Quilla had been in many stables before, but none as big as the Palace stables. It stank in here, like most stables, but on a whole new level. It was also a weird mix of hot and cold. Stuffy too. Most of the air was warmed by the bodies of what had to be something in the vicinity of one hundred horses. Yet at the same time, currents of cold air that got through gaps in the doors and walls circulated the room. She found herself both shivering and sweating at the same time.

Though maybe the sweat was due to nerves.

At the very least, some of it was.

This was the first she’d been allowed out of the Darkers’ hideout. She’d been there nearly two weeks, and was about to go stir crazy. Seeing no one but Dyle and his goons—especially Vellon—was enough to drive anyone mad. Though surprisingly, Sam wasn’t too bad when he wasn’t acting tough.

Sam walked up to her now, leading her horse, Nelli. She smiled as he handed her the reins. “Thank you.”

Sam just nodded and moved on—to collect other horses, she presumed. They were all going to need them, but Dyle had ordered hers be prepared first.

Quilla patted Nelli’s nose. It had been a while since she’d ridden or even seen the horse.

Down the aisle, Borisin was looking at her. He’d been staring at her since she’d gotten here, hanging his head over his stall gate. She couldn’t help get the feeling he was disapproving of her being there, though she had no reason to think that. She had no idea what horse facial expressions were like, and it wasn’t like Borisin looked any different than he usually did—not at this distance in the dim light. She tried waving at him again. Maybe he’d get the idea that he was making her uncomfortable.

“Why do you keep waving at that horse?” It was Vellon. He was leading another horse over.

Quilla stuck her hand back inside her coat. “No reason. He just…”

“And why’s it staring at you?”

Quilla shrugged and looked away from both Borisin and Vellon.

Dyle was leading another horse up to them. “That’s Rudiger’s horse. Now get back to work. Remember, we need extra horses, too.”

Vellon pointed at Borisin. “Let’s take that one then. A horse that big ought to be appreciated.”

Quilla shook her head, though Dyle appeared to consider it a moment. “You promised,” she hissed.

Dyle looked at her. “Hmm?”

She stepped closer to him, and spoke in a whisper. “You promised none of my friends would come to any harm.”

“Yes, I did. It’s a horse, Quilla, not one of your friends.”

“A horse of one of my friends, and he loves that horse. Don’t you dare do anything to it.”

Dyle sighed. “Oh, very well.” He looked up at Vellon and spoke at full volume. “Leave that one. It’s out of bounds.”

Vellon sneered, baring his sharpened, pointed teeth. “You serious?”

Dyle stared back at him. “Very. That horse will be more trouble than it’s worth. It’ll fight us every step of the way. We don’t need that right now. So the horse is out of bounds. Got it?”

Vellon growled. “Fine.” He stepped up to Dyle and leered down at him. “But you better stop letting that bitch boss you around, or some of us might stop thinking you’re fit to be Dusk Supreme.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Vellon straightened up and took a step back. “Of course not, Boss. Just letting you know some important details. I’ll go find some other horses to sacrifice.”

“You do that.”

Vellon chuckled and wandered off.

“Is he going to be okay?” Quilla asked.

Dyle frowned. “For now. He will become an issue eventually though. But don’t worry. I’ll have him put down before he becomes a threat.”

Sam appeared at the end of the aisle waving. “Dyle!”

“What is it?” Dyle called.

“We’ve got an issue here with Barnol Friaz. You better come.”

Dyle sighed. He smiled at Quilla. “One problem after another, isn’t it? Would you mind checking the horses as they’re brought over? Make sure they’re tacked properly?”

“Yeah, sure,” Quilla said.

“Thanks.” He winked at her and headed over to Sam.

Quilla started with Nelli, then moved to the horse that Vellon had brought over. If anyone had messed up, she bet it would be him, though everything looked fine.

Borisin was still staring at her. What did that horse want? It wasn’t like she could get him out of here. She couldn’t even get herself away from these Darkers for just a few minutes to pass on any information she’d learned, like the Pearl. If she…

Gods damn it. She was an idiot.

She looked down the aisle. Dyle and Sam had wandered off somewhere. In the other direction, Vellon was gone, too.

She hurried over to Borisin, who continued to stare at her. “Look, I don’t really understand this whole communication thing you have with Rudiger, and I have no idea if you can really understand me, but gods, I hope you can. You need to get word to Rudiger and Zandrue. First, Barnol Friaz is the traitor. He’s the one letting Darkers into the Palace. Second, they have this—”

“Quilla?”

It was Dyle coming back down the aisle. Sam, Barnol Friaz, and a couple of Dyle’s other goons followed. They were holding on to someone else. Was that…?

“What are you doing?” Dyle asked.

Quilla hurried back over to him. “Sorry, but he wouldn’t stop staring at me. I thought maybe going over and talking to him would appease him. He’s a very demanding horse. Don’t worry, I already checked these ones. They’re fine.”

Dyle just shrugged.

“Is that…?” Quilla pointed to the person held by the two goons.

Dyle stepped aside and gestured with one arm.

It was Tianna Friaz.

What the hell was she doing here? She wasn’t one of them, was she? It actually wouldn’t surprise Quilla if she was. Her father was, after all. But they were holding her like she was a prisoner. Barnol was standing off to the side, his head lowered, his body shaking.

“Sam caught her trying to follow her father,” Dyle said. “I’m very cross with Barnol at the moment for being so stupid.”

Barnol looked up. His face and beard were slick with tears. “Let me talk to her. I can convince her not to say anything. I know I can.”

Dyle ignored him and turned to Quilla. “Tianna’s been getting very close with Zandrue recently. Rumour around the Palace is they’re sleeping together.” He laughed. “I wonder what Rudiger thinks of that. At any rate, I have no idea if Zandrue set her up to this or she got suspicious on her own. Either way, I can’t risk her taking anything back to Zandrue. So she’s coming with us.”

