Lianhua was sitting next to Yingtao, clutching the other female’s hand in hers as she glared at the stranger, whose name was Adara. If Lianhua had been a kobold, Kaz would have expected her fur to be up and her lip lifted in a snarl. Fortunately, Adara seemed to find Lianhua’s attitude amusing, since Yingtao’s attempts to calm her friend had been entirely unsuccessful.

Apparently, this Adara had been injured and gone to the same healer where Yingtao was recovering. During the time both females were there, Adara had developed a fondness for Yingtao, to the extent that she told Yingtao to look for her if she was ever in trouble. Which Yingtao had now done, and it seemed that Adara was choosing to interpret this as a return of her own affection.

Adara swung one leg over the other, kicking her foot idly as her pale eyes watched Lianhua and Yingtao in much the way a kobold might watch a pair of jiyun grubs, just waiting to see which one looked tastier before popping it into their mouth.

“So, you need a place to stay,” she said, reaching up to touch her nose idly. It was no worse for Yingtao’s assault, which had ended almost before it began, but Adara had made a point of prodding it gingerly ever since they all sat down.

“Yes,” Lianhua said, cutting off Yingtao and practically bouncing to her feet. “But I’m sure we can find someplace else. If you’ll just show us the way out-”

Yingtao grasped Lianhua’s elbow even as Adara barked out a laugh. “Someplace else? Someplace where no one will turn you in for the extremely high reward being offered for any information leading to the recovery of the missing princess, her slightly less valuable lady in waiting, and a trio of Imperials who mysteriously vanished during the incursion? No, I don’t think you will.” Adara’s voice shifted, growing cold. “Please, sit back down, Lady Lianhua Long.”

Lianhua stilled, and her eyes flicked to Chi Yincang. Kaz looked in that direction as well, half expecting to see a weapon in the male’s hand. Instead, he seemed as calm as ever, and though his ki was cycling a bit more quickly than usual, he wasn’t holding it ready.

Raff gave a dramatic sigh, pulling all eyes to him. He was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, one ankle over the other, the very picture of boredom. His mana was roiling in a thick cloud, however, and while he looked just as calm as Chi Yincang, Kaz suspected Raff was actually quite worried. “Let’s just out with it, eh? How much d’you want for not tellin’ the guard where we are? Or do you plan to just turn us in yourself? Because I can tell you that it won’t be worth the fight.”

If anything, Adara seemed to relax even further, melting back into her chair. “Oh, I don’t doubt that. And I admit that the sheer size of the rewards being offered is tempting,” she smiled as Raff shifted forward slightly, “but it’s still not quite enough.”

Laying an arm over the back of her chair, she tilted her head, looking at Yingtao and Lianhua. Her eyes lingered on Yingtao’s hand, where it laid on Lianhua’s arm, and she shook her head, sighing almost as loudly as Raff.

“I somehow doubt I’ll be paid in the manner I’d prefer,” she said, “but I still want to help.”

“Why?” Lianhua burst out. “Not out of the goodness of your heart.”

Adara burst out laughing, a warm, rich sound that seemed to surprise everyone there except for Yingtao. “No,” Adara agreed, “not out of the goodness of my heart.”

With an abrupt shift in demeanor, the female leaned forward, causing thick strands of her hair to fall over her shoulder. “I believe,” she said, “that you already have something worth trading for. Information. Something has been happening in Cliffcross over the last month, and in spite of my greatest efforts, I’ve been unable to figure out what it is. I wish that I believed that whatever happened today at the mage college was the end of it, but I very much suspect it’s only the beginning.”

She pointed a finger at Raff, then Kaz, and her gaze lingered far too long on Li, who still looked like a wyvern. “You two are entered in the tournament, along with your…pet.”

Turning her focus to Chi Yincang, Lianhua, Yingtao, Jinn, and Reina, she went on, “You lot are wanted by the crown for very vaguely defined reasons.”

At last, she looked at Kyla, who was hiding in a corner near Raff, her hood drawn down over her face, and Mei cradled in her arms. “And you are the first intelligent kobold I’ve seen in fifteen years.”

Kyla let out a little yip, her shield rising around her before falling again. She had used up most of her ki staying hidden during the group’s walk to the Bard and Bee, and hadn’t yet recovered enough to keep a shield in place.

Holding up a hand to still the voices starting to rise in protest, Adara said, “My proposal is simple. I will hide those of you who are more…recognizable, shall we say. I believe our princess could use a healer as well, and while the one I usually use is currently under house arrest thanks to his entanglement with Yingtao, I’m sure I can find someone else trustworthy. In exchange, you all tell me what you know about the very peculiar things going on in this city.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Silence fell, as if everyone, including Kaz, was waiting for more. At last Lianhua said, “That’s it? You just want information?”

Adara’s fingernails drummed on the wooden arm of her chair as she said, “That’s it. Though it would be nice if Kaz and, ah, ‘Big Bro Gravy’ would be willing to accept a few more members onto their team in the group competition. I have some people entered already, of course, but given the way things have been going lately, I think I’d like to add a few more, and one of my teams recently, ah, lost a few people.”

Jinn had been sitting next to Reina, her eyes narrowed and expression suspicious, but now she turned to stare at Raff. “Big Bro Gravy?”

