24. Kianthe
Chapter twenty-four
Kianthe
K ianthe awoke to an empty bed.
Well, “awoke” sounded far too calm. What really happened was Ponder sinking her tiny talons into Kianthe’s chest through the blankets . The mage yelped, jackknifed upright, and Ponder deftly glided to the chair in the corner. She squawked irately, spread her wings, and screeched for good measure.
In the hallway, someone slammed a fist on their bedroom door.
Kianthe barely heard it—she was too busy staring at the empty space beside her. “Reyna never came to bed,” she muttered, her chest tying into knots.
Ponder chittered, pacing along the thin back of the wooden chair. It wobbled under her weight, and she spread her wings further to balance herself. Her lion tail thrashed.
There was no reason to think Reyna was in danger, but it didn’t stop Kianthe’s mind from going to dark places. She threw the covers off, already clothed from the night before, and stopped short when her eyes settled on the sword propped against the wall by the door.
Reyna never went anywhere without that sword.
Fuck.
“Kianthe,” someone—Bobbie—shouted through the thick wood of the door. “Stars damn it all, please wake up!” More pounding, so intense it might break down the door soon.
Kianthe wrenched it open, sparks of magic flashing around her. Ponder landed on her shoulder, digging in to steady herself, and screeched in Bobbie’s face. Bobbie yelped, scrambling backwards.
The chaos ignited the mage’s temper, which heated the hallway considerably. “Quiet!” Kianthe snapped.
Silence fell. Down the hallway, a few doors were easing open. Pil, his kids, Squirrel—they all stepped out of their rooms. Farley was coming up the staircase holding two mugs of tea. Kianthe compartmentalized it all, then lifted Ponder off her shoulder, setting her with a thump on the wooden floor. The mage stared past Bobbie at the open door behind her.
Serina’s bedroom.
Where someone had clearly ripped her from her bed.
“I couldn’t have chosen a normal fiancée,” Kianthe muttered, scrubbing her hands across her tired face. She swept into Serina’s room only briefly, acknowledged no one was there, then stepped past Bobbie to the staircase. Farley skirted along the banister, giving the mage space. As expected, the inn’s lobby was empty. Kianthe wanted to laugh—or cry. “Couldn’t have picked someone who’d hide when kidnappers came. No, I had to pick a Stone-damned Queensguard, someone literally trained to run head-first into danger.”
Bobbie was on her heels, undeterred by the magic sparking around her. Ponder nipped at her clothes and Bobbie gently shooed her off, panic tinging her voice. “Serina wasn’t kidnapped.” The ex-constable swallowed a gasp as the movement pulled her stitches, expertly placed by Lathe’s doctor days ago.
It didn’t mean she was better. It just meant she wasn’t bleeding outright anymore.
Even though anxiety pulled at Kianthe’s mind, made her hands shaky, her breath scarce, she forced herself to calm down. It didn’t work, not really, but she’d been spending time with Reyna discussing contingencies. The last time they were separated, Kianthe assumed she was safe, and then Arlon attacked with five ships.
Now, Kianthe took control, and tapped the moonstone on her chest three long, pointed times.
Emergency ?
Long, agonizing moments passed—and then two long taps replied in their personalized code: All okay .
So, Reyna was both alive and well. It settled Kianthe’s racing heart just a bit. Whatever happened, whoever took her, Reyna clearly chose it. They had limited speaking capabilities through the moonstones—it was purely through taps and warmth, but it would alert her if Reyna was injured, at least.
For now, Kianthe stayed focused. It was a work in progress, but at least she could do something here.
Serina’s whole crew had shown up now. Rankor had clearly just rolled out of bed, and he accepted one of the steaming mugs from his wife. Squirrel muttered something about stress-baking and stepped towards the kitchen. Pil and the kids were watching solemnly.
Bobbie was still frantic. “Serina can’t have been kidnapped. No one wants her that badly. Right?”
“Arlon might.” Kianthe drew a short breath, tapping three short taps on her moonstone now. I love you .
