“You cannot get caught,” she says. “Not by the Watch. Not by this General Vexx person. And not by the prince and your friend Fleurie.”
Instinctively, I touch the key around my neck and grip the edge of the desk. “I’d like to see them try. I’m not the man I was the last time you saw me.” I glance at the open door to her office and focus on the energy outside the room. With a simple thought, the door slams.
Yaz startles, and Zahira spins around, looking at the door. With a mental command, I re-open it and let it close this time with a quiet snick.
“Gods above,” Yaz murmurs.
Zahira faces me, eyes narrowed. “Impressive.”
“That, my friend, is nothing. I couldn’t have done that an hour ago. I get stronger by the minute.”
“I have no doubt. Your awakened power was evident the moment I saw you in the vestibule.” She points a long, finger at me. “But strong as your magick might be, Alexus, your selflessness for those you love is stronger. All I’m saying is don’t let those feelings make you act out of desperation. That can only lead to trouble.”
I nod. “Understood.”
“Now.” She rubs her palms together. “About getting you to the Summerlands and to Fia Drumera’s gates. I can tell you that Dedrick Terrowin’s last trade ship went out a few days ago. It should arrive in Itunnan soon, but you could be facing a five-day wait for it to return. He’s still the only smuggler this side of the Malorian.”
“Fuck. Five days? That’s a damn lifetime given our situation.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll send word first thing tomorrow for him to come see me at his earliest convenience. He’s very likely being watched if your foes are worried about you heading south. It isn’t unusual for Dedrick to come here with questions for the old cap, though, and it isn’t unusual for me to send communication through Harmon or the boys if I’m expecting a shipment. But I live in my books or on the beach now. I rarely go to the docks anymore, so it’s best not to draw suspicion with my presence.”
I scrub my hand over my face. “Not what I wanted to hear.”
Zahira shrugs. “I know. But Dedrick will respond soon. He always does. Then we can work out a plan. In the meantime, at least Raina can watch the waters, and Yaz and I will pray to Loria daily that the prince remains immobile. There’s unfortunately little else you can do right now.”
“Oh, I can think of plenty of things he can do,” Yaz says as she stands and moves to a brass tea cart parked beside the fire. She’s already gifted me two vials of birthbane, the small glass bottles hidden away in my pocket. With a generous hand, she adds a mixture of fresh tea leaves from a jar that says CHAMOMILE to a fine porcelain cup, then uses a doubled cloth to snatch the kettle hanging in the hearth. She adds a splash of cream and drop of honey and hands me the final, steaming concoction. “Your people need rest and time to recover. I see weariness but also much needed healing. You’ve all endured great loss and have had little to no time to process that loss. Healing will be found in one another, and in Starworth Tor, if you allow it.”
“Always so wise, Yaz.” I take a careful sip of her piping hot tea.
“Wise enough to know that you won’t listen to all we say.” She lifts her soft chin, and her perceptive hazel eyes shimmer. “Now, who do you mean to kill?”
I take another sip of tea before answering. “There are likely several people here who need to pay for what they did. Once I know Dedrick’s schedule, I’ll figure out how I mean to go about making that happen. It will be quick and clean. I’ll be gone before the bodies are even found.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Zahira says.
“You have no worries.”
She arches a thin, sharp brow. “None? You’re a good friend who has just arrived in what should be friendly territory, Alexus, yet it has become a place that harbors the enemy. I have worries.”
“Colden and I have eyes and ears here too,” I assure her. “I’ll check with those I know I can trust tomorrow. I’ll take Rhonin with me.”
“Eyes and ears watching and listening for who?” she asks.
“Admiral Rooke, mainly. He’s been a question ever since his appointment. I worried he couldn’t lead the Watch with a level hand, but I never thought he would betray the people he was charged with protecting. But Rhonin was in the army that came through Malgros. He couldn’t determine who from the Watch oversaw their entry, but he surmised that the betrayal stemmed from a high-ranking officer.”
Zahira crosses her arms over her chest, brows drawn down in thought. “Rooke doesn’t strike me as a crooked man, though corruption often weaves a deeply invisible thread. If you question him, my only suggestion is that you be wise in your strategy. He is guarded well. And if you find you must kill him, do so in the hours just before you leave, else you could place us all in jeopardy.”
“I would never endanger you, Zahira. I was trained for this. It’s been a while, but I’ve a feeling that I’ll remember what to do.”
“Just be careful,” she says. “You might’ve been a killer three centuries ago, but that doesn’t make you one now.”
Doesn’t it? Some things are embedded in our marrow.
Yaz clears her throat. “Well, I for one would very much like to find a way to show your friends around Malgros tomorrow, before you go murdering people and possibly painting a target on your back. Raina and Nephele need time here, probably more than you can imagine. Their parents met here, lived here, loved here. The connections they might find in Malgros could truly help them.”
“I have friends expected in two weeks from the Drifts,” Zahira says. “I’ve already received their passage papers. I can simply alert the Watch that they arrived early last night at our gate for a longer stay. Everyone will need to take turns using the papers, but I have five passage forms. Three women and two men. The Watch never questions me or Yaz.”
“Of course not,” I say with a smile. “The beloved Captain Osane and her dear Yazmin? They can do no wrong.”