Her brother’s cheeks darkened, and he tapped on the wall behind him in two sharp beats. “I thought that if you heard the name, you’d come find me. Sure woulda made the business of getting you home a lot easier. No runnin’ through fire or exploding chickens involved.”

Jinn’s hand lifted to her mouth, and her shoulders shook. After a moment, the laughter burst forth, and the sheer joy of it made everyone in the room relax at least a little. When she finally managed to get herself under control, Jinn stood, crossing to stand on her tiptoes so she could press a kiss to her brother’s chin. “I love you, Big Bro Gravy,” she told him, then turned, staring at everyone else, as if daring them to say anything. No one did.

“Well,” Adara said, and for the first time her pale blue eyes held some true warmth. “Do we have a deal?”

A great number of glances were exchanged, and then Lianhua said, “Yes. But what do you plan to do about what we tell you?”

It was Adara’s turn to laugh. “Do about it? Nothing at all, sweet girl. I’m not in the business of doing. I’m in the business of knowing, and I have a feeling that what you’re going to tell me will make or save me a great deal of money.”

Standing, she crossed to the door through which they’d come. This door had fascinated Kaz for a good while, since the door handle had a good amount of ki packed into it. It hadn’t done anything when they entered, at least as far as Kaz could tell, but perhaps it was a lock of some kind? Adara herself had only a little mana, though what there was of it spun in the most well-ordered cycle Kaz had ever seen, so maybe she could use it to work the handle?

Indeed, as Kaz watched, the human female’s mana flowed out and met with the ki, which was mostly white, with a good amount of yellow mixed in. To Kaz’s surprise, as she did so, the entire door lit up, bright runes flashing across its surface, then settled down again as she twisted her hand. The door swung open easily, revealing a very different room than the one they passed through on the way in.

Reina started to her feet. “Is that a hidden room spell? Those are only supposed to be-”

“Used by master mages, yes, yes.” Adara smiled, stepping into the room and motioning for them to follow. “It costs about ten gold every time I open the door, since the mage who recharges the spell is well aware I can’t get anyone else to do it. Still, it’s worthwhile, especially when I need to hide something where I can be absolutely certain no one will find it.”

Chi Yincang was the first to follow, flowing through the doorway like a shadow clinging to Adara’s heels. Lianhua and Yingtao came after him, then everyone else, with Raff bringing up the rear. Kaz felt something like a spark leap through him as he passed through the portal, and he made sure not to touch the door, frame, or handle.

The room that now lay beyond the magic door was large but simple, entirely lacking in the windows that humans put in almost every wall. There were no other doors, which made Kaz nervous, but otherwise it seemed safe enough. Two large beds took up most of the space, but there were several good-sized wooden boxes as well.

“I won’t tell you where this room is actually located, but trust me when I say that not only will no one find it, but attempting to leave in any way except through the door would be a very bad idea. That said, the door is keyed to me, so if you decide to stay here, you’ll have to trust me,” Adara told them.

Lianhua opened her mouth, but Yingtao leaned into her, staying her words. “Yes,” Yingtao said. “We understand.”

The golden-haired female almost looked disappointed, as if she’d hoped for an argument, or at least some resistance, but she said, “Then anyone who’s staying should settle in.” She pointed again at Kaz and Raff. “You two need to meet the rest of your new team.”

Jinn held up a hand as Kaz and Raff started moving toward the door. “That’s it?” she demanded, looking at Raff. “You’re just going to leave us here? With a stranger? We don’t even have a plan!” Tears stood in her eyes, and her hands were fisted at her sides.

Raff crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped his arms around her. Looking down into her frightened face, he said, “I’ll always come for you, Jinnie. You know that, and,” he turned to look straight into Adara’s eyes, “so does she.”

One corner of Adara’s mouth lifted, and she nodded, meeting first Raff’s eyes, then Jinn’s. “I’ve heard enough about both Lord Grafton Fedorick Hillcroft and the mercenary Raff that I have no particular interest in incurring either of their wrath. Besides, it truly is in my best interest to remain quiet. Given recent events, I suspect that anyone who turns you in is likely to vanish shortly thereafter, and there simply isn’t room in my schedule for my death or disappearance at the moment. You are as safe here as it is possible for you to be while remaining in Cliffcross City.”

Jinn stepped away from Raff and bit her lip, but Reina took her arm. Her face was pale and sad as she said, “We have to stop running sometime, Jinn. I’m tired, and though this woman is…not someone with whom I would usually choose to associate, I believe we can trust her, at least for now.”

Adara laughed. “Damned with faint praise. The story of my life. Now,” she looked at Kaz and Raff, “Shall we leave these lovely people to determine how to divide two beds between four women, a man, a kobold, and a rat?”

Kaz and Raff exchanged glances but followed without further protest. Once they were through the door, Adara turned and glanced back at those they were leaving behind. “There’s food and other necessities in the boxes. I’ll come in to check on you in a while, and we can have a little chat then. No one else can enter here, so you need not fear someone stumbling upon your hiding place.”

Lianhua’s eyes widened. “If you’re the only one who can open the door, what if something happens to you?”

Adara grinned. “Best for all of us that I remain free and healthy, then, eh?” She closed the door firmly, pushing her carefully ordered mana into the handle as she twisted it. Kaz watched closely, as did Li, and when it clicked closed, he smiled to himself. The female might believe she was the only one who could open that door, but he was quite certain she was wrong.