They arrived in Baromund a day and a half later.

Like it had been a shock to feel warm weather, it was also a shock to see a city teeming with life. Children darted in and out of the traffic on the street as they played, shouting and laughing. People were everywhere—walking, riding horses. No one stopped to stare at the three dirty strangers among them. It reminded Seraiah of how Ratha used to be before the fever had stolen so many.

Kai led them through the maze of streets, choosing a small inn sandwiched between a millinery and a cobbler.

“I will do the talking this time,” he told them. “And remember to keep your head down.” He directed this last bit at Seraiah.

She didn’t think she had a particularly memorable face. If anything, Kai was the one who stood out the most of the three of them, but she did as he said.

As soon as they dismounted, a young boy approached them. He looked to be around Sterling’s age. “A copper to stable your horses,” the boy said, looking at Kai and ignoring her and Kestrel.

Kai grunted and dropped a copper into his eager hand.

The boy grinned and tucked the coin into his pocket, waiting for them to remove their belongings before leading their mounts away.

Seraiah watched as he disappeared around the side of the building, presumably to where the stables were located. She could detect the faint odor of manure mixed in with the smells of the city.

“Come on,” Kestrel called, “or you’ll be left behind.”

Inside, Kai spoke with the innkeeper and paid for two rooms while she hung back with Kestrel. Seraiah caught the flash of silver as he pulled out another coin and placed it on the counter in front of the innkeeper.

“We were never here,” he murmured, his voice so low Seraiah could barely hear him, even though she was standing directly behind him.

The innkeeper nodded, sliding the coin off the counter and into his pocket.

Kai herded them upstairs where they found their rooms next door to each other. Seraiah counted four other doors along the hallway. If those rooms were occupied, she couldn’t tell.

Kestrel unlocked the first room and pushed the door open to reveal a straw mattress on the floor and a small washbasin in the corner.

“I can’t wait to go home,” she grumbled, stepping into the room with Seraiah on her heels.

Kai disappeared briefly into the second room before returning, catching Kestrel poking the mattress with her toe. “There are no fleas, if that’s what you are afraid of. The innkeeper swore his rooms are the cleanest in the area.”

Kestrel stared dubiously at the offending mattress. “I’m not sure I believe that.”

Seraiah silently agreed with her. This was not much of a step up from sleeping outside on the ground. Then again, she didn’t have money to pay for anything else, so she couldn’t complain.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kai said, “with any luck we won’t be here long.”

Kestrel snorted. “I think we may have already used all of our luck.”

He ignored her. “We will start our search now. And you,” he looked at Seraiah, “will wait here.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off before she could get a word out.

“No arguments. If there are mages lurking in this city, it will be dangerous for you to be out. We can’t risk it.”

“They will sense her here just as well as if she were outside,” Kestrel said. “She’d be safer with us than left alone, given her lack of skills.”

Seraiah should have been offended by Kestrel’s commentary on her skills, but if that was what it took to sway Kai into letting her join them, she would take it.

“Fine,” he said after a long silence, “but you will have to watch her.”

Kestrel mock saluted him as he left the room.

“Thank you,” Seraiah said. She’d dreaded being left alone to pace and worry.

“Don’t thank me yet. I have to get supplies, and someone has to carry them for me.” Kestrel grinned at her. “Let’s go pack mule.”

----------------------------------------

By the time Seraiah and Kestrel made it back to the streets of Baromund, Kai had already disappeared.

“Scouting,” Kestrel told her when she asked.

“For what? Sterling?” She practically had to jog to keep up with Kestrel as she wove her way through the traffic.

Kestrel shrugged. “Information.”

Seraiah stared at the back of Kestrel’s head. She’d left her dark hair loose to cover her ears, allowing her to blend in with the people around her. She wished Kestrel would tell her more of what Kai was planning.

“And what happens if we already missed them? Then what? How long will we spend looking?”

“As long as necessary.”

“What does that mean?” she asked when they were forced to stop on a corner to let a cart go by.

