Present day …

“Please wait here and I will inform the Mistress of your arrival,” the butler said, after showing Leena to the sitting room.

“Thank you,” she replied. She’d never been inside a house as opulent as this one before, even after her family had moved from the camp into town. The furniture in the room was all made from matching wood, delicately carved and polished to a golden sheen. There were paintings on the wall, a woven rug covering most of the floor, and other pieces of art scattered around every surface and nook.

Large windows made from real glass lined the east wall, some of which were cracked open to allow the summer breeze to circulate. Glass windows were rare in warm Sanvar, and most windows were simply open to the outside air. During a heavy rainstorm, wooden shutters could be set in the openings to block them off. Leena hadn’t seen glass windows that could be opened and closed in place until she’d come north.

She laid her bundles on a nearby table and sat down. The chairs all had permanent cushions built into them, rather than separate cushions that could simply be replaced when they wore out.

A young and very beautiful woman entered the room, followed by an armed bodyguard.

“Welcome to my home,” the woman said. “I’m Renny Senshall. Mr. Halson tells me you bring a message from the Cordaea expedition? Have they returned?” She eyed the packages on the table but didn’t ask about them.

Leena stood. “They’re still in Cordaea, but they sent me on ahead to inform you—and your patron and his brother—of the expedition’s success.”

“Success? That’s wonderful!” Renny exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. “And everyone’s all right? Treya and Razai and the others? Varsin’s at his office. Would you like me to send for him? And Burton?”

“That’s not necessary. I must be going soon, but yes, everyone’s all right. I brought personal messages.” Leena separated out the stack of letters from the other packages and passed them over to the girl. “Messages from Treya and Razai to you, and from Ellerie and Marco to Varsin Senshall and Burton Senshall. And there’s one more message in there from Treya to a Mother Ola. She said you’d be able to deliver it for her.”

“Of course, and thank you so much! But might I ask your name? I don’t recall seeing you with the others.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Leena. I was hired on as the cook.”

“It’s good to meet you, Leena. They sent you on ahead? Were they delayed in returning?”

“Not delayed, but we found the ruins of Tir Yadar, and there are a lot of details to take care of. They’re still there now, and they plan to head west back to Aencyr soon. That’s a city in Bancyra.”

“Yes, Burton has mentioned the name,” Renny said, then glanced down at the bundles again, her curiosity apparently piqued. “And what are these?”

Leena unrolled the cloth wrapping around the two long and narrow bundles, revealing the twin magical arming swords Corec had discovered in the room beyond the armory. She lifted one up, holding it across her palms, and the blade began glowing with a soft red light.

“Oh, my! Is that magic?”

“Yes, they’re enchanted,” Leena said before setting the sword back down. “One for your patron and one for his brother.” She unrolled the other, much smaller bundle, and carefully lifted out the platinum necklace set with diamonds and sapphires. “And this is for you. Marco says the gems are real.”

The girl’s eyes grew wide. She took the bejeweled necklace and held it up, the gemstones reflecting sunlight from the windows. “It’s … lovely. It’s incredible!”

“These are the first payments on your shares,” Leena said, “but we don’t know yet what the total value of each share will be. Marco asked me to tell you and the other investors that this right here could end up being the major portion of your profit. He and Ellerie intend to negotiate a final agreement once they reach Aencyr and can get some help in appraising the rest. I’ll then bring the agreement here for your approval.”

Renny didn’t appear to have heard her at first, still staring at the necklace, but then she blinked and looked up. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. You intend to sail back to Cordaea then all the way back here again before the others return? Do you really expect them to be delayed for that long?”

Leena had decided in advance what to say. Marco already knew about her abilities, and he certainly wasn’t going to keep quiet.

“No,” she said. “I’m a mage, of sorts, and I can cross distances quickly if I need to. I was in Cordaea with the others this morning. I came straight from there to Tyrsall, and Treya told me how to find your home.” The Seeking had helped too, but there was no need to mention that.

“Oh?” Renny said. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about magic.” There was a hint of skepticism in her voice until she looked down at the swords. Then she laughed lightly and shook her head. “I thought you said you signed on as a cook.”

