. He was doing what I was—peering around the curtain on his side of the carriage, waiting for us to take a corner.
“Soon,” he said.
“I know.” I grabbed the door handle. The carriage turned. “Now!” I jumped out of the carriage and shoved the door shut behind me.
The King did the same on his side and then raced around the back of the carriage to enter an alley beside me. The darkness closed around us, but I still pressed myself against the wall and went still. No more than two minutes later, the tall form of a cloaked Eljaffna raced by. The King, who had mimicked my position, pushed off the wall and glared after the man.
“Hurry!” I grabbed the King's hand and pulled him with me.
“Where are we going?”
“Isn't it obvious?”
He was silent a for few moments. Then he asked, “The papermaker?”
“The only connection and the only direction we can take.”
With that, all conversation died. We came out of the alley and onto another street, then ran down it. Another. Another. We kept running. The Pruleng workshop was one block down. No one would be there at this hour. That would make things easier. Hallaxgral wouldn't have a crowd to disappear into. But neither would we. I hoped that he wouldn't be looking for us since his man was following the royal carriage, but I wouldn't rely on that.
I knew he'd be prepared for any eventuality. So I slowed to a stop when the workshop came in sight. The King stopped beside me. Together, we surveyed the area.
“The roof?” the King suggested.
I considered it. “He'll have the boy below. The roof might be the safest entry point.”
“You think they're in the basement?”
“They have to be. It would be the best option for hiding the boy. Unless he owns Pruleng.”
“He must. How else would he be able to sneak a child into that place?”
“If he broke in when they were closed, he could. And then he'd have to find someplace to hide them.”
“That seems risky.”
