“They see the legend I inherited,” Jubilee said. “Not what I earned for myself.”
“You never do anything where you can show your face, girl. Why is that?”
Bastion stirred, letting his fork scrape on his plate. “Renni.”
Saeldian had gone perfectly still. Everyone else shifted, passing plates or bowls around, but Saeldian looked like they were trying to hide in plain sight. Kell knew an old argument when he heard one, but why was Saeldian so tense about it?
“Kell,” Lorzok murmured, and Kell turned to accept a plate heaped with the most perfectly cooked spears of tall cabbage. The fish came next, and Kell regretted taking only one piece.
“It comes with the job,” Jubilee said.
“You’re going to have to explain that,” Serenity said. “What have you been doing?”
Kell glanced at Saeldian, who had speared a water lily pod with their fork, intent on not getting involved. Was he about to watch Serenity understand the truth about Saeldian?
But they set it down. “She’s worried about this one, Serenity. Lady Tarm bought a spell gem without checking its provenance, or was deceived into thinking it was a legitimate sale. We have to retrieve it—but it leaves Lady Tarm robbed, with probably no way to get justice against the person who swindled her.”
Serenity Righthoof listened, but from the way her lips pursed, she didn’t like what she heard.
“Usually we’re stealing from thieves,” Jubilee said, now fortified by Saeldian’s backup. “But Lady Tarm didn’t know she was doing anything wrong. I don’t know how we help her.”
“That’s not a comforting reason for the disguise,” Serenity pointed out. “Nor a reason for all the skulking about.”
Wisdom crunched on one of his own paper potatoes. “Because they’re not hanging around the Yawning Portal looking for toe-to-toe battles, Ma. Think about the work they did breaking up that blackmailing ring. They have to be discreet. I’d like to do something that clever.”
“But people should know it was my eldest who did it,” Serenity said. “Let me boast about something in the market besides your exemplary grades.”
Kell couldn’t say anything. But he wanted to warn these kind people who had taken Saeldian in and believed that they needed the comfort of a family. The Righthoofs loved Saeldian Charmhand, and none of them had the slightest clue about the truth.
But Lorzok said, “What about the blackmailing ring?” and Serenity, beaming with pride, started the story. Saeldian ate, nodding in the right places. But he knew how Saeldian behaved when they were hiding their real feelings, and how to spot the truth in the cracks.
Saeldian was sad and putting a good face on it. But why?
Chapter Six
We Meet Again
Where Saeldian and Jubilee Have to Mingle
Kell hated to admit that Saeldian had been right about not needing a carriage. The four of them strolled along with many happy people dressed with shiny coins hanging from their sleeves or shivering on their hems, and music spilled from the open doors and windows of parties all along the short walk to their destination.
The Tarm villa couldn’t have been more different from Righthoof Manor. Its stone was smooth-faced and a little bit green, as were the carved grapes, goblets, and cheerful maidens crowned in wheat. A few carriages waited to be admitted, but most people walked through the gates after being greeted by the guards.
Saeldian fell in behind one such group, twirled a lock of hair, and gave the gate guard a flirtatious smile. Kell saw exactly when the enchantment clouded his thoughts. The four of them stepped into the warmth of a party in full swing, laughter and talk rising in concert with musicians playing dancing music. Eight players?
Three steps more, and Kell nodded at being right. Two steps later, the lights in the ballroom dimmed, then flared brightly in the sconces next to the entrance.
People glanced in their direction as Saeldian walked into view as if flowers bloomed in response to their step. Tall and proud, with a stride that carried them across a room faster than the eye would assume, as if they were dancing already.
Kell had taught them to do that, but not the way Saeldian captured every eye as they regarded the crowded room, comfortable with the staring until someone pushed their way through and called, “Saer Brightleaf!”
Saeldian covered their surprise and headed toward the man who’d called out. Jubilee’s sigh ended on a curse. “Hells, it’s Venthar.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Long story. We’ve got to give him the brush-off.”
That was a mark, then. Kell knew it in his bones. “What’s our move?”