“Once the others learned I was a mage, they hired me for that instead. There hasn’t been much need for cooking during the past weeks anyway—there’s no firewood near the ruins.”

“I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Renny said. Then her voice grew more hesitant. “When you see Her Exalted Highness, please relay Varsin’s apologies. We were not aware of her identity when we met with her. If we’d known, we certainly would have arranged for a better meeting place than an old office at the company building.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Leena said, puzzled.

“Lady Ellerie—is that the right term of address? Our contacts in Terevas were uncertain of her status. There are rumors she removed herself from the succession. We weren’t checking up on her, I promise!” Renny was speaking in a rush. “We simply wanted to learn more about our new business partner. It was such a shock to discover she was Queen Revana’s daughter. We have dealings with House di’Valla.”

Leena wasn’t sure how to respond. Ellerie was a princess? The daughter of the queen of Terevas? In all this time, as she and Leena had been growing closer, she’d never once mentioned that. Leena had shied away from personal entanglements while her brother and her people were still in danger, but with what they’d learned after the battle, she’d begun to hope that wouldn’t always be the case—that someday soon, perhaps, she and Ellerie could discuss a future together. Why had the elven woman toyed with her? Had Leena misinterpreted her signals? Had Ellerie only intended friendship after all, or not even that? Or were elves truly as capricious as the old tales suggested?

“I’ll pass your message along,” Leena said, burning with embarrassment. “Will you please inform the other investors of my visit? I need to go.”

“So soon? Won’t you please stay for supper? I’m sure Varsin would like to discuss the expedition with you in person.”

“Thank you, but I can’t. There’s another task I must take care of today. Perhaps I can speak with you more when I return with the agreement?”

Renny looked disappointed. “Oh, very well, but I’ll hold you to that. We’ll be looking forward to your next visit.”

“I believe Marco and Ellerie will have more details for you by then as well.” Or, rather, Leena hoped to have a better idea of what Ellerie wanted her to tell them, and right now, she didn’t want to return to Tir Yadar to ask her.

She didn’t bother to leave the house first. After bidding farewell to Renny, she Traveled directly from the sitting room to her family’s camp. Nobody noticed her at first, and she took the opportunity to steady her breathing and wipe the moisture from her eyes. She’d only intended on a short visit to spend some time with Udit, but perhaps a few days away would help her get her emotions under control, to make sure she didn’t say something to Ellerie that she’d regret later.

She could hear the laughter and shouts of the children playing outside the camp. Rather than interrupt them to find Udit, she decided to track down her uncle first. She found him reading outside his tent.

“Uncle Rohav,” she said.

“Leena!” He set the book aside and climbed to his feet. “Is there more trouble?”

“No, we haven’t seen any sign of another attack. That’s not why I came. I’m here because I’d like to complete my training.”

#

Ariadne sat on the rim of the World Fountain, brooding as she stared out across the courtyard. Behind her, the fountain was dead and silent. Water no longer flowed over the silvery globe, and the magical lights that had once displayed the lands and seas of the world had faded.

But the fountain was, at least, something familiar, and she had no other place to be. Her new suite in the Mage Knight quarters—the one she’d been given just a few weeks ago when she’d received Hera’s panoply—was now empty of anything other than piles of dust and grime and a few rusted metal bits that had once held the bed together. Her family’s apartment in North Tower was empty too, except for a ceramic cup she’d never seen before. It made her feel like an intruder in her own home.

The vast fortress complex was no better. In some ways, it was worse. Beyond the totem walk, Fortress Central’s doors stood wide open, the intruders going in and out as they mapped and measured, inventorying the contents that remained.

Fortress East appeared intact, but only if she didn’t look too closely. The barracks, the administration offices, the military hospital, and one of the armories had survived. Everything beyond that appeared to have been crushed in a massive cave-in. That wasn’t supposed to be possible. The entire mountain was warded against it.

