The city was on lockdown.

Regent Arkun must have been very worried about Alessa escaping again, because every ship, wagon, and cart were being thoroughly inspected before they were allowed to enter or exit the city.

Krav stopped the wagon under a tree as soon as we could see the city. “You might have trouble getting in.”

“Why?” I looked at Starna, the two of us looked like regular travelers.

Krav pointed at the group of wagons that was gathering outside the city. “It looks like they’re only letting diplomatic groups in.” He looked sad. “My invitation is only for me.”

Starna started to say something, but I cut her off. “It’s fine, I know how we can get in.” I got off the wagon.

“How?” Starna motioned at the naval ships that were in the harbor behind the city. “They’ve blocked off the only gate and there’s no way we could find a ship…”

“Can you swim?” I cut off her rambling.

She looked insulted. “Don’t you think that they’re going to have people watching the water?”

I motioned towards the west where the main dock was. “Not on that side. There’s a grate under the barrier to let water flow easier. It’s pretty easy to take off, then we can get onto the dock. From there we can get into the city, then find our way into the castle.”

“There are going to be diplomats from a lot of different countries there.” Krav sounded a little nervous. “Some of them will jump to defend the Regent if you come in swinging.”

“I’ll be as diplomatic about it as I can.” I looked over at Starna. “It’ll be the two of us against a room full of guards and enemies…” I took a deep breath. “If you don’t want to come with me…”

“I’m going.” The Elf came over and began rooting through the storage box until she found a short sword and her staff. “I’m not going to let that traitor take the kingdom away from Alessa...” She looked at me. “And from you.” She gave me a small bow. “My Prince.”

I felt very uncomfortable. “Let’s just stick with Sectum.” I touched her shoulder to help her straighten up. “I don’t know if I’m ready to be a prince just yet.”

Krav jumped off the wagon and started untying the drake. “I’ll see both of you inside.”

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I watched him ride off towards the gate.

“Do you think we can do it?” Starna’s voice wavered.

“He took my father, my mother, and now he’s trying to take my cousin.” Rage began to boil inside of me. “I’m not going to let him take anything else.” I could feel my power buzzing at my fingertips. “There’s a rumor that a Sineater can kill someone from just a touch.” I clenched my fist. “I’d like to see if that’s true.”

The Elf nodded and swallowed. “Where do we start?”

I took off to the west. We needed to get under water first, but we also needed to be far enough away that the guards didn’t see us enter the water.

“Do you have a spell that will help us breathe underwater?” I looked over at the mage.

She nodded. “It won’t last long on you. The water will eat away at the spell and I won’t be able to recast it until we get dry.”

“A few minutes is all I’ll need.” I stepped into the water. It was cold. Not ice cold, but I didn’t need to be in it too long.

“Okay.”

I felt magic wash over me as the spell took effect. The water also didn’t seem as cold, which was a small blessing. I dove into the water and started swimming. It also felt like I was able to move easier through the water as I swam towards the wall.

Just as I predicted, there weren’t any guards on this side of the wall, probably because they felt like the wall was sufficient to keep people out. I’d never actually used the grate to smuggle things into the city, but Zist had used it a few times. I felt confident that if the Thizzer could use it, then so could I.

There were a couple of grates under the wall and I didn’t have enough air to check them all. After the third one that wouldn’t budge, the spell ran out. I still had a lungful of air, but that was only going to last for a few minutes.

Starna was on the other end of the wall checking the grates on the northern side, but it didn’t look like she had found anything so far.

I started to think about how the grate would need to pass an inspection. It couldn’t just pop out. There needed to be something to release it. One of the grates I had already tugged on had scratches on it. I swam back over to it and got out my dagger. The screw heads on the grate were slots instead of smooth, with the heads being on the inside. I used the blade of my dagger to start turning the screws. I was able to get two of them off before my lungs began burning. I was going to have to get air or I’d be swallowing water.

I hoped no one would see me as I kicked off the floor, but I didn’t make it far before I was yanked back down. Before I could try to convey to Starna that I was out of air, she pressed her lips against mine and breathed air into my mouth. My lungs greedily suck in everything that she would give me while I tried not to think about our lips being together.

Starna pulled back and gave me a thumbs up and I nodded. She’d given me more than enough air to finish and I had the grate off in a couple minutes. We swam through the grate, then angled for the docks.

I poked my head slightly above water once we got to the west end of the dock. It was mostly shielded from the lighthouses where the navy ships were. My heart was beating fast as I prepared to get out of the water.

It was time to rescue my cousin.