I’d known Valek for almost nine years, and the only thing that scared him was the threat of losing me. “What happened?” I asked.

He leaned back and lightly brushed the bandage on my neck with his thumb. “I found out The Mosquito is in town.”

Ah.

“Did he attack you?” he asked.

“It was too dark to see, but the first strike was aimed at my throat.” The Mosquito’s signature way to kill was to stab an ice pick into his victims’ jugulars and let them bleed to death. Nice guy.

“Tell me what happened.”

I detailed the attack and the reason it took me so long to return. “But I managed to hold on to the files. Did you learn anything else while you were in the Council Hall?”

“I grabbed a few promising files from Bavol’s office, but I’m more concerned about what I overheard Bruns and his sycophants discussing in the hallway.”

I stepped back in alarm. “You weren’t supposed—”

“They didn’t know I was there. Besides, the information was worth the danger.”

“About The Mosquito?”

“Yes. That, and Bruns knows you’re in the Citadel. He’s offered a large bounty to the person who kills you.”

No surprise. “How much?”

“Yelena, that’s not the point.”

“It’s not the first time someone’s put a price on my head.” Master Magician Roze Featherstone had offered five golds as a reward for my capture when she tried to take over the Sitian Council seven years ago.

“This time is different. You’re...”

I waited.

“Vulnerable without your magic. And it’s no longer all business with Bruns. He took Ben’s and Loris’s deaths and our escape from the Krystal garrison personally. You need to go back to the farmhouse in the Stormdance lands. You’ll be safer there.”

“And what about you?” I asked. “As you said, our escape. Did he set a bounty for you, as well?”

“No.”

“How do you know?”

Valek paced the room. I crossed my arms to keep his lingering warmth close. Plus, judging by the agitation in his steps, I sensed he was working up the nerve to deliver more bad news.

He stopped. “Bruns has offered fifty golds to the person who kills you.”

That was a fortune. I whistled, and he shot me a glare. “You didn’t answer my question,” I said.

Another scowl, and then his shoulders drooped as if in defeat. “Bruns has been in contact with Commander Ambrose, and...” Valek paused. “The Commander has agreed to send Onora to assassinate me.”

2

VALEK

Yelena’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, and concern flashed in her green eyes over the news. But Valek had expected something like this. If he focused on the logic, the move made perfect tactical sense. The Commander had warned Valek that leaving Ixia would be an act of treason. And acts of treason, no matter what the reason, were punishable by death. Plus, he now had magic, of all things. He’d inadvertently traded his immunity to magic for the power to wield it. And the Commander had a standing execution order on all magicians found in Ixia.

Except he and the Commander had been close friends, and he was unaware of Valek’s magic—only a handful of people knew. He’d hoped the Commander would give him the benefit of doubt and not send an assassin after him.

Yelena put her hand on his arm. “He’s being influenced by Owen’s magic.”

“We don’t know that for sure.” There had been a few inconsistencies, like when the Commander had tried to protect Valek from Owen by sending him to the coast to deal with the Storm Thieves. He was also supposed to be protected from Owen’s subversion by the null shields that Leif had woven into his uniforms, but the Commander could have lied to Valek about wearing them.

“He has to be,” she said.

He pressed his hand over hers and enjoyed not only her touch but the respite from the constant presence of his magic. With his mental shield in place, it wasn’t as bad, but contact with her turned it all off, and he returned to the man he’d been for the last forty-one years of his life.

“Are you worried about Onora?” she asked.

Was he? They had sparred a number of times, and each time he had defeated her. But perhaps she planned to ambush him. “No. She’s the best to come along in the last twenty-four years, but unless she catches me off guard, I don’t expect her to cause me any trouble.”

“And you’re never relaxed,” she teased.

“I am when I’m with you, love.” He picked up her hand and kissed her palm.

“Really? And those knives under our pillows, the swords on the floor, the darts in the headboard?”

“I said relaxed, not stupid. Being prepared is never a bad idea.”

“No.” Her gaze grew distant as she rubbed her side.

Probably remembering The Mosquito’s attack. While Valek was proud she was able to get away, he planned to ensure that would be the assassin’s last attempt on her life.

“Speaking of being prepared,” he said, “you need to leave the Citadel until I’ve taken care of any bounty hunters coming after you. Either go to the Stormdance farmhouse, or travel to the Illiais Jungle to visit your mother. Both are safer than here.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Nice try, handsome, but I’m not going anywhere. At least not until Leif and Mara return from Broken Bridge with my father, and we’ve looked over the information from Bavol’s.”