He considered. “I don’t know. You’re the only glass magician that we know of, but I’ve seen the shell you made, and—”

“Watch it.”

“You’re right. One-hundred men at least, although I’d be happier with two cohorts.” He opened my door for me and gestured me inside.

As I passed him, he placed a hand on my shoulder. I paused.

“I’ll go and order that battalion. We shouldn’t skimp on safety.”

The intensity of his concern sent a wave of warmth through me. We had been joking around. Hadn’t we?

I couldn’t think of a proper response, so I thanked him for taking me home. He nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

In my sitting room, I poked the dying embers of the fire into flames, adding wood until the hearth blazed with light and heat. The crisp air felt empty. And I longed to be…Be where?

Be home with my family? The familiar homesick ache didn’t fill my heart. And the thought of going back to helping my father in the factory was unappealing.

Be at the coast with Kade? Tempting, except for the fact Kade grieved for his sister and kept himself at a distance. Plus the Stormdancers had no real need for my skills.

Be with Ulrick? I would enjoy getting to know him better. My skin still felt warm where he had touched me. But I might have read more into the gesture than he had intended. He probably viewed me as a younger sister who held no talent for shaping glass.

I guessed I would have to be content with my current situation. The thought of working with Zitora raised my spirits. Perhaps my last year at the Keep wouldn’t be as lonely as the first four.

Tired from only a few hours of sleep, I dragged my body out of bed the next morning. After breakfast, I hustled to the Masters’ meeting room in the Keep’s administration building.

All three Masters sat at a conference table. They argued without anger. I hesitated in the doorway until Zitora waved me in and pointed to an empty seat.

Maps of the Moon Clan’s lands covered the surface. Black lines marked the Ixian border.

“…Valek isn’t involved,” Master Jewelrose said.

“But that’s his calling card,” Zitora said.

“Was. Just because a black statue was found in Councillor Moon’s house doesn’t mean she’s been targeted for assassination.” Irys Jewelrose flipped through a file of papers. “The Councillor’s sister desires the position. It is probably an attempt to scare the Councillor into retiring. We’ve seen this type of power struggle within the clans before.”

“But what about the report of illegal border crossings into Moon lands?” Zitora asked. “We can’t send Ixian refugees back to Ixia.”

Good point. Before Commander Ambrose agreed to a trade treaty and created a dialogue between Ixia and Sitia, Ixian refugees were granted protection. But now it has become a diplomatic problem between the two countries. The Commander wanted to be informed about any deserters, but he hadn’t been willing to let them live in Sitia. As far as I knew, an agreement still hadn’t been reached, and the Council claimed ignorance over how many have crossed since the treaty.

“A mess,” Master Bloodgood said. “Irys, send a message to Liaison Yelena. See if she will accompany you to the Moon lands. Best if we get this settled quickly. We need to step up our negotiations with the Commander, and finalize the refugee issue.”

Irys collected her files and stood. “I’ll leave as soon as possible.” She paused next to me. “Good work with those Stormdancer orbs. I knew we sent the right person.” She winked at me before leaving the room.

“I agree,” Bain Bloodgood said. “Councillor Stormdance wanted me to express his thanks. You have impressed us with your knowledge and your escape from harm.”

“And she made a few important discoveries,” Zitora added.

“Indeed. I will leave you to discuss your plans.” Bain’s gray eyes sparkled with delight at the prospect of learning.

When the door closed behind Bain, Zitora rolled the maps and returned them to the iron rack. She spread a clean sheet of parchment in front of her. Picking up a stick of charcoal, she said, “First thing we should do is to construct a glass workshop in the Keep.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. We should have built one years ago. You’ve supplied us with your glass messengers all these years and I never stopped to think how inconvenient it was for you to go to the Citadel. You should have requested your own shop.”

“I didn’t mind. I learned a lot from Aydan.” Plus he always listened to my problems and frustrations.

“We now have Ulrick and all those interesting abilities of yours to experiment with. And the need for your magic animals has increased. The Council would love to set up a network of messengers all over Sitia, which means you’ll need to make more and you’ll need to access the equipment without working around Aydan’s schedule.” She flourished the charcoal. “I need a list of supplies and specifications.”

Zitora wrote down the items needed to build a workshop and I roughed out the design and layout of the shop on another sheet.

“I’ll find a location and hire a building crew,” Zitora said. “You can buy the necessary supplies and equipment. Ulrick can help you. It’ll give him something to do until the shop is ready for you both to use.” She signed the bottom of the list. “Bring this list and all the invoices to the Keep’s accountant to pay the bills. Make sure you’re not cheated. You might want to enlist the services of the market’s Helper’s Guild. I hear Fisk can point you to the best merchants in the Citadel.”