A sudden wave of homesickness swept through him. That, and the familiar feeling of being torn between two places. He had not returned to the cabin since his father’s death. Like the remnants of his burnt home in Ravence, it contained too many memories. Memories of the boy he had been—free and decent. A boy who would be ashamed of the man he was now.
He had never seen the metal his father had found, but a part of him knew the Jantari had killed him. Erwin Knight had always been a careful man, private in his affairs. But on the day he had told Yassen, Erwin Knight had shared his discovery with everyone—the miners, his friends, his family—and Yassen had a hunch it had killed him.
“Farin says that there is a special ore deep in the Sona mountains. A metal so fine it could cut through steel.” Yassen went utterly still as Samson continued on. “I’ve tried finding it. I built tunnels beneath Chand Mahal and all the way up to the center of the range. Farin knows about some of the tunnels; the others…” He smiled. “Did your father ever find it?”
“No,” Yassen said immediately. He met Samson’s gaze, his voice firm. “He never knew anything about it.”
“Pity,” Samson said. He studied Yassen for a moment longer before shrugging. “Well, anyway, I thought I’d ask.” He held out the map. “Maybe when you leave, you can go to the cabin. Rest for a bit. I don’t think Farin knows it’s there, and it took me a while to find it.” He motioned. “Take out your pod.”
Slowly, Yassen took out his holopod and scanned the map. It tabled the data, creating a new topographical holo, but Yassen did not study it. He would not need it. The cabin was full of ghosts, those of his family and himself. There was no use in revisiting them.
“Sorry I couldn’t be of much help,” Yassen said.
“Oh, on the contrary. You’ve been helpful all along, Cass.” Samson stood, squeezed his shoulder. His hand lingered for a beat before he drew away. “Your intel was right. Mayawasat the stepwell. But our sources say that they’ve lost her trail. I think she took off after Jangir’s arrest.”
“Should we track her?”
“Not yet. I think the king is more concerned right now about his gold caps than an Arohassin fugitive,” he said, smiling.
Yassen tried his best to return the smile.
“I’m serious, Cass, about before. Stay, or come back soon. Don’t leave me in the shadows when we’ve just seen each other again.”
Yassen nodded. “I’ll try.”
When Samson was gone, he let out a shaky breath.Mother’s Gold, so it was true.If his father discovered the ore, where had it gone? Why hadn’t Samson or the Jantari found it yet?
“No,” Yassen whispered fiercely, stopping his thoughts. For weeks, months after his father’s death, he had seen his mother obsess over these questions. She would mumble them to herself. Wake up from dreams gasping about shadows and rocks that glowed in the dark. He had seen her slip away from him, bit by bit.
I am not the same.
He closed the map and slipped the pod back into his pocket—just as footsteps rang through the yard. A shadow stretched across the white path.
“Oh, I didn’t realize this spot was taken,” Ferma said.
“It’s all right.” He patted the lip of the fountain next to him. “There’s plenty of room.”
She hesitated but did not depart. Yassen could make out the high curve of her forehead, the elegant bridge of her nose as she stood half-cloaked in shadows.
“Seems like you can’t sleep either.”
“Most of the palace can’t,” she said, a bit too quickly. He smiled at the terseness in her voice. “We have a coronation to see through.”
“And Arohassin to catch,anda festival to celebrate,andan angry fire to calm,and—”
“What’s your point?” she asked, annoyance flashing across her face.
Yassen looked up at the moonless sky. “If you keep worrying about all the things to do, you’ll worry yourself to ruin.”
She gave a low snort, and Yassen turned to her.
“What?” he said.
“Nothing. You just reminded me of someone I used to know.”
She sat down beside him and withdrew a flask. Yassen watched her take a long gulp.
“Rough day?”