“It means it’s not up to me. Kai decides on where we go and when. For now, we are here, and that is all we need to know.”

Once the street was clear of carts, they crossed and entered an open-air market, much like the one in Ratha.

“And you’re happy with that?”

“I pick my battles,” Kestrel said, giving her a sideways glance. “Now, where shall we start?”

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They walked the aisles with Kestrel pointing out things they needed, like food and soap. As they walked, Seraiah kept one ear on the chatter of the crowd, but no one seemed to be talking about anything of interest.

Nothing about a young girl with gray hair.

Package after package was loaded onto her arms as they went. A few people greeted her, perhaps mistaking her for someone else, and a wave of homesickness washed over her. She recognized some of the vendors here. These were the people that used to sell in Ratha until the mountain had become impassable. Even though Ratha was no longer a bustling city, a small part of her still missed it—missed her father.

Then another thought occurred to her. Had she missed her own birthday? Seraiah tried to count back in her head how many days it had been since she left Ratha, but she wasn’t sure. Four days? Five? Surely not more than a week.

“This should fit,” Kestrel said, holding something up in front of Seraiah and tilting her head. “I’ll take it, and those too.”

“What’s this?” Seraiah asked when Kestrel added the wrapped parcel to the ones Seraiah already held.

“New clothes for you. You’re going to overheat in that dress and nothing of mine fits you.”

Kestrel had offered Seraiah clothes after the beast incident, but she was taller by several inches and had the benefit of proper nutrition and regular exercise.

“Thank you,” Seraiah said. “I don’t know how I will repay you.”

“I’m sure you will earn your keep if you practice your visions.”

Seraiah cringed at the reminder. She still hadn’t made any progress and had nothing to offer when they asked her questions.

“Speaking of which,” Kestrel said, “I think we can return to the inn now so you can practice. We should have everything we need to get by, at least until we visit another city.”

They headed back the way they’d come when Kestrel suddenly jerked to a stop in front of her. Seraiah struggled to keep hold of the packages in her arms.

“What’s wrong?” she asked after she was sure she wasn’t going to drop anything.

“I thought of one more thing you need.”

Seraiah wanted to groan. Her arms weren’t going to last much longer.

“It’s all right,” Kestrel said, seeing the look on her face. “You can wait here, and I’ll run back and grab it. Won’t be long,” she promised.

Seraiah shifted the packages around in her arms as Kestrel went back to the stall she had bought clothes from. What else could Kestrel possibly be buying, she wondered. There were enough people between them that she couldn’t get a clear view.

She shifted again, trying to relieve the burn, and spotted a group of tables and chairs. Two older gentlemen sat at one table holding hands of cards and puffing away on pipes, but the others were unoccupied. It was the perfect place to set down her packages and give her arms a break while she waited for Kestrel.

But Kestrel had told her not to move.

Seraiah looked back at the clothing stall. It wasn’t far, and the tables were still in sight of it.

Mind made up, she hurried over and set the packages down before taking a seat and rubbing her sore arms. Kestrel was still busy speaking with the seller, so Seraiah took a moment to look around the market.

Brightly colored scarves waved in the breeze from the stall across from the tables. If Freya could see them, she would be jealous of the stunning hues. Next to it was a stall with beautiful silver work. There was everything from candlesticks to teapots to utensils. Seraiah squinted. She thought there might be a display of rings, too. It was tempting to go look, but she didn’t have money and couldn’t leave the packages.

She settled back in her chair and began rearranging the packages in stacks for something to do when she felt a prickle on the back of her neck. She caught a flash of black out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look, there was nothing. People flowed past her table, going in and out of the market, but none of them gave her a second glance.

You’re being paranoid, she told herself. All those warnings from Kai about being careful and not going anywhere alone were making her see things that weren’t there. The flash of black had likely been one of the scarves.

“Now we really have everything,” Kestrel said, appearing across the table and holding up a pair of short brown leather boots for her to see. “Is everything all right?”

