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We followed Ryze to an inn on the waterfront and straight to rooms on the third floor.
"The owner works for me," he explained. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked a plain but heavy-looking timber door. He pushed it open and waved us inside.
"We weren't expecting two extra people."
That explained why the small room had only three narrow beds.
"We'll make do." Zared pushed his hood back off his face.
"Zared can sleep on the floor," Vayne said. He swung his pack off his back and set it down on the bed that was both furthest from the window, and hard up against the wall.
Zared opened his mouth to retort but caught my warning look and shut it with a snap and click of his teeth.
"Zared and Khala can stay here," Ryze said. He swung his own pack down to the bed in the middle of the room. "The three of us are going to search for information. No, you can't come," he said before I could even think of speaking.
"We have contacts. We don't need them asking questions. The innkeeper will bring up food in an hour or so. They'll knock twice, then leave it outside. Don't open the door until you know they've gone. The innkeeper works for me, but I can't vouch for the staff. Nor can I rule out the possibility someone paid the innkeeper more than I did."
"There's always someone vying for the loyalty of people like that." Tavian put his pack down near the door, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He'd looked like that since we entered the streets of Garial. The laid-back Tavian was put aside in favour of the Master of Assassins, sneaking into enemy territory. His whole body looked loose, but I wasn’t fooled. He was ready to act or react in a heartbeat to protect himself or his High Lord.
"Fae from all over the four courts come here. They bring information with them, ready to sell it or buy more," Ryze said. "The price is higher every time I step foot in Garial." He patted the full purse at his hip.
"They should be arrested for asking so much," Vayne grumbled. "Arrested and thrown in the harbour."
"I'm starting to think you have a thing for throwing people into deep water," Ryze told him.
Vayne shrugged and followed the High Lord out.
Tavian gave me a small smile and closed the door behind the three of them.
"This is bullshit," Zared growled. He dumped his pack in the middle of the floor and flopped down onto the bed closest to the window. "We came all this way just to be left behind? How are we supposed to help like this?"
I sat down beside him. "We can help by not getting in the way. When they find out where my other sisters are being held, we can help."
"How?" Zared demanded. "They could leave us behind then too. They might leave us in this room for days, to keep us out of the way."
"They can try." They probablywouldtry. I didn't want to be stuck here any more than he did, but I also didn't want to risk my sisters with my own impatience. "If nothing else, they'll need us when they get my sisters out of the palace or wherever they’re being kept. They're going to be confused and scared. Familiar faces will be exactly what they need."
He sighed, rose and stalked over to the window. He looked out for at least a couple of minutes before he spoke again. When he did it was with resignation.
"You're right." He turned back around to face me. "They will need that. If they haven't transformed, another human face will be welcome. And if they have, seeing you may reassure them."
"Right." And seeing them transformed would reassure me that I wasn't a one-off. Some kind of peculiarity created by the gods or circumstance. We'd all feel a bit less alone.
"So, that thing with the river…" He looked like he needed to talk about it, but at the same time didn't want to think about it. Neither did I, but we had to clear the air between us. I didn’t want him to fear me. Although, if he did, that fear was justified. He came closer to dying than I could bear to think about. I never would have stopped blaming myself if he had.
"I don't know what happened," I said. I owed him the truth, as best as I could give him. "When I use magic, it doesn't work the way Ryze thinks it should. I tell it what to do and…" I stopped to think about it. "It does something else. Something I didn't expect or ask for. It's like a child who doesn't want to do what they're told. But at the same time, it's not fighting me. Not exactly." I frowned, trying to put my thoughts into words.
"It's like…it doesn't quite understand what I'm asking. Like there's a piece missing. I feel like I'm trying to communicate when I still have my Silent Maiden choker on, but the other person doesn't understand maiden hand signals. They can make out some of them, but they're mostly guessing."
I leaned back against the headboard and tucked my feet under me.
"Or it's like trying to understand someone speaking when you can't hear."
He came and sat down beside me again. "Magic speaks in a different language?"
"It doesn't really have a language," I said slowly. "But whatever it is, I'm not reaching it the way I want to. I'm sorry, I don't know how to explain it any better than that."
