“You don’t have—”
“I wanted to.”
“It’s exquisite. Thank you.”
She bounced on the balls of her feet at the compliment. “Please feel free to show it to your friends. I take orders.” She winked. “After all, I need something to do during the off-season.”
“I will.”
“Safe travels, Opal.” She waved and headed up to the kiln’s cave.
I realized my right hand rested on my switchblade. Before, I would have regretted being so untrusting, but not today. My reaction pleased me.
Carrying my heavy saddlebags along the trail, I stopped to catch my breath near the main cavern. Voices floated on the warm breeze. Prin and Tebbs stood on the beach, chatting and throwing small shells into the waves. They didn’t notice me.
“…I like her. She’s sweet and…Her mother…hoot,” Tebbs said.
The sound of the surf obscured parts of their conversation. I guessed they discussed Helen.
“She would be…for Kade,” Prin said.
I hefted my bags, preparing to move on, when a lull in the waves allowed me to hear them better.
“It’s ridiculous,” Prin said. “He should be with another clan member. We need more Stormdancers. If he stays with Opal, they’ll probably have children with weird glass powers.”
Uncertain how to react, I moved past them without saying a word. It didn’t matter what they thought as long as Kade remained happy.
He waited for me at the stable. He had saddled Quartz for me. Leif grumbled and worked on getting Rusalka ready. Skippy sat on Beryl. She danced with impatience, sensing her rider’s mood.
Kade grabbed my bags and secured them on Quartz. I glanced at Moonlight. Even though the stall’s door gaped wide open, he pressed against the far wall of the pen, presenting his rear to us. His taut muscles and laid-back ears warned us to keep away.
“He won’t come out,” Leif said.
“He wouldn’t let me bridle him,” Kade said. “I’m sure the Stable Master at the Keep wants him back. Do you think he knows I’m not going with you?”
Leif and I just looked at Kade.
“Oh.”
“Looks like you got yourself a horse,” Leif said. He swung up on Rusalka. “Let’s go, we’re burning daylight.”
Kade stepped close to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and rested his forehead on mine. “Be very very careful. Post a watch at night, and don’t let your guard down. Promise?”
“Yes. Will you be able to come for my graduation?”
“Sorry. Storms tend to trickle into the hot season. And I received a threatening letter from my mother. My parents haven’t seen me since Kaya’s flag-raising ceremony—almost a year ago.”
“I understand.” I remembered my parents had kept my sister’s grief flag over her bed for five years before they could put it away.
“They want me to stay with them until the next storm season. Why don’t you come visit me after graduation. I’m sure they would love to meet you.”
“I would enjoy that. I’ll send you a message.”
“Come on and kiss already,” Leif called to us. “I want to put as much distance behind us before dinner.”
“Is he always ruled by his stomach?” Kade asked.
“Yep.”
Our eight-day trip back to the Keep contained no ambushes. No signs of Tricky. And no assassination attempts. One of my better treks.
I should have suspected my luck wouldn’t last. But no. Surrounded by magicians at the Keep, I felt safer than on the open road. I returned to my classes, gossiped with my sister, endured a stern lecture from the Stable Master about Moonlight, produced glass messengers and trained at least six hours every day, including lock-picking sessions with Marrok, the Weapons Master. Skippy and my babysitters no longer followed me around the Keep.
My parents arrived for my graduation ceremony. Every time my mother embarked on an embarrassing tale about my childhood, Leif leaned close and whispered, “Bloodrose.”
Graduation day was the first day of the hot season. Fifty graduates dressed in formal robes sweated in the heat as Master Bloodgood congratulated us on our achievement. Yelena sat with the spectators, but disappeared soon after. I hoped to have a chance to talk with her before she left the Citadel.
I met Pazia’s father, Vasko Cloud Mist, at the postgraduation celebration held in the dining room. A tall man with black hair and mustache, he oozed power. Political power. Magical power. Wealthy power. Two of his associates stood behind him at all times.
“Thank you for the messengers, Opal,” he said. “They’ve been a tremendous help with my business.”
“You’re—”
Too impatient for small talk, he asked, “What are your plans for the future?”
“I’m not sure. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with the Sitian Council to discuss my assignment.” Although it sounded impressive, the Council really wanted to assess me before they went on hiatus for the season.
“Before you hear what they have to say, I’d like to offer you a business opportunity with my company,” he said. “Pazia’s coming home to work with me, so you’ll already know a…friend.”
Surprised, I asked, “What type of opportunity?”
“With your glass messengers, of course. I’m offering to support you financially. You’ll have enough funds to set up a glass factory, hire workers and sales staff. All in the beautiful foothills of the Emerald Mountains.” He gestured to the small group of Councilors who had attended the ceremony. “Committees and government red tape has slowed and complicated the process of sending messages. Relay stations. Pah! We’ll do it right. Fast, efficient and fair with you calling all the shots.”
And too good to be true. “What’s the catch? How do you benefit from supporting me?”
“Smart girl. All I want are messengers. I want to be able to come to your workshop and request five messengers without having to fill out a single form. Hell, I’ll even limit my requests so I don’t take all your stock. We’ll draw up an agreement. What do you say?”
His rapid-fire proposal overwhelmed me. I tried to pull my scattered thoughts into a coherent sentence. “I’m flattered you’d like to do business with me. I need to think about your offer first. Can I give you an answer later?”
“Sure, sure. We’ll be here for a few days.” He peered at me for a moment. “Don’t let the Council scare you. You graduated. As long as you’re obeying the laws of Sitia, they don’t have any legal right to dictate what you can or can’t do.”
After a sleepless night of wondering and worrying, I arrived for my appointment with the Council. All eleven Councilors were in attendance with their aides as well as the three Master Magicians and Yelena Zaltana.
I kept Vasko’s advice in my mind, gathering the courage to stand up for myself if needed. And not be scared.
The Council session started out fine. We assembled in the great hall early in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat. The members sat along their U-shaped table, reviewing my recent achievements and discussing the successful magical test I had endured before I left for The Cliffs. Skippy and Leif had made a full report on our adventures with the Stormdancers.
No suspects had been found regarding the assassination attempt. The Council speculated Commander Ambrose might be behind it. He feared magical power and my messengers gave the Sitians an upper hand.
“It’s not the Commander,” Yelena said.
“Why not? It makes the most sense,” Councilor Tama Moon said. She wore a white silk blouse and long skirt. Gressa stood behind her.
“Because the Commander would have assigned the job to Valek and, no offense, Opal, you would be dead by now. He doesn’t fail.”
“Obviously he hired local talent. He is well known in Sitia—surely he couldn’t do the job himself.” Tama flicked her long blond hair away from her face as if dismissing Yelena’s comments.
But Yelena shook her head no. “For Opal, he would.”
So nice to know if the Commander decided I was a threat, Valek would personally kill me. I had met him during the aftermath of the Warper Battle. He had been very grateful for my role in bringing Yelena back from the fire world and had offered his aid should I need it. Anytime, anyplace, he had said.