“Your timely arrival kept me from being tossed into a jail wagon—or worse. There are rumors about what Fograth is really doing to those with moon-marks. Nothing good.”
“We’ll put a stop to that,” Syla reassured him, then focused on healing him and determinedly didnotlet herself pepper Wreylith with questions about Vorik’s meeting. As she’d decided, she would trust him fully, even if her curiosity made her want to charge out there.
“It won’t be easy,” Tabuvar warned. “Fograth has a lot of allies.”
“Ihave a dragon.”
“I… imagine that would be useful.”
“Very useful.”
Smugness emanated from Wreylith’s perch on the roof.
5
“What canI do for you, Wise?” Vorik called softly, spotting his lieutenant in an alley a half block from the glassworks factory. He’d been keeping an eye out for him all evening, a challenging task considering how many distractions there had been.
Vorik would have left the stormers sooner if he’d realized how much danger Syla was in from her own people. All the time. She needed a legion of bodyguards. If Wreylith hadn’t arrived, Vorik might not have slipped away to speak with Wise, but he had to find out if the lieutenant represented another threat to Syla. Or to himself, for that matter. Was it possible his people had decided to punish—or evenassassinate—Vorik for killing Jhiton? Admittedly, the magic-lacking and somewhat academic Wise wouldn’t have been anyone’s first choice as an assassin.
“There you are, Captain,” Wise blurted in relief. “Hullo.”
That relief made Vorik lower his tense shoulders an inch. Whatever had brought Wise, it hadn’t been an assassination mission. When the lieutenant turned to face Vorik, his hands weren’t near his weapons.
“Here I am, yes, and here is where I need to stay.”
Wise digested that for a moment. He didn’t sound surprised when he said, “You’re not a prisoner.”
“No. I came to help Syla.”
“I figured that was the case, sir, and I’m not— I don’t blame… Well, what I think isn’t important. Still, if it matters to you, from what I know of the Kingdom history—its rulers, in particular—I believe she would be better for us to negotiate with than someone else.”
“I think so too.” Vorik cocked his head. “Are our chiefsthinkingof negotiations now?”
Wise hesitated. “It’s complicated.”
“It usually is.”
“Since General Jhiton ordered you to stay back at the camp on the mainland—” a raising of Wise’s eyebrows, barely noticeable in the faint light from a streetlamp burning nearby, was his only acknowledgment that Vorik had not obeyed that order, “—I don’t know how much you know about how our forces did on Bogberry Island, but it was devastating.”
“I’m aware. I was there when the flood started.”
“Ah. Then… is what Captain Lesva is saying true, sir? I had my doubts, but…”
Vorik rocked back. He’d seen Lesva swim away, so of course he’d known she might have survived, but she’d gone deeper into the flooding mine when he and Syla had been climbing out. And, as far as he knew, there hadn’t been another way to escape. The mine shaft had been guarded by Kingdom men, so he’d assumed… Well, he and Syla hadn’t stuck around for long. It was possible Lesva had climbed out later in the night. And if she had… she could have handled the troops left guarding the shaft. Handled them by leaving them dead.
“When did she get back to the camp?” Vorik asked. “Her dragon was killed, so…”
“Chieftess Shi spotted her waving a burning brand on a beach and, er, she actually sentmein with a collapsible kayak with two seats.” Wise grimaced. “I got an earful after I picked her up. It didn’t take me long to paddle her out to the barrier, fortunately. Then Shi picked her up on her dragon.”
“I imagine that was an unpleasant ride.”
“She’s a hard woman. And she was giving Shi an earful, too, as they flew away.”
“I’ll bet.” Vorik closed his eyes.
Lesva hadn’t witnessed his fight with Jhiton, but he’d later battled herto protect Syla, which had also ensured that Lesva couldn’t destroy the shielder. By now, all the stormer tribes might have heard and be calling him a traitor.
“I understand that you have feelings for Queen Syla, sir,” Wise said, choosing his words carefully, “but I don’t understand… was Lesva telling the truth? That you helped keep her away from the shielder?”
