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Ah. He grinned. “I knew you’d come around eventually.”
Yelena tugged him up onto the bridge’s walking path. She pressed against his side, walking slow. “It’s always been you, Janco. I’ve just been suppressing my true feelings.”
“What about Valek?” He stared at her as if she were the only one in the world even though he longed to check if the goons had spotted them yet.
“Valek, smalek. He’s way too serious.”
They paused at the center of the bridge, taking in the view. Little diamonds of moonlight sparkled on the water. He pulled her into a hug before they moseyed to the other side.
“You’ll leave Valek for me?” he asked.
“Yes. You just have to tell him we’re running away together.” She smirked.
“Ow.” He pressed a hand to his heart. “Doused with ice-cold reality. All loving feelings gone. Sorry, sweetheart, you’re not worth dying for.”
“Are you sure it’s not that pretty new recruit?” She made a left onto a trail, heading downstream.
“It’s not. She’d probably rather kill me than kiss me.”
“Oh?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you about it later.” The path cut between the river and the forest. “How many miles is it?”
“About five, but my horse can take us both.”
Just as he realized why that didn’t sound right, Yelena turned right and entered the woods. She hiked until they reached a grayish horse.
Oh no. Worried, he asked, “Where’s Kiki?”
29
YELENA
Despite the near miss at the factory and being chased, my mood had improved. It might have been due to Janco’s presence, but I’d never confess that to him. He’d gloat about it forever. Janco held on to my waist as The Madam trotted along the path that paralleled the twists and turns of the Sunworth river.
We reached Port Monroe an hour later. After I settled The Madam in the Water Witch’s stable, we entered the common room just as the sun rose. We sat at a table opposite the door, ordered sweet cakes and tea. I needed at least a gallon of tea. Janco didn’t seem to be his normal peppy self, either.
“Did Valek send you to investigate the Curare factory?” I asked before he could start with his questions.
“Curare!” He smacked his forehead. “Of course. That’s why it smelled so familiar. It was driving me crazy.”
I waited.
“Curare. Oh sh—”
“That’s what I thought when I caught the scent. It took me a day to hone in on that factory. I waited until the nighttime to learn who is responsible, and...well, you know the rest. If you didn’t know they were producing Curare, then why were you there?”
Janco told me about tracking smugglers to Sitia. “...using magic to hide their routes. And we also discovered Maren’s working undercover in the operation.”
“Are you her backup?”
“No. The Commander didn’t tell us where she was. Not even Valek.”
That worried me. Did the Commander suspect there was an informer in Valek’s corps?
Our food arrived and we both shoveled steaming sweet cakes into our mouths. I gulped my tea despite the hot temperature. The liquid burned all the way to my stomach and warmed me.
“Okay, your turn. Why are you here?” Janco asked.
I gave him the short version, which didn’t include my lost magic. I’d tell him before we did anything dangerous.
“You think the people who rescued Ben are involved with the Curare factory?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. That’s why I sneaked inside to see if there was any connection. But regardless of who is involved, we have to shut that place down.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured you’d say that. Do you want to notify the Sitian authorities? Or take matters into our own hands?”
“And what can the two of us do?”
Janco’s eyes lit up. “Burn the place down. Totally doable with the three of us. You’re forgetting Little Miss Assassin, our newest recruit.”
This was going to be good. “Little Miss Assassin?”
“She doesn’t like to be called that.”
“Gee, I wonder why.”
“Onora’s overly sensitive. But I’m working on her. Anyhoo, she showed up one night.” Janco launched into a detailed story of how Onora made an impression on the Commander. “...and she would have beaten Valek if she’d finished her training. If she wants Valek’s job—”
“What does Valek think about all this?”
“He didn’t say, but I think he’d be more than happy to let another take over the reins.”
“I don’t agree. He loves his job.”
“He loves you more.”
Janco didn’t quite understand. For Valek, the Commander would always come first, and I’d accepted that...mostly. I’d admit there were times I’d wished it was different.
As Janco helped himself to my tea, I mulled over the information. With Ben locked in Wirral, he couldn’t direct a smuggling operation. We really needed to get inside and find out who was in charge before we informed the authorities. Was it the mystery accomplice I couldn’t remember?
The Sitian methods for raiding a place were far from subtle. Plus I didn’t have any doubt the smugglers had paid off the town watch. Not with the place stinking of Curare. The watchman would tip them off and all the evidence would be gone before the authorities organized an attack.
“Thinking devious thoughts?” Janco asked.
“Not quite. I’d like to discover who’s behind the factory, but after tonight, I’d bet they’re scrambling to relocate or hide the evidence.”
“Maren might know. We should find a way to contact her.”
“Or wait for her to contact us,” I said. “She probably recognized us. Either way, we should return to Lapeer and keep an eye on that factory. See who comes and goes.”
“They’ll be on guard, watching for us.”
“Then we’ll have to go in disguise. How attached are you to your hair, old man?”
Janco groaned. “How about we pretend to be newlyweds?”
“No.” I glanced at the door. We’d been talking for a couple of hours. “Shouldn’t Little Miss Assassin be here by now?”
?
?Maybe she had to make a detour to shake a tail.”
“You’re not worried?”
“Not at all. The girl was trained by the same lady who trained Valek, and she...”
“She what?”
“She just blends in, but I don’t get that icky magic sensation around her. Did you feel it last night? Could she be one of those One-Trick Wonders?”
“Maybe. Did Valek sense any magic?”
“He didn’t say. Can’t you use your superpowers on her and get the skinny?”
“Uh...about that, Janco. I—”
“There she is.”
His voice held more relief than his early comments about her implied. Interesting. I studied the young woman as she approached. Graceful with pretty, light gray eyes and a narrow face. Her lips were pressed together and a crease marked her forehead. She’d be beautiful without that dour expression. I doubted she cared.
“What took ya so long?” Janco asked.
She frowned at me before meeting his gaze. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to discuss Ixian business in front of a Sitian.”
Janco laughed. “Yelena isn’t Sitian or Ixian. She’s just an ian—neutral.”
“No one is neutral,” Onora said.
“True. How could she not love Ixia more? She can’t. Oh, stop scowling at me, Little Miss Assassin. I’m just gonna tell her everything anyway. This way, I won’t mess up the details.”
“So you admit you’ve messed up the details in the past?” I asked.
“No way, sweetheart.”
Onora turned to me. “It’s amazing he’s lived this long.”
“He grows on you. Sort of like a barnacle.”
“Hey!” He pouted.
“Did you run into trouble?” I asked Onora, ignoring Janco.
“No. While you two were pretending to be lovebirds, I looped back to the factory. Everyone was outside hunting for us, so I figured no one would be looking inside.”
Smart. A server came over to take Onora’s breakfast order. She ordered eggs, toast and ham.
When the girl retreated, I asked, “Did you find anything?”