Ariadne had hiked to the eastern side of Mount Yadar to find some other way in, but nothing was recognizable and she hadn’t managed to find any of the eastern entrances into the city. The roads and trails were gone, the signs and markers were gone; even the trees were gone. There was no sign of the marshaling yards or the cavalry stables. The cave-in had certainly destroyed the mess halls and the officers’ quarters, but had it reached the military academy and the rationing depot too? Had her people still been here when it collapsed?

She’d buried the bodies of the Mage Knights there on the eastern slope, in a spot where, as best she could determine, a war memorial had once stood. She’d had to request help from the intruders to dig through the hard ground.

The outer city was in even worse shape than the inner city. Nothing was left other than the thick stone walls of Old Town—the area that was said to have marked the boundaries of the original fortress, long before the mountain itself had been shaped and made habitable.

Yet, for all the destruction elsewhere, it was Fortress West that was the most frightening. The wardens’ quarters, the laboratories, the ritual rooms, the wizardry academy, the spell book archive—all gone, as if the shaped stone had melted together and reformed. Another impossible thing.

And the Royal Library was empty, the lack of any remains besides dust making it clear the books had been removed at some point.

The library was empty. That was what confused her. The library was empty. The towers were empty. The one armory that had survived the cave-in had been partly emptied. But Ariadne had been left behind.

Surely that meant raiders had come later and stolen everything, didn’t it? The People wouldn’t have carted away books while leaving the Mage Knights in stasis. Would they?

Fortress Central had only been partly emptied, but according to the intruders, it had been warded. And the Enchantment Repository had been locked behind a warded door as well.

But the hospital and the stasis room weren’t warded. Why had she been left behind?

And what had happened to the dozens of people authorized to open those wards? The destruction of the ritual room suggested the wardens had met some terrible fate, but what about the king and his consort? Their son, Prince Lydos, who’d once smiled at Ariadne when he’d visited the Mage Knight trainees? What about the rest of the Governmental Council? Had they all died?

Or had they fled the city in haste, with no choice but to leave the knights behind?

And yet, the library was empty. Someone had taken the time to haul away all the books and scrolls, but hadn’t bothered with the stasis room.

Thedan and Ephrenia—the only two Mage Knights who were bonded to wardens—weren’t in their stasis pods. Had they escaped and left Ariadne behind? Or had they died too? But even if they’d died, that would still mean someone else had removed their bodies and left Ariadne there.

Her parents and sisters wouldn’t have left her. Of course, they probably wouldn’t have known she was in stasis, and they wouldn’t have been permitted to enter the Fortress without special permission, but they would have done something. They would have kept pressing until they discovered her whereabouts, unless they weren’t able to. Or unless they’d had to flee quickly.

And yet … and yet … someone had taken the time to empty the library.

Ariadne sat and brooded.

#

Corec traced his finger along the map. “This looks like the shortest route through the mountains, but it doesn’t say whether the road is any good. We’ll have wagons with us.”

Boktar frowned. “We can ask Josip when he returns with the last supply caravan. He’s been through the Skotinos a few times. He says there are some decent roads, but the stoneborn charge tolls to pass through them.”

“It’s still better than going through the swamp again,” Ellerie said. “That took too long even without the wagons. How high is the toll?”

“It’s not too bad—they charge per wagon, not per person. I guess the mountains are the fastest route between the eastern and western kingdoms, so it’s mostly merchant caravans. Are we still planning on taking three wagons?”

“I think that’ll be enough,” Corec said. “It depends on whether Marco wants to take anything else with us. The things we’ve got now will be a tight fit, but we can make it work.”

The equipment from the armory was the biggest portion of what they were bringing, but the armor was all lightweight and the weapons wouldn’t take up much space. The largest weapons were the pikes, but their shafts were wooden and were falling apart to the touch so Corec was only taking the heads. Of all the weapons, it was actually the arrows and crossbow bolts that needed the most space—nearly as much as the cuirasses and mail stacked together.

Aside from the armory and the enchanted items they’d found, they weren’t actually bringing much with them. Marco had several crates full of small art objects, ceramics, and metalwork he’d collected, mostly from the residential areas of the city, and Ellerie was holding on to the two spell books she’d discovered, but they’d avoided hauling anything large to the surface. That included the enchanted statue they’d found with the other magical items. Ellerie had worried that the wards on it were too dangerous to risk moving it.

