Captain Dhiabhan was a shrewd man with a sharp gaze and hawkish nose. His blue eyes danced with flecks of light like sea foam on the dark blue of the ocean. He greeted them with the clipped speech the tavern's occupants had said he would. "My lord." He bowed to Kaidan. "You need a ship?"

Kaidan eyed the ship next to them as it tugged at its moorings. With a small smile, he returned his attention Captain Dhiabhan. "Indeed. I was told your the man to see." He stroked his chin. "But I've also been informed you have a habit of swindling customers out of good gold."

The captain bared razor-sharp canines in a wide grin. "My reputation precedes me." He raised a dark brow. "Who told you that, I wonder."

Kaidan shrugged, ignoring his wife's tightening grip on his bicep. "People. I asked around like any smart customer would."

Grunting, Captain Dhiabhan waved them toward a cluster of white tents that were peeking out from behind Rith's Demise. "Well, I'm sure we'll be able to come to some agreement."

Kaidan and Zerua followed him to the tents, the walls of which shivered in the wind. The captain guided them through the fleet of tents to the one at the center.

The tent was black like its owner's clothing, standing proudly apart from the rest. Captain Dhiabhan brushed the tent flap back. Bowing to Zerua, he waved an arm toward the tent's partitioned interior. "Ladies first."

Zerua shifted next to Kaidan. When she showed no sign of letting go or moving, Kaidan cleared his throat and set a hand on the small of her back. "You should go inside, dear."

She released her hold on his arm with a stiff nod. The captain watched the exchange with his bright, darting gaze. After she'd entered the tent, Dhiabhar fixed that sharp gaze on him. "Does she need your permission to use the privy too?"

Kaidan's cheeks heated, and he forced himself to calm down and plaster a smile onto his lips. "Only when she's around rogues, Captain. I trust that won't be an issue here?"

Dhiabhan shot him a tepid smile and shrugged. "I can't speak for all the men. But if it puts your mind at ease, the men obey my orders and are aware of what happens to those who cross me."

Kaidan's gaze flicked to the throwing knives sheathed at the man's thighs. "I feel more secure already."

Dhiabhan's smile dimmed and shifted to a frost-coated smirk. "Good. Shall we go inside and join your lovely wife then?"

He nodded at the captain. "Please. Lead the way."

The captain eyed him, scanning over his form. He turned away with a grunt, satisfied with whatever he'd seen. He stalked through the tent flap and waved his guests to two cushions beside the low table adorning the center of the opulent interior of the tent.

Kaidan glanced around as he settled onto the black silk cushion. Red splashed the walls of the tent in the form of silk tapestries and gauze curtains. Black draperies interspersed the red toward the back of the tent.

A young woman peeked around the heavy drapes partitioning off the back half of the tent. A black gauze veil covered the bottom half of her face in the manner of servants of Aleshtanian royalty. Her gaze met his, and she lowered her lashes, stepping out from behind the dividing curtains. Kaidan found himself wondering who Dhiabhan was that he owned a royal's servant and had the authority to dress her in the garments of such a station.

Dhiabhan noticed her appearance with a smirk and fixed his gaze on Kaidan. "This is Rubhian. She'll serve us the afternoon meal."

Zerua's gentle touch on his thigh brought his gaze to his wife. A warning shone in her dark eyes. He pursed his lips. "We wouldn't want to impose, Captain."

"Nonsense." The captain waved off Kaidan's protest. "You won't. It's Aleshtanian custom to share a meal before negotiating business deals." He snapped his fingers, and Rubhian bowed, the bells around her waist tinkling. Dhiabhan watched her disappear back into the recesses of the tent before he spoke again. "You'd insult me gravely if you refused to join me for my luncheon."

Kaidan fidgeted with the tassels on his cushion.

Dhiabhan noticed but pointedly ignored it. "Where are you from, then? Not from Argos, I'd wager. Not with that accent. Montelishra, perhaps?"

Kaidan stiffened. "We're explorers of a sort. But yes, our home is Montelishra."

The captain nodded. "I thought as much. And your wife? What role does she play in the explorations you undertake?" His gaze fixed on Zerua, and a lazy smile spread over his lips. "After all, a woman's place is at home, not traipsing about the realms."

