“Well done, my boy. Well done.” He thumped Valek on the back. “Where have you been?”

“He was sleeping,” Bruiser Two said.

“How can you sleep? You should be celebrating. The takeover was a complete success!”

“He’s pretty beat up,” Bruiser One said.

“Did that bastard put up a fight?” Ambrose asked.

Valek glanced at his bruiser buddies. “What? No answer this time?”

They stared back.

“It was an intense match, sir. I’ll give you a full report later,” Valek said.

“Good idea. In the meantime, I have something for you.” The Commander gestured to one of his advisers.

The woman picked up a silver platter with a cover. Odd. She presented it to the Commander. He removed the lid with a flourish, revealing Valek’s favorite knife. Bright red blood coated the blade.

“We found it in the King’s chest. I believe it is yours.”

“Guess I need to clean it.” Valek reached for the weapon.

“Won’t work,” Ambrose said.

“Excuse me?”

The Commander grabbed the cloth hanging over the woman’s arm. He picked up the knife and wiped the blade on the material. The blood clung to the metal. Not a drop stained the towel.

“I’m guessing it’s magic.” Ambrose handed the knife to Valek.

He ran a finger along the flat side. The blood avoided his skin, parting as he skimmed over the blade and re-pooling after his finger had passed. A stickiness pulsed from the weapon.

Valek laughed. “He cursed me with his dying breath. Said my hands would always be stained with his blood. Seems the curse attached to my knife instead.” He tsked. “Such a shame. It was my favorite. What should I do with it now?”

“Put it on display in your office. So everyone who walks through those doors knows you are the King Killer.”

And twenty-three years later, the King’s blood still glistened in the lamplight.

* * *

Valek rushed around the next morning, organizing his teams for the mission, assembling supplies and explaining to Ari for the fourth time why Valek was leaving him behind.

“I know where the wagons disappeared in the foothills and where the factory is located,” Ari said. “You’ll need me.”

“I need you here. And you can debrief Janco and Onora when they return.”

“Then can we both catch up?” Ari asked in a hopeful tone.

“Not unless I send for you.” Valek put a hand on Ari’s shoulder when the big man’s expression creased. “Ari, the castle’s security has been lax, and I’m worried we still have gaps. Hedda trained Onora, but she could have trained more. I need you here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Valek watched his friend and hoped Janco returned soon. Ari wasn’t quite Ari without his partner.

On his way back from visiting the stable, one of the gate’s guards rushed up to Valek.

“Sir! There’s—”

“I don’t have time to deal with another messenger.” Valek kept walking.

“It’s not a messenger, sir.”

He paused. “What, then?”

“It’s...well...it’s Kiki, sir. She’s at the gate.”

Did he hear that right? “Yelena’s horse is at the gate?”

“Yes, sir. She is. And she brought...er...friends, sir.”

28

JANCO

Janco watched Maren as she talked and drank Ixian white brandy with the smugglers in the warehouse. His colleague and friend appeared to be at ease with the others. She wore Sitian clothes and her long blond hair had been pulled back into a braid.

Maren’s mystery mission for the Commander was no longer quite a mystery. Janco scratched at the scar below his ear. If Maren was working undercover in the smuggling operation, then why didn’t the Commander inform the rest of them? Finding and stopping this gang had been their priority, so why the secrecy about Maren? He wished Ari was here. His partner would have an answer.

Fingers touched his arm and Janco about jumped out of his skin. A black shadow detached from the wall right next to him. Onora frowned. She jerked her head, indicating they should move deeper into the factory.

He retraced his steps, skirting a couple of vats and water pumps to reach the door to the stairwell.

Onora pushed it open, gestured him inside, then closed it behind them, plunging them into darkness. “Did you even discover where the smaller containers were headed?” Her question was hissed in a low whisper.

“Yeah, into Ixia.” Before she could explode, he said, “We can learn that later. What if there was a magical illusion on this side, as well? You needed me.”

She sighed, sounding a lot like Ari. “Do you recognize any of this equipment? Or what they’re producing?”

“No. The smell is so familiar it’s been driving me crazy. It’s not cigars, that’s for sure.”

“Why not?”

“They’d be drying out the leaves, not soaking them or pulping them.”

“Parchment?”

“Maybe, but what’s illegal about that?”

“Nothing. But something’s not right here. It feels...off.”

Janco agreed. “Perhaps Maren can tell us what’s going on.”

“Maren, as in the Commander’s missing adviser? She’s here?”

“Yup. She’s drinking with them.”