One by one we climbed out of the den, walking as we had before, with only Reya staying beside me. The closer we got to my target, the more uncertain I became. What if I couldn’t find any evidence? Perhaps I should have enlisted help after all.
And then we’d arrived, and I had no more time to waste on doubt. I had brought the darker of my two wraps and twilight had gripped the city, making it easier for me to blend into the shadows.
“It’s that one,” whispered Dancer, appearing beside me and pointing ahead to a large block building. “There are guards there, there, and there. All around that main entrance. It’s the only door, so they’re always on that side.”
I bit my lip. In case I needed a reminder of how out of touch I had grown, I hadn’t noticed any of the three men in their inconspicuous places. And I needed to get close enough to find some sort of compelling evidence I could take back to Cassian.
“Thank you.” I nodded at them both. “Could one of you please go to the gates of the mansion at sunrise? If I don’t meet you there, tell the guard you need to speak to Princess Celine. Tell them to say that Evie sent you.”
“Wait, what?” Whitey popped up at my elbow. “I’m coming with you!”
“No, you most certainly are not.”
“You wouldn’t want me to miss out on all the fun.” He grinned from ear to ear.
I kept my look stern. “I won’t budge on this. I’m not putting any of you at risk.”
They stared at me disapprovingly, so I softened the blow. “You want to help me? Fine. Keep a look out—from a safe distance, mind—and if you hear a commotion, if something looks off and you think they nabbed me, go straight to the mansion. Don’t wait for sunrise. And make a ruckus until they fetch the princess.”
After a quick exchange of looks, they all nodded their agreement and slunk off into the shadows.
“A safe distance!” I whispered after them, as loudly as I dared.
Only when I had lost sight of them in the dusk did I begin to creep forward. The location of the three guards meant I needed to approach from the rear of the building, but even out of their sight, I moved slowly. When I finally stood with my back to the building, I let out a long sigh of relief.
Inching along, I looked for a window, or a grate, anything which might give me a sense of what was within. I still hoped I might discover something of use by listening from outside. If I could possibly avoid going in, I would.
Eventually my slow steps brought me to a dirty window. I peered inside. A large, cavernous space filled the interior of the building. Men milled around inside it, some carrying lanterns, all carrying weapons. A table covered in paper and with several men bent over it sat under another window, around the corner from where I stood now.
Returning to my snail-like progress, I kept my back pressed to the wall, my eyes straining and alert for anyone around me, as I rounded the corner and reached the second window.
A small hole had been smashed in the bottom corner of the window in the time the building had stood empty, and I kneeled down, positioning my face near the round opening.
Another man approached the table and saluted. “There’s been no move to gather up the northerners yet.”
Several of the men rustled uneasily, but the one in the center growled at them. Confidence and authority hung around him as obviously as visible clothing. I didn’t doubt for a second that he was the urchins’ Shadow Man. The gray in his hair and beard supported the nickname they had given him, although his manner had an arrogance and assuredness that seemed ill-suited for the shadows.
“There’s still time. They may even yet be making plans to strike the foreigners at dawn.”
A man beside him barked a laugh. “An excellent strategy.” A rumble of humor moved through the men, a smile even touching the face of the leader.
“Intelligent indeed. I would hardly have suggested we use it otherwise.”
“And if they don’t act on our intelligence?” the newcomer asked.
The Shadow Man shrugged. “We move at dawn the day after tomorrow regardless. The royals are unpredictable, they may decide at any moment to cut their visit short and run like the cowards they are. We cannot afford to lose this opportunity.”
Move at dawn? What did that mean? Surely they did not intend to attack the governor’s mansion and the royals directly?
“You truly believe we are ready for an all-out assault? Our attempt in the desert did not go to plan,” said an older man around the table. “And we wasted our only godmother object on the attempt. Its magic is entirely depleted now.”
The leader’s eyes narrowed, and he looked as if he would throttle the man for daring to question him. But a moment later his expression calmed.
“You heard the report our troops sent back. The caravan defied expectation and veered off into the middle of the desert. No one could have predicted such a move. We lost the element of surprise, and our men should have waited for our response rather than sending off a messenger and then attempting the attack anyway.”
He grinned, sending shivers up my spine. “This time will be different. They’ll be so busy dividing the city, they won’t know what hit them. And this time, I will be in the lead.”
His grin expanded around the table, his men clearly won over. I eased backward to rest against the wall, out of sight in the descending darkness. It was worse than I had feared. I slipped back in front of the window to try to estimate the number of men in the room. There were more than I had expected, I had to admit. Scores, at least. And an untold number might be lying in wait elsewhere.
They moved around the room, making it difficult to count, and from this angle, I couldn’t see the whole warehouse. I needed to return to the window I had first used.
“Just remember,” the Shadow Man was saying as I slid to my feet, “the so-called Earl of Serida is mine.”
I moved away from the window, puzzling over his words. What connection did he have with the earl?
I knelt next to the first window and tried to do another count, my mind so full of numbers, I nearly screamed when a voice spoke calmly behind me.
“Enjoying the view, are you?”
I turned slowly around. “Marcus.”
“Evangeline.” He looked inordinately pleased with himself.
I sprang to my feet and attempted to dart to his right, but he easily stepped to block my way, a sword appearing from nowhere. I slid to a halt a mere step from being skewered and backed up again to the wall.
“Aren’t you going to call for help from your buddies?” I asked, jerking my head toward the window.
His eyes glittered. “All in good time. But I’m in no hurry. Besides, our illustrious leader understands the concept of a personal vendetta.”
My breathing caught in my throat, and I tried to think of a way of escape. If I screamed, I might alert the urchins, but I would also alert the rebel guards. And once they arrived my chances of escape narrowed to zero. And by the time the urchins made it to the palace and back with help, it would likely be too late anyway. If I was going to escape, I needed to do it myself.
But as I examined Marcus’s face, I could feel all the blood draining out of my own. He carefully kept his distance this time, using his long blade to keep me trapped against the wall. Lazily he used its tip to pull off the wrapping over my face. Placing the edge against my cheek, he dragged it down my face without quite breaking the skin.
“Where to start…” he mused, while my legs began to shake. He grinned. “This is too much fun.”
I began to think alerting the rebel guards to my presence wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But then I remembered the face of their leader. Marcus terrified me, but even he didn’t compare to the fire beneath the cold and ruthless exterior of the Shadow Man. There was a man who would light up a city just to watch it burn.