“Fine. I was just looking at those scarves, and you startled me,” Seraiah said, forcing a smile. “Are those for me?” She hadn’t found any hint of black in the sea of scarves, but it had to be there.

“I thought you could use something more practical for our journey, and before you ask no, I will not be buying you your own horse.” Kestrel took some of the packages from the table. “I get much more enjoyment from tormenting Kai.”

The two of them returned to the inn with their purchases to find that Kai was still out. While they waited, Kestrel made Seraiah put on her new clothes to be sure they fit, and practice trying to summon her visions.

When evening turned into night, they headed down to the tavern for a meal.

“Shouldn’t Kai be back by now?” Seraiah asked when they were settled in their room again. The hour was growing late.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Kestrel said. “I’ll wait up for him, but you should get some sleep. This could be the night you have another dream.”

Exhausted from the long day of travel and shopping, Seraiah didn’t argue. She got ready for bed and tucked Sterling’s book beneath her pillow. She’d started the habit at Kestrel’s suggestion even though it wasn’t the most comfortable.

It only took minutes for her to drift off.

However, she wasn’t asleep for long before something jerked her awake again. Seraiah didn’t move as she tried to figure out what had disturbed her. A sound?

The bed was empty beside her, and the room was lit only by the light of the moon streaming in from the open window.

The open window.

Seraiah was fairly certain the shutters had been closed when she’d gone to sleep. Now they were thrown wide.

The creak of a footfall on the floor brought a dark figure into her line of sight. At first she thought it was Kestrel, but no, this person was taller and broader.

Seraiah’s heart fluttered, and she quickly sat up. At the same time, the figure lunged and grabbed for her. She twisted away and tried to crawl across the bed.

The other person was fast, and before she could get far, she felt fingers latch around her ankles. With a yelp, she was yanked backward and bodily lifted from the mattress. No matter how she lashed out, she couldn’t seem to land a hit on them. The only thing she did was knock her pillow and Sterling’s book to the floor.

All her struggling stopped the instant she felt the cold bite of metal against her neck.

“Make a noise again, and you’ll regret it,” her assailant whispered in her ear, the deep voice revealing it was a man who had grabbed her. His arm tightened around her, digging the blade into her skin as he dragged her backward toward the window.

Seraiah knew she couldn’t let him take her, but he seemed more likely to slit her throat than let her go.

She was debating throwing herself against the knife anyway when the door to the room flew open.

Kai rushed in but froze as soon as he saw her.

“I’ll only tell you once. Let her go.” Kai’s voice was utterly calm, but even in the dark, Seraiah could see the lines of tension in his body. One hand had fallen to the hilt of his sword, but he didn’t draw it yet.

Kestrel appeared in the doorway behind him, a knife in each hand.

“No,” her assailant said, dragging her backward again.

They were almost at the window now. She needed to do something.

Seraiah went limp, forcing him to take on her extra weight. A bright spark of pain lanced through her throat as the blade bit into her skin.

Then he began to choke, making an awful gurgling sound.

Her eyes went to Kai, who held one hand out in front of him, fingers forming claws like he was gripping something she couldn’t see.

No, she realized, her captor wasn’t choking.

He was drowning.

A second later, he shoved her away and dove for the window.

Kai caught her, pulling her close as Kestrel raced past.

Seraiah took one shuddering breath and then another, leaning into Kai’s warmth. She was free. She was safe.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Seraiah’s cheeks heated as she realized she was clinging to him. She quickly took a step back, and Kai let her go. His eyes focused on her neck.

“I’m fine,” she said, as he lifted a hand and gently traced his fingers over the place where the blade had cut her.

“You’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing,” she lied, suddenly uncomfortable under his intense gaze. “It would have been much worse if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Shall I follow them?” Kestrel asked from where she leaned out the window. “I think I could catch up.”

Kai pulled his fingers away from Seraiah’s skin. “No,” he said. “Get your things. We’re leaving.”