Valek sobered. Yelena never backed down. The Fire Warper had rattled her confidence. Despite her fear, this wasn’t the time to be a good little student. “What happens when the Daviians win?” he asked.
“I’ll stay with you in Ixia.”
While he’d love that, it wasn’t so simple. “What about your parents? Leif? Moon Man? Irys? Do they come with you? And what happens when these Daviian Warpers with their incredible blood magic decide to follow you to Ixia? What choice will you have then?” He studied her face. “You can’t let your fear of the Fire Warper stop you from?—”
Annoyed, she snapped. “The council has stopped me. They’re the ones who are against me.”
Against her? Now she was being paranoid. “You just said there are a few councilors on your side. Once the council hears Marrok’s evidence tonight, they’ll believe you about the Wannabe King.”
“How did you know about Marrok?” she demanded.
“Servants. Their information network is far superior to a corps of trained spies.” And it appeared young Fisk’s and his helper’s guild were on track to rival them. “I’ll tell you about the session later tonight.”
“You rat! It’s a closed meeting. Only you would try to pull it off.”
“You know me, love.” He didn’t tell her he’d been snooping all along, just in case Irys or one of the other master magicians read her thoughts. He knew they had an Ethical Code, but from what he had learned about Roze, she would ignore it in a heartbeat if she thought it would benefit Sitia.
“I know. You crave a challenge and you’re cocky.”
He grinned. “I wouldn’t call it cocky. A certain amount of self-confidence is needed, especially in my line of work.” He sobered. “And for yours.”
She ignored the implication. “Speaking of work, we made a deal. Why are you here?”
He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, considering how best to answer her question.
“Valek,” she warned, poking him in the ribs. “Tell me.”
“The Commander sent me.”
“Why?”
“To assassinate the Sitian Council.”
She gaped in surprise. “You’re not?—”
“No. It’s the wrong thing to do right now. The Commander based his decision on the state of Sitian affairs before these Daviian Warpers showed up. He allowed me a degree of flexibility on this mission. We need to find out what’s going on. The council meeting tonight might reveal crucial information.”
“We?”
“Yes.We.” He needed her help. Plus, the old adage about being thrown off a horse applied to this situation. The only way for Yelena to regain her confidence was to get back on that cantankerous horse.
She sighed. They both hunted for the pieces of their hastily discarded clothing.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked, pulling on his pants.
“I’ve a meeting with Gede Sandseed in one of the Citadel’s guest quarters. He’s also a Story Weaver, and he said he could help me learn about how to be a Soulfinder.”
“I thought you knew how to be a Soulfinder?”
“Apparently, there’s more to it.” She rubbed her hands along her sleeves as she shuddered.
“What about Moon Man? Isn’t he your Story Weaver?”
“He was. We had a bit of a falling out. Gede offered to help me without using cryptic and mysterious language. And in order to regain the trust of the council, I need to work with Gede.” She scowled. “I’ve learned one thing already. There’s this…shadow world. It’s exactly like our world except it’s all gray. According to Moon Man, it’s the world’s shadow. Moon Man said the souls of his people haunt that world.”
Valek had heard about it. “He told me that you and Leif were in the shadow world when you had to…uh…untangle your relationship.”
“That makes sense. I think the Story Weavers use it as a stage to show people the threads of their lives. Those Sandseed souls are part of my story.”