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“Do you have to...to…?” Quilla looked over at Tianna. Her face was clenched and streaked with tears. The two goons had a tight grip on her arms. “I mean, do they have to handle her so roughly.”

“I can’t have her running away, Quilla.” Dyle looked over at Tianna. “She already tried to run. If she does that again, I’ll do far worse than they’re doing now.”

“Leave her with me,” Quilla said.

“You?”

“Give me a chance to prove myself to your friends. I’ll convince her to stay. If I can’t and she runs, you can kill her and I won’t complain. I won’t say a thing.”

Dyle grinned. “All right. You’ve got yourself a deal. She’s your responsibility.” He motioned to the goons. “Bring her over here.”

They came over.

“Release her.”

“Sir?” one asked.

“I’m putting her in Quilla’s custody. Let her go.”

The goons looked at each other and let go of Tianna, shoving her towards Quilla. Tianna stumbled and Quilla caught her.

“Everyone, back to work! We need to be ready to go as soon as Lidda and Lamaën arrive.” Dyle winked at Quilla. “Make me proud. Oh, don’t allow any contact between father and daughter, yes?”

Quilla nodded. “I’ll make certain she speaks to no one except you and me.”

Dyle smiled. “I knew you’d start to come round eventually, Quilla.” He wandered off with Sam and the goons who had been holding Tianna.

Barnol still stood nearby, looking at them.

Quilla scowled at him, and led Tianna aside. The girl was shaking, so Quilla put her arm around her.

“I’m sorry, Quilla,” Tianna sobbed. “I’m so sorry for everything I said and did to you. Zandrue told me everything. I know what you’re—”

“Shut up!” Quilla put a hand on Tianna’s chin and lifted it so she could look her in the eye. “I don’t know what’s happened the last two weeks or how you’ve charmed Zandrue. I’ll trust her judgement, but that doesn’t mean I like you. Because I don’t. In fact, I can’t stand you. Got that?”

Tianna tried to nod, but Quilla held her chin firm. She just made a mumbling sound.

“Now, here’s the situation. You are going to do every single thing I say because that’s the only way there’s a chance in hell of keeping you alive. Understand?”

“Mm hmm.”

“Good. I don’t know why I’m sticking my neck out for you. I really shouldn’t be, so if you mess up even a little, I’ll give you to them. And if you let slip anything about my reasons for being here, I’ll fucking kill you myself.”

“Mm hmm.” The girl was shaking uncontrollably now.

“Oh gods.” Quilla put her arms around her and hugged her tight. “It’s going to be okay, all right? I’ll keep you alive.”

“Okay.”

“One last thing. Talk to no one unless either me or Dyle tells you to first. That includes your father, okay?”

She sniffled. “Yes.”

Quilla hugged her tighter and let her sob a bit. “I’ll find a way to keep you alive. I promise. Now, help check the horses, okay?”

Tianna sniffled some more, and mumbled something vaguely affirmative sounding.

The others had already brought several more horses over. Quilla wasn’t sure just how many they were gathering—stealing rather. Enough for them all to ride, obviously, but how many more beyond that, she had no idea. They kept bringing more.

With Tianna’s help, she was able to check them over reasonably quickly. They appeared to be gathering about a dozen more than were needed for riding. She felt sorry for the poor things. They had no idea what was in store for them. She wished she didn’t know.

Borisin!

She’d forgotten she hadn’t finished telling him everything.

Just think it.

She stumbled, grabbed Tianna for support.

“Are you okay?” Tianna asked.

Quilla nodded. “Just a little dizzy. It’ll pass.”

What the hell had that been?

I said just think it.

Dear gods.

No, not gods. Just think what you want to tell me.

Borisin? Was this what Rudiger experience?

Yes, and yes. And don’t think this will be a regular occurrence. It’s tough enough pushing through to you as it is. This is a one-time emergency thing. Now, start thinking what you want to tell me.

Quilla wasn’t entirely sure how this was supposed to work, but she just started thinking about everything she’d learned. The names of everyone and their roles. She tried to picture them in her head. And the Pearl. What was it called again? The Pearl of one of those Ninifin gods. Started with S.

The Pearl of Sestin?

That was it.

Felitïa’s staff is the Staff of Sestin.

Hadn’t Felitïa said something about the missing eyes being pearls?

Yes, she did.

Good gods.

I keep telling you, the gods aren’t doing anything right now.

This was so strange.

She hoped she’d covered everything. Oh, and better not forget to tell him about Tianna.

I’ll make sure they know.

Then she thought about the purpose of their trip. What they were going to use the Pearl for.

Borisin was silent after that. Did he not believe her? She would understand if he didn’t believe her. She wasn’t sure she believed herself.

No, I believe you. Rather, I believe they believe it, and if they believe it, that scares the hell out of me. Don’t tell Rudiger I said that. As far as he’s concerned, I’m not afraid of anything.

They need to act quickly, Quilla said. Had she done that right?

Very good, Borisin said. Much more focused. Don’t worry, I’ll tell Rudiger when he comes round tomorrow. I’ll make sure they act fast.

Tianna touched Quilla’s arm. “Quilla? You okay?”

Quilla blinked several times. “Huh?”

“You’ve just been staring blankly. Are you okay?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I just zoned out for a moment. I do that sometimes.”

Now you know how Rudiger feels.

I suppose. Just let him know I’m okay. She patted Tianna’s shoulder. “Come on, there are still a few horses to check.”

Quilla shivered. Here she was, promising to keep Tianna alive, and she wasn’t sure how anybody else had a chance in hell of surviving.