Chapter 15

“Did anything else happen while you were home?” Ellerie asked as she lay facing Leena, idly running her fingers through the other woman’s long, black hair and brushing it back behind her ear. It was midmorning, and they were still in bed. “We didn’t spend much time talking last night.”

“Udit wants to get a dog, but Grandmother won’t let him,” Leena said with a smile. Then her expression grew serious. “And I told Pavan about us. He was disappointed—I think he was hoping for something more than a business transaction with me.”

“What did he say?”

Leena rolled onto her back and sighed. “We talked for hours, and we didn’t really come to a decision. My suggestion was that he and I have children together, but that we don’t marry. That would leave him free to seek out a real wife. It’s not how this sort of thing is done among the Zidari, but if I’m gone half the time, perhaps we can get away with it. Pavan isn’t so sure—he’s more traditional.”

Ellerie nodded but didn’t speak, unable to think of any appropriate words. She didn’t like the thought of her lover taking someone else to bed, but she couldn’t deny Leena her wish to have children.

“Once we reach Four Roads, I may invite him to come visit,” Leena said.

“What?” Ellerie asked, propping herself up on her elbow. “Why?”

“Because I want the two of you to be friends. I think you’d like him if you got to know him, and if he’s the father of our children, he’ll be around.”

Ellerie did find it easier to make friends with men than with women, but did it have to be this particular man? It was important to Leena, though. “I’ll try,” Ellerie said.

Leena smiled and leaned up to give her a quick kiss. “What about you? Did anything happen here?”

“I met with the investors and finished things off with them,” Ellerie said. “We should be ready to go in a few days. Senshall still wants to hire you, by the way—they doubled Marco’s offer.”

“After Davir, that wouldn’t be a good idea,” Leena said. “If I don’t say much at home about what I’m doing here, everyone can politely ignore it, but working for a trading company would be different.”

“I thought it was against the law.”

“Not exactly,” Leena said. “Among the Zidari, when we talk about our own laws, those are more like customs than actual laws. They carry nearly the same weight as a law, but only among the clan. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t grown up with it. If I were to deliberately show my tattoos to someone other than a lover or another Zidari, I’d be considered impetuous or reckless, or even unreliable. The exact outcome varies depending on which tattoos I showed.”

Leena’s high-necked, long-sleeved dresses hid the fact that her body was half-covered with tattoos. Some were intricate but most were simple, identifying various facets of her life. Ellerie liked to trace them with her finger, trying to guess what each one meant.

“I’ll tell Senshall you’re not interested,” Ellerie said. “They might ask if you can deliver a letter to the other Travelers for them, though.”

“I can do that, and then let Pavan or Rohav come up with a response.” Leena sat up, letting the sheet fall from her body. “But for now, we should probably get up.”

“Or not,” Ellerie replied. “I don’t have anything to do today that can’t be put off until tomorrow. We can just stay here.”

Leena gave her a brief smile. “I’m supposed to help Boktar with the provisions.”

Ellerie frowned. “You don’t have to be the cook anymore. We’re all going to take turns until we get to Four Roads. I think Corec plans to hire someone once we’re settled.” She didn’t like the thought of Leena continuing to act as the group’s cook now that her contract with Senshall had come to an end. It seemed too much like being a servant.

“Yes, but someone has to buy the supplies, and I already know what we need.”

“Well, if you’re busy, I suppose I can go to the Tailors’ Quarter,” Ellerie said with a sigh as she slipped out of the bed. “I do need a few things. Oh, we never hung your dress up last night. It’s still on the floor.” She reached down to pick it up.

“No, wait!” Leena said, her voice panicked. There was a thunk as something heavy fell from the folds.

Ellerie watched the jade bracelet roll until it bumped against the wall. She didn’t recognize it at first. She picked it up, wondering if it was a gift from Pavan that Leena hadn’t wanted her to see. Then she realized what it was.

“You?” she asked, her voice catching. “We’ve been looking for this for months! We thought it had been lost, or stolen. You took it?” The sense of betrayal bit into her, making her feel sick to the stomach.

Leena scurried out of bed. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, tears gathering in her eyes. “I had to! It’s what I was sent there to find. It’s how I’ll save my brother!”

Ellerie didn’t understand at first, but then she looked up. “Your Seeking? I thought it sent you to Corec.”

“Maybe it sent me there for two reasons. I think the cult members who attacked us were after the bracelet too.”

“What does it do?”

“I don’t know. I wear it all the time, but nothing happens. I asked Rohav, but he doesn’t know either.”

Ellerie rubbed her temples, the bracelet in her hand bumping against her cheek. “I just closed out the contract with Senshall. Marco listed the bracelet as missing. You can’t just take it!” Was this how Leena had felt when she’d learned Ellerie had hidden her identity?

