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“Disappeared?” the first bard asked. “You mean—”

“A friend saw someone who looks like her near the globemaker’s shop not long ago,” the artisan said. “A coincidence, I’m sure, but it makes one wonder. With all that happensthere, her absence is a curiosity we’ll never learn the truth about.”

The female bard tsked. “Maybe that strange husband of hers locked her in the dungeon.”

Ber winced into his tankard.

“I hate to wish for such a thing,” the man said. “But I would support her completely if…”

“Our dear princess would have been our best choice for the next leader.” Though the artisan’s tone lightened, Ber didn’t miss the meaning behind her words. “Too bad she’s gone, right? Ah well, I’m sure we’ll find a solution for those who’ve been endangered.”

The discussion wasn’t technically treasonous, but if brought to trial, the three would have been punished as though it was. Ryenil did his best to tamp down on any unfavorable rumors, even those that didn’t mention him or the palace specifically. With a conversation so bold happening in the tavern, even a sparsely filled one, there had to be a great deal of discontent.

Not that it was unexpected. The king favored the nobles so heavily and blatantly at this point that too many of the common people were hurt—and often. What was surprising was the artisan’s implication that Tes might be alive.Someone who looks like her near the globemaker’s shop.Could she have been so easily spotted when she’d arrived from Llyalia?

Ber couldn’t fathom it. For one thing, the guards scrutinizing everyone would have surely noted the resemblance and reported it. And the globemaker’s shop sounded suspiciously specific. Was Cairi involved somehow? He’d heard that she’d brought an assistant to the palace on her last visit. After court this morning, Lord Vulwin had crowed about the woman’s dismissal, in fact. The man forever enjoyed a reason to complain about “unreliable help.”

If the globemaker was one of Tes’s contacts, Ber wanted to know it, especially if Tes had been that mysterious assistant. But he didn’t have time to visit Cairi’s shop today, and probably not tomorrow, either. As he dropped a few old, battered coins on the table and stood, he contemplated the various ways one could shatter a few light globes.

Chapter 16

Unexpected Gifts

As Ber slipped through the secret tunnels, he sensed Toren at the edge of his thoughts. A response from Tes? Though Ber risked being late for dinner, he slowed. Anticipation hitched his breath, but dread drummed relentlessly in his ears. Was he ready for her answer? There was a high probability it would be a refusal.

Only one way to find out.“Hello, dearest brother,”he sent as greeting.

As usual, Toren wasn’t amused by his sarcastic tone.“Are you ever serious?”

“Most of the time. But why be boring with it?”

The only thing that would be better than his brother’s mental grumble-sigh would be seeing Toren’s long-suffering expression at the same time.“I thought you would be eager to hear your wife’s answer to your request.”

Naturally, Ber was. But he rarely allowed such emotion to show.“Should I be?”

“I’m not sure.”Toren paused.“She doesn’t wish for me to pass messages between you.”

Ber’s heart dropped. His steps ground to a halt right outside the tiny room of disguises.“A total refusal, then?”

Once again, his brother was slow to answer.“She intends to deliver a message to you herself. In four days.”

“Deliver a…”Eyes pinched closed, Ber pressed his fist against the wall.“If she thinks she can walk right through the gates, she has lost all sense of reas—”

“Not like that,”his brother insisted.“Four days from this moment, she’ll teleport into the dressing room of her old chamber. You’re to meet her there alone and without anyone the wiser. And you’ll be reassured to know that she’s given her word not to attack you except in self-defense.”

The stone abraded his knuckles with a satisfying bite—anything to distract from the sudden fear.“It’s too risky. Ryenil is watching me after the…suspicious noises from her last visit were overheard by a servant.”

Amusement accompanied Toren’s reply.“I’ve surmised enough about that to be certain I do not want more details.”

One corner of Ber’s mouth tipped up. She’d been more affected than she’d wanted to admit, then, if she’d let anything slip around his brother. But worry consumed that satisfaction before it could fully form.

“Tell her this is foolishness.”

“You might be surprised to learn that I am the High King of Llyalia, responsible for the lives of many,”Toren retorted.“One with two spouses and an infant to consider, no less. I refuse to be the constant intermediary for your arguments, and you know Tes won’t care about my opinion, besides.”

Ber sighed.“True enough.”

He’d always admired the way his wife kept her resolve a sharply honed tool, even when others only saw the decorative casing. Now that that ability had been turned against him… Well, he still admired it, but he had to concede that it wasn’t fun.