Chapter 9
“Idon’t see why you guys are mad. Tal created the perfect distraction for me to snoop around the palace,” Sybil said around a mouthful of her dinner. She flipped a gold coin in the air then turned her attention back to one of the two books she’d stolen from the king’s library.
They ate food from the nearby tavern within the privacy of their tunnels.
Talwyn had avoided the crew until early evening when Rainier returned from checking on Evania and Janin.
The baker’s wife happily kept them a few days longer.
Everyone agreed they couldn’t just send the children back to the streets, and the tunnels weren’t suitable.
“More king’s gold?” Carrick asked.
Sybil nodded. “Hidden within the pages of a ledger.”
“Did you find anything else?” he pressed.
“Written under the coin. A few transactions that didn’t quite make sense—one particularly large sum said something about a trade with a country named Foederis. Ever heard of it, Rain?”
“No. Are you sure it’s a country?”
“It was listed as the location and signed by someone named Sceleratus.”
“I’ll look into it. What were the other transactions?”
“A few trades for provisions, but they were either too large to be plausible, or for items that I know for a fact aren’t available anywhere on this side of the Taralin and haven’t been for quite some time.”
Tal blinked. “Why did any of that stand out to you?”
“They’re probably falsifying the ledger to track the money but hiding what it’s actually being used for.
It’s not uncommon but could be worth investigating.
Pochette had two ledgers—one where everything appeared lawful and one with the real documentation.
” Rain would have thrived in a greater kingdom.
Thanks to him, Tal blackmailed Pochette into keeping his promise.
One slip-up and his enemies would be sent a letter with some very incriminating information.
Egan stabbed a roll with a dagger and spoke around a large bite, “Are we saying that the king is involved in this since they’re his ledgers and his coin?”
“They weren’t necessarily his ledgers. Just ledgers in his palace.” Sybil shrugged.
“We don’t really know one way or another, but it’s also highly likely someone else could be secretly sending money elsewhere and hiding the truth from the king with these false documents.” Rain tapped his hand on his boot in thought.
Tal didn’t like it either way. If what they found in the palace linked anyone to the mages, it spelled bad news.
“And I had another vision.”
All eyes shot to the seer.
“I found a room with a long table and really nothing else. When I stepped inside, the vision hit me like a sack of stones.”
“A new one?” Tal gripped her drink, unsure if she wanted to hear what Sybil had to say.
“The same vision actually, but one detail stood out.”
“Are you going to elaborate or…?” Tal didn’t have the patience for Sybil’s annoying tendency to drag out her revelations.
“A window.” She dragged out the word as if expecting the others to understand the significance.
Rainier pinched his nose. “Out with it, Syb.”
His sister huffed and mumbled something about suspense and dramatics.
“The window is to your right in the vision, the nobles behind you, and you’re facing the Pyrie.
” She paused briefly to let that detail sink in, as if anyone else knew why it would be important. “That exact window is in that room.”
“What? The same one?” Rain leaned in.
Sybil’s head bobbed in affirmation.
“Why would Tal be in a room within the palace among a bunch of nobles?” Egan piped up.
“Hells if I know. All I know is that whatever happens, it has something to do with that room.” She bit into a piece of bread.
“How did the vision feel to you?” Carrick questioned. “Could it still be symbolic, or do you think Tal will somehow find herself there?”
“Carrick, the Pyrie is dead. How would it be a literal vision if the woman is supposed to be there?” Tal’s gentle tone contrasted her words.
Sybil patted Carrick’s bulging shoulder when he shrugged. “It’s okay, big guy. I’m just as clueless as you. I’ll work on finding out more.”
“Well, my part turned out pointless,” Rain finally said.
“The lords wouldn’t stop criticizing the king or talking inappropriately about every woman that walked by.
Aside from some mention of an expected invitation, they gave nothing away.
I suspect they discussed it further when they left for drinks in the study, which I never got to.
” Rain side-eyed Tal, and she had the mind to grimace.
“What did they have to say about the king?” Carrick tilted his head.
Rain waved his hand. “Just how selfish it was to break his engagement. They think it ruined the alliance with the eastern kingdom and the trade agreements.”
“The kitchen had a lot to say about that too,” Egan added. “There was talk that only a fool or someone with no need for alliances would break an engagement.”
Rain nodded. “It could lead foreign powers to speculate the king has something up his sleeve and turn unwanted attention to Meladair.”
