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“News from Deni?” She had sent Deni, Oscar, and Taira with a small, tight-knit group of Ava’s old Venyatux unit to Bartolo.

Ava had to have been taken by someone from the Grimwalt envoy, and so it made sense they’d head for Bartolo, cross the river, and then travel north east toward Grimwalt itself.

Raun-Tu unrolled the scroll and stood still as he read it. He handed it to her.

“They reached Bartolo, but a few people saw someone who looked like Ava, cowed and bullied by a man. They got into a boat that was travelling downstream, toward the coast.”

“That’s the opposite way to Grimwalt.” Fervanti shook her head.

“A little too obvious, surely?” Heival said.

“A false trail?” Dak asked.

“What else? They think to make us confused, but if they are from Grimwalt, they will be headed back to Grimwalt.” Erdene was sure of it.

“They await your orders in Bartolo.” Raun-Tu’s lips formed a thin line. He was frustrated, but Deni could not have done anything else.

“Send a messenger and tell him to go north east, following the road to Grimwalt. And to try and make up the time lost.”

Raun-Tu stepped out, his feet silent, even on the squeaky marble that seemed to be everywhere in this pretty, impractical palace.

“We need to send a message to Luc.” Dak had said this to Erdene before, but she’d asked him to hold off until they had more news.

It was a delaying tactic, and she turned to him now, realizing she would have to lay her cards on the table. “We can’t do that.”

There was silence.

“He would want to know.” Heival stated the obvious.

“And when he does, what will that mean for him?” Erdene asked.

“It would tear him in two.” Dak spoke softly. “He would want to find her, but he could not yet have reached the border to see what the Jatan are up to. So Cervantes would still potentially be in danger.”

“He would be honor bound to check on his people and make sure they’re safe.” Fervanti rubbed between her breasts, as if her heart hurt. “It would be a terrible burden to give him."

Dak swore. “And still, he will never forgive me for not telling him.”

“No. It’s me he won’t forgive.” But Erdene was prepared to take that risk. She’d once told Luc that leaders sometimes had to make hard decisions. This was one of them.

Dak shook his head. “You, too. But me, as well.” But he didn’t argue further. Erdene would have to corner him later, and make absolutely sure he wasn’t going to break down and send a messenger out.

But looking at his miserable face, she guessed he’d accepted that she was right about this.

“What if they don’t have her?” Fervanti asked. “What if she’s dead?”

“They haven’t tried to grab her so many times because they want to kill her,” Erdene said. “They want her for something.”

“What could they want her for? They’re risking a war with us if we can prove they took her.” Heival’s words shocked the others. They hadn’t thought about the ramifications of Ava’s abduction other than through the lens of Fernwell, and the stability of the city. Not to mention worry over their friend.

“War over Ava?” Dak spoke slowly.

“She’s the queen of Kassia,” Heival said, looking at him as if he was slow. “What would any country do if their monarch was kidnapped?”

Absolute silence blanketed the room.

They had been outsiders for so long, it took a mental shift to see themselves as the ones in power.

“Why would they risk it, then?” Fervanti asked, voice whisper soft.