They’d resealed the warded door that led to the statue, but were still debating whether to seal the palace doors as well. Ellerie didn’t like the idea of other people showing up in the ruins before she was able to return to complete her research, but as far as they knew, the door could only be opened by a warden, and Corec wasn’t eager to return to Cordaea right away. He’d been traveling for a long time and wanted to stay in one place for a while. Plus, he needed to settle things with Rusol one way or another. Hildra could possibly help with the door, but they wouldn’t be able to ask her until they reached Aencyr. Corec had considered sending her a message by way of Leena and the Senshall office in the city, but since the message would have to mention wardens, he’d figured it would be better to talk to her in person instead.

“Are we going to drive the wagons ourselves, or hire some of the farmboys to do it?” Boktar asked. “I’ve got to say, I’d be happy to not sit on those wooden seats over a mountain road, but Aencyr—or Nysa—is probably too long of a trip for them.” He and Sarette had just returned earlier that morning from their supply run. They’d accompanied the three new wagons back, while the larger group had continued on to the nearest village to resupply.

“Make the prisoners do it,” Corec suggested. “At least as far as Aencyr.”

They’d captured five wounded mercenaries after the battle. One had lost a hand, but Treya had been able to fully heal the others. Corec wasn’t willing to execute the men for their part in the fight, since their employers hadn’t told them the full truth about why they’d been hired, but he wasn’t going to just let them go free either. He planned to take them back to Aencyr to see what sort of justice could be found.

Boktar nodded. “Livadi first, and then take the long way around?”

“Yes,” Ellerie said, with a glance at the mules on the picket lines. “It’ll be worth it even if it takes longer.” By going around the barrens on their way back rather than going through them, they wouldn’t have to carry feed for the animals, except for a few bags of oats. They’d be able to leave most of the wagons and mules behind.

“Then I guess we have a plan,” Boktar said, then peered around the camp. “Is Leena here? I haven’t seen her since we got back. I wanted to ask her to buy a better map of the mountains the next time she goes to Aencyr.”

“She’s in … Sanvar?” Corec said, checking on Leena’s end of the warden bond. “Is that right? I thought she was going to Tyrsall.”

“She wanted to visit her brother after,” Ellerie replied. “She wasn’t sure how tired she’d be from the long-distance Traveling, so she might stay there for an extra day or two.”

Corec nodded.

“Why Tyrsall?” Boktar asked.

Ellerie snickered. “Marco couldn’t wait any longer to tell the investors the good news. Once he found out Leena could Travel as far as Sanvar, it didn’t take him long to realize she could also make it to Tyrsall. I wanted to wait to send news back until we’d figured out more of the details, but he was so happy about the idea, I couldn’t say no.”

As if his name had summoned him, Marco stormed out of the building where they’d set up their camp. Glowering, he approached the three of them. “Someone stole a bracelet from the crates!”

“Are you sure?” Ellerie asked.

“Of course I’m sure!” the man said, agitated. “I took inventory the day before the battle, and I checked it again just now. Everything else from that crate is still there. It had to be one of those wagon drivers!”

“I never saw them anywhere near the room where we keep your things,” Corec said. “Either in the old building or the new one.”

Boktar nodded. “And the boys seemed thrilled with the gold and the swords we gave them. I doubt they stole anything.”

“Well, if it’s not one of them, it’s got to be her,” Marco insisted. “Ariadne. She’s done it before.”

“Wait,” Ellerie said. “Do you mean one of the enchanted bracelets?”

“Yes! The small jade one.”

Suddenly Marco’s worry made more sense.

Corec said, “If she wants it, I say we give it to her. She hasn’t asked for all that much, considering the circumstances.”

“And what’s she going to take next?” Marco said. “What if she wants everything?”

“I don’t think she’ll go that far,” Ellerie said. “She’s never asked us to stop what we’re doing. But I’ll talk to her about the bracelet—I’d like to know why she took it.”