“So did we. I meant that he headed west after you left. We’re going with you.”
Now the scowl came. “I hope that’s a joke, Ash.”
“It is not. I’m going with you so I can get the news from the city. It’s our best chance of hearing gossip on Moria. When you return to Tyrus, we’ll ride back together.”
He argued, but there was little he could do now with Tyrus long gone. Finally, he waved at Guin. “And her?”
“I asked Guin to come along,” she lied for Guin’s sake. “I thought that best. She can find a place in the city and —”
“I’m coming to care for your siblings,” Guin cut in. “So you will have no cause for concern on their behalf.”
Ronan sputtered, then settled for aiming an accusatory look at Ashyn.
“That was not what we discussed,” she said slowly. “But perhaps it is not a bad idea…”
“Not a bad idea? She’s been non-corporeal for an age. She’s barely stopped walking into walls.”
Guin glowered at him. “I have not walked into anything since my second day in this body. I can care for children. I had younger siblings when I was alive. They all survived the ordeal of my care.”
Ashyn expected Ronan to snap back a retort, but he only glanced away and grumbled, “You’ll not care for my siblings. Since the prince is long gone, though, I must accept Ashyn’s companionship.”
“You’re too kind,” she murmured.
He glared at her and said to Guin, “And since I accept hers, you – unfortunately – come as part of the deal. But if you impede our progress or endanger Ash at any turn —”
“I would never endanger Ashyn,” Guin said hotly. “You, perhaps. But not her.”
Ronan opened his mouth to reply, but Ashyn cut him off. “If I can find information on my sister, I’d like to do that soon. Can we stop arguing and start riding?”
THIRTY-SEVEN
At nightfall they stopped at an inn that had sprouted its own settlement, as inns sometimes did, with enterprising traders and artisans making their homes nearby to profit from travelers. The building itself was typical for the region – two stories, with an exterior walkway along the second floor.
Ronan and Guin went inside to get a room while Ashyn and Tova waited. Once a bedchamber had been acquired, they smuggled Ashyn up the outside steps to their room. It wasn’t a given that she’d be recognized, but they took no chances.
Once inside she was expected to stay there until morning. Guin and Ronan would be more sociable, dining downstairs and wandering among the trading carts in hopes of hearing news.
Ronan managed to sneak Tova up when he brought Ashyn’s evening meal.
“There’s something going on out there,” he said. “A rumor. I’m trying to track it down.”
“What are they saying?”
“Not much. But when trouble is afoot, people get anxious. There’s almost a…” He struggled for the word. “Something in the air. A sharpness. A tightness.”
“Does Guin notice it?”
He made a face. “Hardly.” He leaned against the wall. “There are things you learn growing up as a thief, and some of them aren’t as obvious as others. You need to be able to tell when people are nervous so you can get out before it goes bad.”
“Is that what you want? To get out of here?”
“Not yet. It feels like a mix of trouble and excitement. People know war is coming and it scares them, but it’s exciting, too. A chance for change.”
Ashyn paused. “Do you want change?”
“Not from a man who slaughters villages with shadow stalkers. My issues with the empire aren’t from anything Emperor Tatsu has done. But dissatisfied people don’t always see that. To them, revolution means rice wine and honey cakes for all. I’ve been getting that sense of tension and excitement every time we pass through a village. Here, it’s multiplied tenfold.”
“Perhaps there’s news? Of actual war? Or another incursion?” She paused. “Or perhaps something about the children. Of Edgewood and Fairview…” She knew that was not their priority now. It couldn’t be, with Moria captive and Tyrus wanted for treason. But she still thought of the children. Often.
“I must be discreet,” Ronan said. “But I said that I’d heard something about children being taken, and no one knew anything of the sort. As for the war, everyone who has news is eager to share it, but the rumors are the same. The empire still is preparing.”
“Perhaps those preparations are escalating, and it’s having some effect here.”
He considered it. “They will recruit for the army. Not for warriors, of course, but for cooks and blacksmiths and such. But I can’t see how that would be any cause for anxiety or secrecy.”
“What if it’s not Emperor Tatsu who’s recruiting?”
He nodded slowly. “Let me make another round, then, with more pointed questions.”
After Ronan left, Ashyn paced. She could do nothing else. There wasn’t even a window to peek out. She did open the door a crack. Though night had fallen, she could see torches. An inordinate number of them, it seemed, and lanterns, too, as if people were milling about waiting for something.
She was still looking when she heard the thump of footsteps on the stairs and glanced over just as Ronan crested them. He waved her back inside. She’d barely gotten the door closed before it opened again.