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Amara shrugged, doing a good job of appearing unaffected by the strange situation. “It’s not remote to our way of thinking. We’ve come south from eastern Calista.”
“Calista?” The man glanced behind him, and one of the other guards nodded.
I realized, belatedly, that Amara had been picking her words carefully, wary of any guards with a healing affinity. And it looked like her caution had been called for.
The guard in front of us stood motionless for a moment, clearly torn about what to make of us. But two of the men behind him had started whispering, their heads bent together. The speaker was watching us with wide eyes, his words inaudible but rapid. The other started out frowning, but his eyes gradually widened as well, his gaze locking on us.
I shifted uncomfortably. If they intended to deny us entry, would they leave the matter there? Or would they attempt to arrest us? I couldn’t imagine why they would do so, but nothing about the situation made sense. Travel around Tartora had never been restricted, and city inns relied on travelers to survive.
The speaker at the back had finished, and his listener responded by stepping forward to murmur something in the ear of the leader. This time he was close enough for me to catch the wordsheroesandstorm.
Just like before, the leader’s whole manner changed on hearing the whispered message. He peered first at Amara and then at me before dropping into an abrupt bow.
“We are honored!” he exclaimed. “Please forgive my earlier questioning. Of course the heroes of Eldrida are welcome in our city any time!”
My mouth fell open, but Amara took it easily in stride, inclining her head and smiling graciously.
“Thank you for your welcome.”
“I apologize for not recognizing you at once,” the leader said. “But I hope you can understand our caution. You must have heard the rumors and know there are dangerous people loose in Tartora. We can’t be too careful in protecting our citizens and our city.”
“An admirable goal,” Amara said in a steady voice. If I hadn’t known better, even I would have believed she found nothing about the situation odd.
The fourth guard had disappeared during the latter part of the conversation, and I realized his purpose when a loud creaking rang out. Slowly the full gate swung open, giving easy access to the city. All four guards jumped to attention, lining up on either side of the gate and bowing deeply as we passed through.
Amara led the way, the seven of us staying close together as we walked. I smiled at the guards as naturally as I could manage, but I wasn’t sure how well I succeeded. We continued into the city in unnatural silence until well out of ear shot of the guards.
“It wasn’t just me. That was weird, right?” I asked Amara. “I’m not even sure which aspect of it was more unsettling.”
Amara nodded grimly, the calmly gracious expression she’d worn at the gate gone completely.
“So that was all about keeping Grey out?” Luna asked, but her voice made it clear she didn’t find it a satisfactory explanation.
“So it would appear,” Amara said.
“Or so someone wants it to appear,” Hayes muttered, making me shoot him a horrified expression.
“Are you saying—?” I started, but Amara cut me off with a hand on my arm.
“Later,” she murmured, and I nodded.
For several streets, I followed her with quick, jumpy strides, trying not to see a threat in every shadow. The people we passed appeared normal enough, going about the regular business of a coastal city. For the most part, they ignored us, although more than one took a second look at Amara and me before bursting into speech with their companions.
“I thought they would have forgotten about us by now,” I said to Amara, acutely uncomfortable.
“A disaster like that storm isn’t soon forgotten,” she said. “And we can be grateful for it on this occasion. I honestly don’t know if we would have gotten into the city if we hadn’t been recognized.”
“As long as it was only us who were recognized,” I said.
I didn’t know what was going on in Eldrida, but I was already uncomfortable about everyone soon knowing Amara and I were here. They didn’t need to know both of King Marius’s children were here too.
ChapterFourteen
After another turn, I recognized a landmark.
“Aren’t we going to the inn?” I asked Amara, sure that had been her intention. She had waxed poetic for several minutes during the morning about the warm bath waiting for us.
“Change of plans,” she said shortly.
