“Don’t worry about me. I’ve lived like this for years now.” Cori brushed a short curl from her forehead. “Anyway, I’m going back to the place where I know who I am and I’m respected for my skill. And now that I report to the queen, I don’t even have to speak to Shane ever again.”
That sounds terrible.
It was, but maybe it was for the best.
Cori turned toward the doorway. “Walk with me back to the barracks?”
“Of course. I’m heading back to my shop now. I’ll come out that way.”
They walked out of the hall together, past a pair of silent, watchful guards. Seeing them, Izzy’s earlier question came back to her. There were guards all along the exit route, so how did the assassin get Narya’s body out of the cloister and through the doors without anyone noticing?
She stilled, thinking back to that night, to her own secret entry into the castle. There’d been a man at the door, fighting with his apprentice. Izzy’s pulse quickened, and she put her hand out toward Cori, pulling her to a stop. “There was a drummer, a man with a beard. He had robes with silver lining. How big was his drum?”
Cori nodded. “I remember him. He played a huge barrel drum. It was so heavy, one of the guards had to help lift it onto the handcart at the end of their performance. They wheeled it into the cloister, presumably planning to clear it away after the banquet.”
“I saw a man like that when I came in with Aiden,” Izzy whispered. “He’d lost his instrument!”
They stared at each other in horror. It wasn’t lost. Someone took the drum.
That’s how the assassin got the body out of the castle!
Scales fluttered over Izzy’s wrists. “All the assassin had to do was slip the body inside the drum and wheel it out.”
Cori looked appalled. “Wouldn’t the guards at the gate have checked?”
“There were so many people coming and going, they probably saw a drum on a cart being pushed away and thought nothing of it. Why would they check something that was leaving when they had so much to check coming in?”
“But why would a physik help with the instruments? Wouldn’t the guards notice that?”
Izzy rubbed her forehead where an ache gathered. “Maybe they said they knew the drummers? Maybe they dressed like a musician or wore a big cloak?”
They reached the barracks and stopped together. Cori turned toward her, worry clouding her brown eyes. “You need to tell Shane and Luka.”
“I will.” Izzy huffed. “Even though I’d rather not talk to either of them.”
Cori pulled her into a quick embrace. “If it helps, I feel the same way. Still, the best thing is to pull the thorn out quickly, before it festers.” She let out a dry chuckle. “Unless it’s anything to do with Shane, then I’m all for festering.” She sobered. “That’s why it’s better for me to go.”
Izzy sent a quick prayer to the Mother of the Weave, asking her to protect her friend. “Be careful, Cori. Come home safe to us.”
“You too, Izzy. Don’t try to solve this on your own.”
Izzy nodded. “I won’t.”
“Bye, Iz. Write to me and let me know that you’re well.” Cori opened the barracks door, turning at the last moment to raise her hand in farewell before disappearing inside.
Izzy stood for a moment, watching the space where her friend had been as a shiver worked its way down her spine.
I’ve got a bad feeling.
Me too, Izzy agreed. Now that Cori was gone, she was alone again, and the feeling of being watched was back. She looked around her carefully, but no one seemed interested in her at all.
She shook off the feeling. She was tired and worried; it wasn’t surprising that she saw danger in every corner. She flagged down a messenger who told her that Luka and Shane were both still in the meeting with the archthane in the Burnished Hall.
Interrupting them there could only make things more difficult, but where could she go? Not Luka’s room, which she’dlocked that morning. Not the clinic, which she’d been all but thrown out of.
Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything that day. She could visit the dining hall, find some food, and wait for Luka. Then she’d tell him her suspicions and, finally, go home.
She had just reached the hall, the smell of fresh bread and roasted meats lingering enticingly in the air, when a handsome city guard caught up to her.