Zerua glowered at him, her fingers fisting in her skirts. "Women in Montelishra have more freedom than those of Aleshtain."

Dhiabhan chuckled. "So, you do speak. And without his consent too. Delightful." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Since you have the freedom to speak your mind, what is your part in your husband's expeditions, madam?"

She sniffed, clenching her fists against her thighs. "I'm his partner. I help with preparations and work alongside my husband."

Dhiabhan hummed, swirling some wine in the cup at his place. "I'd heard, you know, that there was a husband and wife team working on a dig at Dubarin Hill. As the murmurs fly, the team was working to prove the Battle of Dubarin Hill occurred." He sipped at the wine, eyeing them over the rim. "What did you find?"

Kaidan shot Zerua a glance, biting his lip. How could this man know what they'd finished doing yesterday, and how could he know who they were? He didn't like this at all. "The battle happened." He spit the words out, hoping Dhiabhan would drop the subject.

Dhiabhan raised a brow. "And?" He tapped his fingers against his thigh. "It happened the way the Church of Sedra says it did?"

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Kaidan opened his mouth to lie, but Dhiabhan cut in with a smirk. "Don't lie to me. If you want to travel aboard Rith's Demise, you'll consider your next words more carefully."

Kaidan stopped. Dhiabhan knew who they were and that he'd been about to lie. He mulled over this, watching Dhiabhan closely. The man adjusted his cap with a sly smile, and Kaidan caught a flash of a black marking on the inside of the captain's left wrist. He had a psi ability, Kaidan realized with a jolt. He recalled that Aleshtain marked each child according their ability's division. So, Dhiabhan wanted him to know what he could do. "No, it didn't happen the way they say it did. Or at least, we don't think so." Kaidan rubbed his hands down his thighs.

Could Dhiabhan figure out when he'd omitted information? Kaidan hoped not.

"You found something you didn't make public." Dhiabhan didn't ask this time.

A chill skittered down Kaidan's spine. "How is this relevant?"

Dhiabhan shrugged. "It has bearing on the journey you want to make, doesn't it?"

Kaidan swallowed, and he heard Zerua's soft inhale.

"I'm right, then?" Dhiabhan grinned as though he smelled blood and knew he had them now.

Rhubian returned then with two platters of food. She settled them on the table in front of the three, and Kaidan examined the cold slabs of meat and cheese, slices of hearty bread, chunks of fruit, and cubed vegetables spread across the two trays.

She turned and left, only to return moments later with two other trays: one bearing three platinum goblets and the other bearing two bowls with herbed oil for dipping the bread and rose water for washing hands. Fluffy white cloths draped over her slender left arm for drying their hands.

The young woman passed Dhiabhan the tray with the oil and rose water. He settled it on the floor beside his cushion and placed the bowl of oil in the center of the table between the trays.

Rhubian nestled the cups between the thick napkins used for plates and the trays of food. Her fingers brushed against Dhiabhan's as he took his from her and lingered on his shoulder when she leaned over him to set his towel on the table beside him. She handed the two guests their towels with a smile and retreated once more to the private living spaces in the back of the tent.

Dhiabhan watched her go with a spark of desire and tenderness in his gaze. Kaidan frowned, surprised the rugged captain would display such emotions. The gentleness in his gaze softened his hard features with a genuine look of fondness. Then the mask snapped back into place, and he began dishing food onto the cloth napkin before him. He reached out to dip his bread into the oil. When his guests didn't move, he raised a brow. "I won't eat all this alone."

Kaidan reached out, biting his lower lip, and dished meat, cheese, and fruit onto Zerua's napkin before taking his own portion. Dhiabhan waited for them to start before he began his own meal. Between bites, he watched them with his hawk-like gaze. This continued until Kaidan could hardly stand the stifling silence.

The captain noted their discomfort with a smile, and he finally broke the silence. "Where do you want to go?"

Kaidan frowned, wondering why the captain hadn't pursued their findings. "We want to travel to Ashkarith."

Dhiabhan's expression remained placid. "I don't travel there."

"Why not?" Zerua popped a grape into her mouth.

"I prefer to leave the spirits and that cursed place alone, dear lady." Dhiabhan dipped his fingers into the rose water and dried them on his towel.

"Then we have no further business." Kaidan pushed his empty napkin away.