“Right,” Egan agreed. “One of the cooks argued there’s evil lurking already, trying to find out what he’s hiding. They brought up the missing people.”
Tal’s eyes found Carrick’s. She ground her teeth. Everyone had been affected by the disappearances. She had been searching for too long without finding a single person.
Egan continued. "One of the maids said one of her girls never showed up yesterday. She said the girl had as much fire in her as her hair color and probably ran off with the blacksmith’s apprentice, but the cook thought otherwise.”
Tal leaned forward. “Did they say anything else?”
Egan hesitated. “Ah, no. That was about the time when you, er...”
She threw her hands up in frustration. “Look, I told you guys it was a bad idea, and I would screw up royally. I don’t know what Daire was thinking when he invited me.”
Not one to put blame on Tal, Carrick reluctantly admitted to not having much time to gather information of his own. “Everyone was too afraid to approach me,” he mumbled.
Talwyn turned to Sybil. “Why didn’t you tell me to stop drinking the champagne? You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
Sybil waved her away.
Tal pointed an accusatory finger in the seer’s direction. “And that mead! You knew. You knew I would drink too much. What vision did you see, Syb?”
“Don’t blame me for your alcohol problem. I did my part for the night. I wasn’t supposed to actually chaperone you.”
“You’re going to tell me,” she mumbled when Sybil pretended not to hear her. “Rain, did you get a good look at the guy I danced with?”
“You mean Daire?” Rainier asked.
“No, before him. The guy in the white suit with dark hair. Some noble or something.”
“You danced with someone else?” Egan asked.
“I didn’t see, sorry,” Rain replied.
“I thought you saw everything,” Talwyn teased with only a little attitude.
“Tal, stop blaming the rest of us for doing our part. Rain engrossed himself in high society like he was tasked to do.” Sybil sneered.
While Sybil’s humor involved frequent teasing, this level of ridicule grated on Tal’s nerves. “I wasn’t trying to blame him. The guy saved me from falling off the balcony last night. He was a bit of a coquette. I just want to know who he was.”
“You fell off the balcony?!” Egan leaned over the table.
Carrick ran a hand over his face. “Tal, what the hells did you do last night?”
“I think it’s time she reevaluates her relationship with alcohol,” Rain muttered.
“My relationship with alcohol is perfectly fine. And no, I did not fall off the balcony, Egan. Like I said, some guy in a white suit caught me before I did.”
“And then he was inappropriate with you,” Carrick added.
“You didn’t give him a little show when you nearly fell to your death, did you? Or maybe you gave him a gracious thank you?” Sybil winked.
Tal wanted to throw her drink at the seer for her snide remarks.
“Blazing pigs, Syb, will you stop?” She groaned and reined in the warmth building in the center of her chest. The champagne and wine had done a good job of tamping down her fury last night, but today it returned with renewed vigor.
“He shared a dislike for high society and wanted to know more about me. I’m curious why he was so interested in me.
He joined me on the balcony and then sought me out in the ballroom. ”
“You think he could have a connection with the mages,” Rain surmised.
“Maybe. It’s just a thought.”
Sybil slammed her fist on the makeshift table. The wood cracked. “So, you did try to work last night!”
“Syb… why don’t you give it a rest for tonight.” Carrick, ever the peacekeeper, shot Sybil a warning look.
“Or some guy just took a personal interest in you,” Egan offered.
Tal nodded. “Either way. I was too drunk to see him clearly, and he wore this ridiculous mask that covered most of his face. I doubt we’ll see him again, but if we do, I’d like to be prepared.”
“I doubt he knew who you were, and after last night, I don’t think Daire will be quick to share that he invited someone from the docks.
People would say he deserved to get vomited on for thinking a commoner could attend the king’s masquerade.
” If Sybil had said it, Tal would have lost her hold on her fury, but level-headed Rainier gave his educated opinion on the situation.
Tal swallowed and trailed her thumb nail along an imperfection in her cup.
Egan perked up. “Maybe Faron could identify him. He admitted to being in the king’s court. I bet he was there last night.”
He had a point. Tal hadn’t even considered the possibility that their leather-wearing swordsman friend would be at the ball. They hadn’t seen or heard from him since that night on the rooftop.
“Yes, the handsome one!” Sybil shouted. “Tal, why don’t you go drink-for-drink with him, and see how much information you can get out of him!”
Everyone groaned.
“Will you drop it already?”