“There you are!” a voice exclaimed.
The woman was headed straight for Saeldian, her face glowing with relief, and—
Jubilee tensed, but the woman sailed right past her before Jubilee could involve herself. The woman—just well dressed enough and just pretty enough to be unremarkable—stopped at Saeldian’s table and sighed in relief. “Thank the gods! You’re still here. The day is saved! I’ve taken care of everything, but we have to go right now.”
What in the Hells wasthisgame? “I’m sorry, who—”
She grabbed Saeldian’s arm and pulled them up. “Saer Longsmile sent me.”
Saer Longsmile? This was nonsense. Saeldian should pull away. They should sayWho are you?in a loud, alarmed voice. But the choking gambit they’d used was already memorable enough. This stranger barging in was making people stare again.
A matronly woman emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a clean cloth. Saeldian’s whole scam was ruined. They couldn’t protest. Too many questions. Who was this woman? What kind of trouble was Saeldian in?
The amulet resting on Saeldian’s breastbone thumped twice, like a heartbeat.
It hadn’t done that in years.
What was happening? Saeldian was supposed to trust this stranger?
Behind them, Venthar cleared his throat. “If Saer Brightleaf doesn’t want to go, then they shall not. Saer, do you know this woman?”
Jubilee was on her feet now, stepping out of the narrow, cluttered space between chairs.
Venthar’s gallant defense had hooked him more thoroughly than Saeldian’s patter ever could, but this grift was over. Saeldian didn’t know this plain-dressed woman, but the amulet had never been wrong, ever.
So they nodded at the human woman and smiled. “I was hoping for Saer Longsmile’s company. You were sent to fetch me?”
“With his most ardent apology. There’s no time to lose! The tide never waits.”
Jubilee’s mouth popped open, but she followed as Saeldian allowed themself to be hustled along by the strange woman like she was an old friend.
Saeldian looked back at Venthar. “It was nice meeting you.”
The strange woman called over her shoulder, “Apologies, Saer Gentleman Lord whoever you are!” and shoved open the door to Aunt Lothiel’s Teas and Temptations. Saeldian squinted in the high, bright sunshine and left a sputtering Venthar behind.
Once they spilled into the street, Jubilee caught up and put herself between Saeldian and the stranger who had hustled them into leaving. Jubilee stood a head taller than Saeldian, with spiraling horns that made sure she had to duck under most doors, and she made herself loom over the stranger a little. Her smile was wide but willing to turn unfriendly in an instant. “Hi! Who are you, and what’s going on?”
The stranger said, “Mariel? If you would, please.”
Another woman, this one taller than all of them—and by the look of her wide shoulders, stronger too—stood up from a bench outside the teahouse and took Jubilee’s arm.
“The street’s not the right place for this conversation,” Mariel said. Her voice sounded like she had to scrape it free of her throat.
Jubilee glanced at Saeldian, her wide eyes a question:What was happening?
Saeldian didn’t have answers, but they knew how to keep moving.Don’t be scared. And if you are scared, hide it.“All this fuss for a meeting? It couldn’t wait?”
“A sense of humor,” the first woman said. “I like the funny ones.”
“Sometimes they get too funny,” Mariel said.
“Not to say I’m laughing,” Jubilee said, “but where are you taking us? What kind of conversation?”
“I’ve ordered a meal at the Golden Rose,” the first woman said, “so at the very least, dinner will be excellent.”
“Oh, an inn. Traditional,” Jubilee said, forcing more confidence into her voice.
The Golden Rose was new enough that neither of them had been there. Saeldian had heard that it was expensive, serving the best of the best. But that didn’t answer Jubilee’s question.