Dhiabhan handed him the rose water. "I wouldn't say that. I don't fly to Ashkarith, but I sometimes visit the city nearby."

"Arabhin, capital of Faelkish, you mean?" Kaidan rinsed his fingers and dried them before passing the bowl to his wife. "And you'll take us there?"

Dhiabhan smirked. "That depends. What are you willing to pay?"

***

They finished documenting the rest of the artifacts in the Records Library down in the Vault and bid farewell to the King that night. Returning to their rooms, which had been rented at the inn nearest the air fields, the two pulled out the journal and stared down at it.

"Why didn't he ask what we found?" Zerua brushed her fingers over the worn leather cover of the journal.

Kaidan bit his lip, rifling through notes he'd hidden with the diary. "I don't know."

"But?" She looked up to find him staring at her, and she slid off the bed to change. Lifting her dress over her her head, she waited patiently for his response.

"But I have a few guesses. Either he already knows," Kaidan mumbled, "or he knows he'll have time to figure it out on the trip." He watched her pull her night dress over her head with a tired sigh.

"If he knows, what do you think he'll do with the information?" Zerua flopped onto her side of the bed, lacing her fingers behind her head and frowning up at the ceiling.

Kaidan stowed his notes and the journal in his bags and came to join her on the bed, tugging off his own work-stained clothes and exchanging them for a pair of shorts. He laid his sore body on the bed beside her, dropping a kiss to her shoulder where her night dress had slipped down. "I don't know. But I hope he'll have discretion."

"Not likely." She tilted her head to the side, her long black tresses tickling at his neck. "He's a rogue."

"But he seems to be an honorable sort." Kaidan buried his nose against her neck. "For a swindler."

"He's Aleshtanian."

Kaidan snorted, his breath warming her chilled skin. "Not every Aleshtanian is a villain."

She shifted onto her side, placing her back to him and forcing him to move to accommodate her new position. "He believes women are mere objects to satisfy men's base needs and to have their children."

He ran his fingers down her side. "He didn't say that, love." Kaidan looped his arm over her waist. "Did you see how he looked at Rubhian?"

Zerua chewed her lower lip, thinking that she had but didn't think it counted for much. "Aleshtain's a barbaric nation."

"True. But not every man and woman is a barbarian because they live in Aleshtain. Elventar was founded by people who left because they couldn't take any more of Aleshtain's horrific customs." He pressed his face against her shoulder, breathing in the fresh scent of heelspur and the floral smell of aldhel.

She remained silent, unconvinced.

Kaidan's nose brushed her bare shoulder. "He's an air captain. Maybe that's his way of finding the freedom to reject the brutality of his country, darling."

Zerua thought about the glint in the captain's eye and shivered. Dhiabhan might not mistreat his women, she thought, but he was a wolf nonetheless. No matter how tame he appeared, a feral beast lurked beneath the veneer polite manners and pretty words afforded. She wasn't fooled.

Kaidan tugged her closer so her back pressed against his chest. "What's going through that pretty head of yours?"

She sighed, laying her head back against the pillow so that he could bury his face in her neck. "The predators that appear tame are the most dangerous kinds, you know."

"I know. But we won't find other transportation. No other captains will fly to Ashkarith or the surrounding area."

She knew. They'd tried after the negotiations with Dhiabhan ground to a halt. Two hours later, they'd given up and sent a missive by messenger boy to tell Dhiabhan they'd take his offer. "We'll be careful—" She gnawed at her lower lip, trying to convince herself of the truth of her own words. "It'll be fine. He's better than the majority of Aleshtanian men, right?"

"Of that, at least, I'm certain." Kaidan swirled his fingers in lazy circles against her abdomen. "Worrying won't help anything, Zer. We fly aboard Rith's Demise tomorrow, and we need to be alert and ready in case of danger. For that, we'll need our sleep."

She curled up, tugging the covers out from under her body.

Kaidan helped her pull them down and slid under the heavy blankets beside her. Then he yanked the covers up over the two of them and spooned her, holding her slender frame close. She relaxed against him, and a few moments later, his breathing evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. She lay there, unable to sleep as her worries nagged at her long after he'd drifted off.

Finally, she too floated off into the realm of dreams, her mind conjuring fevered nightmares and lurking demons to disturb her sleep.