And three came back instantly: Love you too.
It helped. It didn’t fix her pounding heart, her jittery nerves, but it helped.
Feo appeared at the top of the staircase, their expression utterly disgruntled. “Arlon wouldn’t have orchestrated a kidnapping; it’s far too messy. A fast attack like the blockade battle can be cleaned up and denied, but a kidnapping means you’re holding a hostage—often for long periods. Even he’s not that stupid.”
“She hasn’t been kidnapped,” Bobbie insisted. “She was drunk; she probably just stumbled into the snow. She…” the ex-constable trailed off when no one spoke in agreement. Bobbie scoured Kianthe’s grim expression, then sunk into the desk chair. “No. Stars, the last thing I said to her—she can’t be gone.”
“She’s not gone,” Kianthe said, exasperation lacing her words. After all, if something happened to Serina, Reyna would be fighting to save her. And that put Reyna in danger… so Kianthe had to pray neither of them were in that situation. “She’s alive.”
A startled scream arose from the kitchen.
“For the Stone’s blessed sake.” Kianthe stomped past everyone, around the lower hallway into the kitchen. Squirrel was there, arms laden with a bag of flour, and she pointed at the floor.
A singular dagger gleamed on the ground, its blade pointing towards the door.
“That’s Reyna’s.” Kianthe knelt beside it. Her eyes followed the path out the door. Ponder prowled beside her, clawing at the dagger, chittering curiously. “Whoever took them left through here.” Magic nudged her, circling around a lingering residue of blue locke in the air. When extracted properly, blue locke could put even the largest creature to sleep. Matild, Tawney’s resident medical expert, had Kianthe extract it for nastier operations.
Now, the golden magic of the plant swirled around her, acting like a trail leading Kianthe straight out the door. She ran her thumb along the hilt of Reyna’s dagger as she absently followed it, weaving through the streets until they reached the docks.
The procession followed her , something she didn’t realize until she stopped at the water’s edge.
“They got on a ship?” Bobbie asked.
“Mmm. Not Serina’s ship, either.” It was still docked in that cove north of here, and two people couldn’t have gotten it out—not with all the ice present. Already, the cold whipped through Kianthe’s clothes; she’d left her cloak at home, and she didn’t bother stifling her shiver.
Overhead, Ponder circled, screeching sadly. A louder, deeper screech echoed, and Visk appeared on the horizon, summoned by her misery.
Kianthe flagged him down. He landed with a heavy thump on the dock, twisting his head to watch her. But before she could swing her legs over his back, a hand stopped her.
“Arcandor,” Feo spoke firmly, clearly. “I know you’re worried. But Reyna is capable, and you’ve already confirmed they’re alive.” Of course they’d seen her tapping her moonstone. Nosy bastard. She scowled, but Feo didn’t release their hold on her arm. “We need to think about this. I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again: nothing good comes from rushing into a fight.”
“What’s there to think about?” Kianthe demanded. “They were taken on a ship. If we fly south, we’ll find them.”
“I’m coming too.” Bobbie set her jaw. She was swaying a bit, but managed to stay upright, which was frankly impressive.
Feo ground their teeth, exasperated. “You can’t track a ship on the river. They could be halfway to Oslop and you’d never realize it.”
A slow smile tilted Kianthe’s lips, and she hopped off Visk with a smug smile. “Oh, Feo. Sometimes I think you forget the capabilities of an elemental mage—especially one with my magic.” And she casually dipped her hand into the water lapping the dock.
It was eager to please. The river traced a path in her mind, a yellow imprint of the small ship that docked here late last night, then weighed anchor and sailed south, fast. Too fast. Magically fast. “Interesting,” she drawled, pulling out the word just to feed Feo’s confusion. “A small ship. Closer in size to her original vessel than the Knot for Sail . They have a mage on board, so they’re likely past Oslop by now. Maybe even to Neolow.”
“Or Arlon’s estate,” Bobbie mumbled.
