“Where are you going?” she asked as I adjusted her blankets.
“Out. We need to talk to someone about Father’s case.”
Her fingers caught mine, surprisingly strong. “Juno. The Assembly doesn’t??—“
“I know what they do and don’t do. I’m going anyway.”
“It’s not safe.”
“Nothing is safe. Not anymore.” I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Rest. Kora and I will handle this.”
“You’re so much like him,” she whispered. “Stubborn and reckless.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Her grip tightened for a moment, then released. “Be careful.”
“Always.”
It was a lie, and we both knew it.
Kora waited for me in the front room, already dressed for the street in dark trousers, a fitted jacket and cloak, and boots that looked casual but hid at least three concealed weapons. She’d braided her red hair back from her face.
“Ready?” she asked.
I touched the pendant beneath my shirt, feeling the anchor crystal’s familiar weight. “Not even a little bit.”
Gideon Pike’s establishment occupied a building in the Merchant Quarter that looked respectable from the outside, a three-story structure of gray stone with brass fixtures that gleamed in the morning light. But I knew better. The real business happened below street level, in a network of rooms that connected to the Hollow Market tunnels.
We arrived just after dawn, when the streets were still quiet and most merchants were just opening their shops. Click rodein my satchel, his head poking out to watch the world with bright eyes. He’d learned long ago to stay hidden when we went somewhere dangerous.
“Last chance to back out,” Kora said as we approached the door.
“You backing out?”
“Not a chance.”
“Then neither am I.”
The door was answered by a woman who looked like she could snap both of us in half without breaking a sweat. Terra elemental, probably. She had the build for it, with broad shoulders, muscular arms visible beneath her rolled sleeves, a face that suggested she’d seen more than her share of fights.
“We’re here to see Gideon,” I said.
She looked us over with flat eyes. “He expecting you?”
I nodded. “Tell him Juno Farren wants to discuss that business opportunity.”
“Wait in the front room. Touch anything, and I break your fingers.”
“Charming,” Kora muttered as we passed.
The front room was exactly what I’d expected, expensive furniture that didn’t quite hide the fact that this was a place where deals were made and broken. A large desk dominated one wall, its surface covered with papers and odd trinkets. Crystal lamps provided soft light, and the walls were decorated with maps of various realms, some marked with notes in a cramped hand.
We didn’t have to wait long.
Gideon Pike entered through a side door, and I was struck by how ordinary he looked. Average height, average build, with brown hair going gray at the temples and a face that would disappear in any crowd. But his eyes were calculating, and when he smiled it didn’t reach them.
“Juno Farren.” He settled into the chair behind his desk, steepling his fingers. “I wondered when you’d come to me.”
