“You were there for the pain.”
“No other pain?”
“No.”
“Where fork?”
“Don’t start thinking you can lift the wooden thing from my pocket. It’s back in the emperor’s hands.”
And Leopald was unlikely to just hand it over, no matter how often or how loudly Danika asked.
Onnyle Cobb wasn’t at dinner either.
When Reiter asked about her, the young priest who’d sat at her other side for all the meals Reiter had taken in the formal dining room patted at the ludicrous golden sunburst ruff he wore around his skinny neck and frowned in exaggerated confusion. “Who?”
“The young woman from the treasury who’s been sitting between us.”
“I’m sure I don’t know who you’re talking about.” The frown turned into an equally exaggerated smile. “More bread?”
Reiter had told no one that Cobb had asked him about the captured mages.
It seemed he hadn’t needed to.
Ask about the captured mages…disappear.
It seemed people disappeared from court often enough that those who sat at the lowest ranking table weren’t surprised.
Gryham had been right about them disappearing into the crowd. They’d entered Tardford at dawn with the wagons arriving from the country. The crates of squealing piglets squealed louder when they caught Tomas’ scent, but as it was only a matter of degree, Mirian doubted anyone else noticed. When their country escorts turned left toward their waiting buyers, they stayed on Old Capital Street as instructed, keeping to the right when given the choice.
They walked like they knew where they were going, quickly, purposefully, her hand in the crook of his elbow, with their heads slightly down so as not to give offense to their betters.
“Our betters?” Tomas asked after Mirian explained it. “Where are you getting this stuff?”
“It’s how Joy Miller, an innocent country girl, walked through town unseen on her way to confront her real father. It’s a novel,” she added impatiently when Tomas’ brows went up. “It’s not like either of us have real world experience in walking around unseen.”
“I was a scout in the Hunt Pack.”
“On four legs. And we’re dressed like country people…”
“In stolen clothes.”
“Fine, we’re not innocent.”
“Or in a novel.”
Mirian stopped, grabbed the front of his jacket and dragged him around to face her. “Don’t make eye contact,” she growled. “The way you do it, people will think it’s a challenge and we can’t attract attention. Clear?”
He held up both hands. “Clear.”
“They will skin you!”
“I know.”
“Fine.” As she let him go and they started walking again, an elderly woman smoking a pipe and leaning on the sill of a second-floor window across the street, gave her an approving thumbs up.
Most of Tardford was north of Old Capital Street and the street itself remained working class enough they never felt terribly out of place. Mirian kept up a constant murmur of don’t notice us, don’t notice us although she had no idea—and no confidence—it was doing any good. The practicing she’d done at Gryham and Jake’s had been inconclusive. Pack could hear her no matter how quietly she spoke and Jake was so used to hearing what no one else could he paid no attention. Outside of town, just before they reached the road, she’d rubbed dirt into Tomas’ hair, making it look less like fur and adding enough weight only a stiff gust of wind would knock it askew, exposing his ears, but she still kept part of her attention on his head. She didn’t really care what the people around them thought as long as they didn’t think abomination.
At midday, she rummaged in the bedroll hanging off Tomas’ shoulder and finally opened the purse she’d stolen from Captain Reiter, using his money to buy them four skewers of grilled meat off a street cart on the right side of the street. Tomas assured her that he could only smell pork. She was a little surprised by how many bills were in with the coin. Aydori had only recently—and reluctantly—changed to paper money. The empire had used it for decades. Did army captains usually carry that much cash? Did they have to buy their own bullets? Pay their own men? Her parents had been fairly generous with her pin money, but if she’d correctly converted the value from Imperial to Aydori, this was more money than she’d seen in one place outside her father’s bank.
“It’s not that much,” Tomas told her, licking grease off his fingers.
“It is.”
“Bills were sent to your parents, right? You never carried more than a few coins. The captain’s pay packet probably caught up to him in Abyek. He could have a month or more back pay in there.”
“He snuck into Aydori and captured the Mage-pack!”
Tomas snickered and started on his third skewer. “I’m not saying he deserved to get paid for that, I’m saying he was doing his job. First time Harry and me got paid, we…” He flushed. “Never mind.”
She supposed it made sense that a country couple heading to Karis to seek their fortune would have their life savings with them. So, logically, it made sense for thieves to look for couples heading to Karis to seek their fortune in order to rob them. She put a little more emphasis on her don’t notice us, then had to stop when Tomas pointed out the eddies chasing after them against the prevailing wind.
By midafternoon they’d only the East Gate Market and a few cross streets of increasingly rural houses to get through before Old Capital Street joined up with the new Capital Street and started following the curves of the Vone River to Karis.
“The East Gate Market marks the place where the old east gate used to be when there was a city wall.” When Tomas turned to glare, Mirian pointed at the wall. “There’s a plaque.”
“And we’ve got so much time to stop and read.”
“Because charging right through town doesn’t look suspicious at all!” Mirian snapped. Watching out for an entire city as well as Tomas’ ears left her feeling as though she were being pulled to pieces. “Forgive me for needing a moment to collect myself.”
“These boots are too tight and my feet are killing me. Why are you such a…Never mind. Not important.” He went to run a hand up through his hair, caught himself when her eyes widened, and muttered something she didn’t catch. Pivoting on one heel, he headed away from the building. “Come on.”
Mirian grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “The last time we tried crossing a market, it didn’t work out so well. You almost died.” I killed someone.
She still hadn’t told him how Harn the farm worker had burned. Didn’t want him to think differently of her. Had no idea of what he saw on her face, but his expression gentled.
“That won’t happen this time.” He adjusted her grip, tucking her hand into the bend of his elbow, and tugging her forward. “We’ll stay to the right just like Jake told us to.”
By midafternoon the market should have been emptying out, but banners had been strung across the small square, there was a distinct scent of toffee in the air, and a stage was being set up near an inn called…
“The Cock and Bottle,” Tomas told her. “If you keep squinting like that, you’ll have lines.”
She elbowed him in the side. She’d always been nearsighted, but this wasn’t a tiny cleft in a set of foggy hills off in the distance. She should have been able to read the sign. Rubbing her eyes didn’t help. If she were being sensible about it, she’d admit her vision had been getting worse since she’d left Aydori, but—all things considered—denial seemed the better option.
She studied the market as though she could still see into the corners.