Nic explained his concerns.

“Ah, yes. The Councilor has advised me about our new glass magician.” The Captain’s pleasant attitude rippled through the surrounding guards, dispelling the tension. “She is welcome here. Please continue your exercises.”

He stayed next to me as the guards drifted back to their groups. Soon grunts, clangs and curses filled the air.

When Nic moved to leave, Alden gestured to him. “You’ll need to hear this. You, too, Eve,” he said to the woman who had been practicing with me. “Councilor Moon has asked us to keep an eye on Opal.”

Again suspicion creased Nic’s face.

“She’s been the target of an assassination attempt, and the Councilor requested we guard her so any future attempts will be unsuccessful,” Captain Alden said.

“There is no need for her concern,” I said. “It’s been over a season and I haven’t been attacked again.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Alden turned to Nic. “I’m assigning her to your team. Draw up a shift schedule, I want her guarded at all times, starting now.”

I must have had a panicked look on my face, because he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. Nic’s team is one of our best.”

“I trust your abilities,” I said. “I’m worried about my privacy.” And about my illicit nighttime plans.

“No need. After our guard ensures no one is hiding in your rooms, he or she will leave, taking a position outside.” Alden nodded with satisfaction before returning to the station.

“Don’t glare at me,” I said to Nic. “I’ve been doing fine on my own. I didn’t ask Councilor Moon for this.” I gave her extra points for intelligence. She now had an excellent reason to keep track of me.

“Considering all the odd orders Moon’s been assigning us, at least this is what we’re supposed to be doing,” Eve said.

Nic’s face relaxed as he conceded. “Sorry.” He jabbed a finger toward the ground. “Stay here until I set up a schedule. Eve, do you want day or night shift?”

“Do you frequent the taverns at night?” Eve asked me.

“No. I’m a morning person.”

“Day shift,” she said to Nic.

He strode away. I met Eve’s gaze.

“I don’t like the night shift unless there’s some excitement,” she explained.

“You won’t get much more action during the day.”

“I can always hope.” She laughed. “I think I should demonstrate a few more self-defense moves for you. Just in case.”

My life lapsed into a routine. Creating messengers in the morning, training with the guards in the afternoon and walking around Fulgor in the evenings. My “protectors” wore civilian clothes. After a few days, I met them all and noted their habits. I started a friendship with Eve, hoping to obtain information from her.

One afternoon about a week into my routine, I asked Eve, “You mentioned odd requests from the Councilor before. What did you mean?” We had been sparring and had stopped to catch our breath.

“She’s been…overly cautious since Akako’s campaign against her was exposed. A lot of her requests are probably due to worry about being usurped. She dismissed her entire staff, and hired all new security officers after her sister was…”

“Caught?”

She looked uneasy.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

“Akako wasn’t apprehended by us. In fact, the Councilor exiled her. We haven’t seen her since.”

“Exiled where?” I asked.

“No idea. All the Councilor would tell us was Akako was in a secured location and won’t be bothering anyone. We think Councilor Moon is keeping her whereabouts a secret so no one can try to rescue Akako.”

“That fits with being cautious. After all, Akako had supporters. I’m sure a few of them escaped.”

Eve gave me another queasy grimace. “That’s the other odd thing. None of Akako’s supporters were arrested.”

“But…That doesn’t fit. Where did they go?”

“Captain Alden believes Councilor Moon’s new security staff handled the cleanup.”

“Cleanup—as in execution?”

“Yes.”

“Remind me not to get on Councilor Moon’s bad side.”

“It set the whole force on edge,” Eve said.

“I noticed the tension before, when I…stopped by on my way to Ognap. Even the townspeople seemed apprehensive.”

“Except for the Councilor, it’s a whole new administration, with new protocols and requirements. Plus, they’re very suspicious. When a local baker wanted to purchase a larger building, they questioned him for hours before granting him permission. Then they supervised the renovations. That caused quite a bit of anxiety.”

“They aren’t as worried now,” I said.

“People adapted. And we’re hoping the new staff will relax with time.”

Gressa supervised the first shipment of glass messengers to the Citadel. She had kept track of each piece throughout the week. Another month’s worth of messengers would finish the debt.

I sat in Councilor Moon’s office with Gressa and the accountant. The man held a thick wad of parchment.

“I’m already getting orders,” the man said. “The Council doesn’t need all the glass messengers at once. We can send a monthly payment until Opal’s debt is paid.”