Kianthe prodded the water, but it iced her hand petulantly. “The river didn’t carry them to Arlon. It’s frankly offended you’d suggest it.”
“Wow,” Pil breathed.
Feo set their jaw, but knew better than to argue again. They heaved a sigh, massaging their brow. “Regardless, I was hoping to borrow your griffon to get to Wellia. The sooner we rally the Council, the better off we’ll be against Arlon.”
Visk ruffled his feathers, stretching his wings as he awaited Kianthe’s orders.
She hesitated. Much as she hated to admit it, Feo did have a point; she summoned them for a reason, and it’d be incredibly rude to abandon them in Lathe while she flew off to rescue Reyna. Besides, she doubted she’d get off the ground without Bobbie behind her; she truly didn’t think Bobbie would be able to physically handle a day in the skies.
The last thing Kianthe needed was to rescue the rescuer.
“I suppose it’d be more useful to follow on a boat, with backup.” Her words were begrudging, tugged through a clenched jaw. “I can get the ship moving faster downstream than the crew can alone.”
Bobbie tensed. “If Serina’s in trouble, we can’t waste time.”
Kianthe heaved a sigh. She already hated this day. “Reyna’s with her; they’ll be fine. Until then, you should start thinking of who might want Serina in a precarious position. Because the last I heard, Arlon was her only real enemy, aside from a few disgruntled farmers.”
“Dad,” Darlene said quietly. At her side, Joe elbowed their father.
Pil grumbled something, rubbed the back of his neck, and raised his voice so it carried through the group: “It’s Dreggs.”
Everyone glanced at him with varying degrees of shock.
His kids shifted uncomfortably. Pil heaved a sigh that shook his entire body. “I wasn’t entirely honest with Serina when we came on board. My kids were raised on Dreggs’ ship; they’re like family to both of ‘em. Dreggs heard about Serina pirating on the Nacean and asked us to scope things out, so we got hired on. Wasn’t hard.”
“But Serina’s really nice,” Darlene mumbled. “And Reyna’s teaching me to fight. Dreggs won’t do that.”
“Dreggs doesn’t want you on deck during a fight, and neither do I,” Pil said sternly.
Joe crossed their arms. “I like Serina’s ship. It’s quieter.”
Kianthe started laughing and found she couldn’t stop. It bubbled up from her chest, filled her lungs, and had her whole body shaking. “You—you infiltrated Serina’s crew? Anyone else? Rankor, are you one of Queen Tilaine’s spies?”
“Not that I’m aware,” Rankor said good-naturedly.
“We weren’t planning anything bad. We were just supposed to watch her. Figure things out.” Darlene set her jaw, daring them to challenge her. “And we figured out that we liked her, so that’s what we wrote when Dreggs sent a messenger pigeon for an update.”
At Kianthe’s side, Bobbie fingered the crochet needles at her hip. Then her hand drifted to the sword she’d obtained from… somewhere. Viviana, perhaps. “Serina trusted you three.” The betrayal cut through her voice.
Pil crossed his arms, moving in front of his kids like Bobbie might attack them. “You’re one to talk. Serina told me how glad she was that you were on our ship—and then she was crying last night about what you said. Dreggs won’t hurt her. Not like you did, anyway.”
The words took the fight out of Bobbie. She hunched, like she was two breaths from falling over.
Diarn Feo heaved a sigh, raising their hands. “Listen. All I need to know is whether I’m staying here or going to Wellia.”
“Go to Wellia. But decipher the contents of that folder before you leave.” Kianthe massaged her brow, edging away the headache that had settled between her eyes. “Visk, you’re with Feo. Anything they need, got it? Ponder’s staying with me; she’ll be able to find Reyna faster than my magic. Pirates, we’re going sailing. Anyone who has a problem with the people on board can stay here.”
Bobbie frowned, but didn’t volunteer to stay in Lathe.
Pil and his kids didn’t either.
“Great,” Kianthe said glumly. “This should be fun. Let’s go find the Dastardly Pirate Dreggs.”