That bad?
Yes. I need your help.
All right.
Thank you. Did your father discover anything useful?
Leif told her about the various plants Esau had identified. Her reaction to the Theobroma-resistant Curare matched his. And Bavol must come and see this grafting technique.
He can’t leave the Council sessions. Would it be possible to bring your father and the plants to the Citadel?
It’s too cold. The plants will probably die before we arrive. But I’ll ask him.
Please tell him it’s very important.
Now she was scaring him. Leif had known Irys for most of his life, and she’d always been rather unflappable and stoic. Irys, what’s really going on?
I’ll explain everything when you arrive.
A classic dodge. Come on, Irys, it’s me.
How soon can you get here?
If we leave tomorrow, we’ll be there in seven days. But you didn’t answer my question.
Be extra careful on your journey. She paused. We’ve...lost a number of magicians.
Lost? Like they’re missing, or they’re dead?
Both.
Holy snow cats, Irys! Why didn’t you tell me that right away?
The Council doesn’t want to spread panic needlessly.
Well, if there’s a time to be panicking, I think this merits it. Don’t you?
She ignored his sarcasm. Get home as soon as you can.
Yes, sir.
16
YELENA
My lips still burned from Valek’s kiss. The intensity of it seared into my soul like a red-hot iron branding his name right on my heart. The idea of being locked in a tower with him no longer sounded so terrible. If my magic never returned, what else would I do aside from raising our child? I might be content...for about a week.
Valek mounted Onyx. He met my gaze, and his smile promised a reunion worth waiting for. Then he was gone, leaving behind a cloud of dust. The rest of the world returned, appearing duller.
“Yelena,” Onora said.
I focused on her. “Yes?”
She held out a roll of parchment. “I drew this for you.”
Suppressing my surprise, I took it and unrolled the sheet, revealing a picture of a tree drawn with charcoal. Each oval leaf had been carefully detailed, along with the precise lines and shading of the bark. I half expected it to sway in the breeze.
Why would she— I gasped. “It’s the Harman tree, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Onora’s tone was matter-of-fact.
She’d gone into Owen’s suite and sketched one of the saplings, despite the danger. Impressive and brave. “When?”
“This morning. Right after I talked to you.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“No. And I didn’t touch the trees or go near them, just in case there was a magical alarm.”
“Smart. I want to admonish you for taking such a risk, but...” I waved the picture. “This is perfect. You are a talented artist.”
She shrugged away the compliment. “Will it help your father identify the tree?”
“Yes. He’ll be ecstatic. And then he’ll bug me to invite you to the jungle to go on an expedition with him and draw plants. To him, that’s the ultimate experience, and he doesn’t understand why others aren’t jumping up and down at the prospect.”
Onora laughed. It was a small burst of sound as it escaped her tight self-control. “I might actually like that.”
“When all this mess with Owen is resolved, consider yourself invited.”
“Thank you.”
I tucked the picture into my saddlebags. Ari and Janco finished readying their horses.
The Stable Master gave Ari’s horse a pat on the neck. “His name’s Diamond Whiskey, ’cause of that diamond-shaped blaze on his forehead. But we all call him Whiskey for short. Take good care of him and make sure he returns with you. The Commander’s partial to him.”
Ari paused in midmount. “Why did you pick him, then? I can take another.”
“He’s the strongest of my lot.”
“That’s a polite way of saying you’re fat, Ari,” Janco said.
Ari and the Stable Master ignored him.
The Master pointed to Kiki and The Madam. “I also picked him ’cause he gets along well with the girls.”
“Being able to get along is a good quality to have,” I said, giving Janco a pointed look.
He batted his eyelashes at me—Mr. Innocent. “Hey, I’m the epitome of a team player.”
I suppressed a sigh as I swung into my saddle. Janco in high spirits meant more high jinks. However, no matter how hard I tried, I really couldn’t consider that a bad thing.
“Come on, Epitome,” I said. “Mount up. I’d like to cross the border before dark.”
* * *
We arrived at the northern gates of the Citadel late at night on the third day. Since I didn’t know Leif’s current location, I’d
thought to check with Irys about his whereabouts to see if he’d already left the farmhouse.
Surrounding the Citadel was a high white marble wall broken only by four entrances. Janco had wanted to stop at an inn a couple hours ago, but the thought of sleeping in my own bed had given me a burst of energy, and we pushed on.
By the guards’ slow response to our calls, I guessed we had woken them. Two men exited the guardhouse to talk to us, but two others headed into the Citadel at a fast pace—so it was a shift change, not a case of sleeping on the job. Much better, considering the Commander’s plans.
The guards were members of the Citadel’s security forces. Since I wasn’t ready for the Council to know I’d returned from Ixia, I’d pulled my hood over my head and planned to give them fake names. I’d inform the Council of my return once I learned of their state of mind from Irys.
“Names?” the taller of the two asked.
“I’m Elliona Featherstone. This is Yannis and Pellow Moon.” I hooked a thumb at Janco and Ari. Their pale skin matched most Moon Clan members.
The man asked a number of detailed questions about our reason for visiting, how long we planned to stay and where we were lodging. He wrote all our answers down with slow strokes of his quill in a ledger. Then he consulted another book before he allowed us to enter the Citadel. The whole exchange took much longer than normal.
Once we were out of sight of the guardhouse, Janco rode alongside me. “That’s new. When did they start with the cross-examination at the gate?”
The last time I’d arrived, I’d been waved through. I calculated. “Sometime in the last forty days.”
“Do you think it’s because the Commander now has Curare?” Ari asked me.
“No. In that case, they would have doubled the guards at the border, but we didn’t see any unusual activity on the Sitian side.”
“Do they know Owen’s in Ixia?” Janco asked.
“Leif may have messaged Irys.”