Chapter 4

Tough luck. Kitera was waiting for him in the corridor, alone, blue-sleeved arms crossed. An oil lamp set high in the stone wall cast lights and shadows across her golden-brown skin.

Her eyes demanded explanations before she parted her lips to speak.

"Noah, what the—"

"Kitera, I'm too tired for this."

A sigh escaped her. She produced a clinking coin purse from her belt. Though when Noah reached for it, she held it back.

"Will he be all right?"

"He'll be fine," Noah said.

Kitera waited a beat, then nodded.

Noah snatched the purse and peered inside. It was full of gold marks. There was enough to get to the town of Last Snows and back, with plenty more to spare. Without a word he slid it inside his coat.

Suddenly Kitera grabbed his shoulders and forced him to stand in the light.

"What are you doing?" he protested.

"Gods' sakes, Noah." She was staring at his new mark.

"Oh, that? I wanted it there. I like neck tattoos."

"Don't joke about this."

"I never joke. Don't be silly. Say, you wouldn't have a scarf I could borrow?"

"Wait here."

She went back in the room where Jaden was resting, and she came out holding a black scarf lined in gold. She tossed it to Noah, and he slung it around his neck.

"I don't think he'd mind, considering." Kitera crossed her arms again.

Noah wasn't fond of the gold lining. Actually he wasn't fond of scarves. But it would have to do.

"All right, why are you a guard?" Noah asked.

"I'm not just a guard. I'm leader of the castle guards," Kitera said.

Taking that in, Noah couldn't help but grin.

"Are you serious?"

She shrugged one shoulder, hardly concealing a smile of her own.

"But wait." He lost the smile. "Mikael said you should be a maid. Keep a low profile. Spy from a distance. You're best friends with the queen! Where's the distance?"

"A maid. Please," Kitera said, voice heavy with scorn. "You know I'm better than that. I have a better sword hand than you ever did."

"You know I like my throwing knives better. Jack of all trades, master of none, Kitera."

"Excuses," she said.

"This isn't about me. Your father—"

"Underestimated me." Brown eyes glared daggers at him.

"Fine. Be a guard. Good for you. I'm serious. I was just caught by surprise, all right? I didn't even know women could be guards."

"They can now, under Tessa's rule. She's an amazing queen, Noah."

"I'm sure she is."

"She even hired Bryani, did you know that?"

He didn't. Kitera's younger brother Bryani had left the magic cult behind to make a life of his own as an actor. His name was to be spoken carefully, especially around Mikael, who still believed his son was just going through a phase.

"At least he doesn't have to live in the streets with some talentless troupe anymore," Kitera said. "He's living here now. He's an actor at the castle's theater."

"That's great, but—"

"No, I don't owe you any more explanations. Not until you tell me what the bloody hell you're doing in Veicira pretending to be that poor man's son."

Feeling utterly drained, Noah just dragged the letter out of his pocket and gave it to her.

Frowning, Kitera placed the parchment sheet under the lamp's glow and started to read. Her expression was one of confusion, then understanding, before settling on something dangerously akin to pity.

"I don't know what to say." She raised her gaze from the letter.

"There's nothing to say," Noah replied quietly.

"You've been drinking tonight, haven't you?" she asked.

"Maybe."

She nodded. "Well, you had a good reason."

He breathed a soft laugh.

"You need to rest," she said. "Come, I'll take you to a free room."

"I wasn't planning on staying." But he followed her anyway.

After a few turns, the hallways started to feel like a maze of patterned stone tiles and tapestries, of gold-framed paintings hung over somber walls.

"You need to sleep," she insisted. "And think of Shadow. He needs to rest, too."

She had a point there.

Kitera halted when they reached the last door, next to which the hallway ended in a staircase going down. It looked like the room Jaden was in, bland, sparse furnishings, no window.

"You can leave in the morning," she said. "Those stairs lead out to the stables."

"Thank you. That's perfect." He hesitated. "So . . . what will you tell her? The queen. No normal healer could have cured her brother. Any chance she'll know I'm a fraud?"

Kitera waved it off. "Don't worry. I'll handle the queen."

She grabbed a large candle from an iron sconce on the wall and gave it to him so he'd have a light in his room. He was about to withdraw when she asked him one last question.

"You're heading back to Quickrivers in the morning?"

He stared for a second.

"No, I'm not, actually. By the gods, I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what?" She tilted her head.

"Your father wants me to find something for him. Some ancient elven magic thing. Apparently it's called a catalyst, so I'm not sure it does much of anything on its own. It's all very mysterious, but you know how your father is."

"Wait." Kitera's eyes had gone wide. "Elven magic? That shouldn't exist anymore."

"I know," he said.

"Well, where is it?" she asked.

"Way up north, a town called Last Snows."

"Why now?" she asked.

"Your father said we had to get this thing before the Dragon gets it."

"The Dragon's after it too?" Kitera asked.

"According to your father. You could try asking Jaden about it when he gets better."

Noah suspected that Mikael had a spy in the Dragon's cult. If he was correct, then his cult leader and the queen of Fellera had more in common than they thought.

"What does it look like?" Curiosity sparkled in her eyes.

"That," he said, "is a very good question."

"You don't know?" She raised her hands in the air. "How are you supposed to find this bloody thing?"

"Relax. Mikael told me to try the lord's manor. I've to look for a jewel or amulet or something. I'll figure it out. I always do."

Kitera arched an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"I said that to sound tough. You ruined it," Noah said.

Kitera looked unapologetic.

Shifting gears, he said, "I missed you."

She smiled and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her tight. Her hair and skin smelled like vanilla. Exotic soaps and oils she could afford with her new guard salary, Noah assumed.

"I know this title is just a cover up," he said as they pulled apart, "but I'm proud of you."

"Thank you."

He stepped inside the room with his bags and candle.

"Wait," Kitera said. "Your letter."

Noah barely looked at it.

"Keep it," he said. "Throw it away if you want. I don't care anymore."

I already have a family.