“I didn’t have a choice!” Leena protested. “It’s what I was supposed to do! Shavala took the staff. Corec took the hammer.”

“The staff belongs to the elven people, and no one else can even lift the hammer! If he didn’t bring it, it would have stayed right where it was. This is different.”

“I’ll pay for it. Or I’ll give it back when I’m done with it.” Leena reached out for her.

“Don’t,” Ellerie said, stepping away. “Let me think. I need to think.” She paced back and forth. “I’ve still got some money left. We just need to figure out how much it’s worth, and then I can pay everyone their share. If I talk to Marco alone, I can probably convince him not to ask too many questions.”

“I don’t want you to buy it for me,” Leena said.

“What? Why not?” Somehow that hurt more than the rest.

“Because I’m the one who took it. It’s my responsibility. Once I start working as a Traveler, I’ll be able to save up enough. I just need some time. Please don’t tell anyone I have it—not until I know Udit is safe.”

Ellerie stared silently at the bracelet. What should she do? What did Leena need her to do?

“Fine,” she said, “but we should figure why you were supposed to find it. I’m going to try the lore spell.” She sat down on the bed, the bracelet cupped in her hands, and murmured the words.

A memory intruded into her mind. She was in a study with stone walls that reminded her of Tir Yadar, fitting the green bracelet over her wrist. It adjusted itself to fit. She took up a quill pen and sketched three parallel lines running horizontally on a scroll, then made a small mark midway across the lowest line.

She stood and stepped away from her desk. Grasping the bracelet with her other hand, she took a deep breath and then ... she wasn’t quite sure what happened next. It was the same sensation as casting a spell, but she hadn’t spoken any words. Before she had a chance to think about it, everything changed. Instead of the study, she was surrounded by endless, swirling gray mists. She felt as if she was standing on something, but couldn’t see what it was.

In a sudden panic, she closed her eyes and cast another spell without speaking. When she opened her eyes again, she was back in her study. She pulled the bracelet off her wrist and flung it against the wall.

The memory ended and Ellerie came back to herself with a gasp, almost overwhelmed with the urge to throw the bracelet away as she’d done in the memory.

“Are you all right?” Leena asked.

“I ... I think so,” Ellerie said, still breathing heavily. She quickly described what she’d seen.

Leena’s brow furrowed. “A Traveler among the Chosar?”

“Maybe not in the same way you know them, but Ariadne can teleport very short distances, and she’s said there were a few Chosar mages who were experimenting with other methods. Whoever the person in the vision was, I don’t think she ended up where she’d planned to go.”

“What do the lines mean?” Leena asked.

Ellerie pulled a sheet of paper and a writing stick from her pack and drew out the same sketch. Staring at it, she said, “I think it has something to do with where she was trying to go. Or he.” In the memories from the lore spell, Ellerie always took the place of the person whose memory it was, so she usually couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman unless their clothing made it obvious. In this memory, she hadn’t looked down at her clothing at all.

Leena frowned down at the page. “I don’t see how that would help with Traveling. And where did she go?”

“I don’t know,” Ellerie said. “But I don’t ever want to go there again.”

Ariadne was sitting next to Corec, playing as his partner in a card game against Katrin and Sarette. He was teaching her to play as they went, and so far, it didn’t seem to be going well.

“Katrin played the prince of cups,” he said, “but you’ve got the death of cups, so you can play that and take her card off the table.”

“You don’t want to do that,” Katrin said. “What if we put down the queen or emperor of cups, and you’ve already used your death card?”

“I have the queen,” Corec pointed out. “And there’s no guarantee one of you has the emperor. If she uses the death card now, she can keep you from adding to the prince’s house. If she waits, the card might go to waste.”

“But what’s the bigger threat?” Katrin asked. “The prince or the emperor?” The redheaded human woman was barely holding back a grin. She was clearly the best player at the table, yet there seemed to be an element of lying and bluffing to the game. Ariadne couldn’t tell if her advice was sound or if she was trying to trick them. It seemed Corec couldn’t either, as he glanced through Ariadne’s cards again for another choice.

Before he found one, Ellerie joined them.

“I’ve got the final payout from Senshall,” the elven woman said. “I need a day or two to show Deshin how the shaping spell works, but after that, I’ll be able to leave whenever you’re ready.”

“Deshin?” Corec asked. “The bookseller?”

“Varsin hired him for the job. Senshall has worked with him before.”

Corec nodded. “I’ll have to check with Boktar, but we should be ready to go in two days. After being stuck on the ship for so long, no one seems interested in waiting around here.”

Ellerie nodded.

Ariadne had known this time was coming, but she hadn’t figured out what to do yet. If the group was about to leave, it was time for her to make a decision.