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He took her down a hall of steps and into a torch-lit tunnel deep beneath Cannersly Hall. The moat murmured above them, just beyond the tumbled walls. Crypt after crypt they passed, their footsteps swallowed by the damp.

'Do not approach her any closer than is necessary.' Even Aldir's voice was dampened when he spoke. 'She's theurgic. Wise Father knows what she's capable of.'

'So she claims.'

'We found her bloodrune.'

That took Isla by surprise. 'What is it then, her theurgy?'

'We don't know.'

Nothing aggressive, else she would have used it against me. Isla scratched over the bandage around her neck. Haana had come so close, armed only with a knife. If it had not been her own theurgy bursting when it did ... Isla's head was yet to recover from the eruption. Even now the throbbing was there – a dull thumping right at its base.

Light flickered across her face. Aldir had turned and lifted the torch in his hand, revealing a wooden door at the end of the tunnel. Two men manned the entrance and nodded as they approached.

'Her state may shock you, but before you take pity on her, remember this.' Aldir pushed something into Isla's palm. She looked at the silver pendant just as he stopped by the door. 'Are you ready?'

'No,' said Isla. 'But let's have this done with.'

Whitebill greeted them with a squawk from his perch upon the wall mount. Haana had always been wary of him. One quick glance at the erne's claws was reason enough.

Lanterns lit all corners of the room, casting a sick, orange glow across the cobbled floor. A chair stood at the very edge, tangled in chains and cuffing Haana to its arms and back. Her knees, too, were bound, but it was her face that stunned Isla most. An eye was swollen shut, her nose coated in dry blood. Her lip was torn, yet she smiled as they entered.

'What have you done?' Isla turned and whispered Aldir into a corner.

'My uncle is a practical man. There's no option he'll not consider to get his answers.'

'She is a child!' And you swung an iron at her. Haana's head was still swollen from the attack. Isla shook her guilt away. That had been done in self-defence.

'No, Isla. We found her papers. Her name is her own, but she's much older than she claims. She's two years older than yourself.'

Is that why she starved herself to the brink of death? To pass herself as a child? 'It does not make it right.'

'That battle you can fight with Sir Edric. You have thirty minutes before he comes to question her himself.'

'Can you not whisper elsewhere? Some of us are trying to sleep.' Haana's voice was clear and strong despite her outward appearance. She had dropped all efforts of speaking in Eling, and her Srikh again had that crisp drawl to it. The kind Noi always put on when she was making a mock of the highborn.

'You make no demands here.' Isla pushed Aldir aside for better view of the girl. 'You best answer my questions before your father decides a beating is not enough.'

'Stop.' Haana groaned. 'You stain my mother's tongue speaking her language. So long have you whored to the Elings, your words smell of their cock.'

Isla flinched. 'So the worm rears its head. Pretend all you want to belong with the highborn. Take their dialect, take their silver. Your mouth still belongs in the gutters.'

'You know nothing of me.'

'I know you're a second-rate excuse of an assassin. Can't even kill a defenceless girl.'

Haana's eyes narrowed. 'Careful. You of all people know I was not alone coming here.'

The man in the woods. He, too, must have been sent with her. 'Already two of your friends are dead. We'll find the other.'

'You think it will stop there? If my master receives no word from us, more will be sent.'

Isla longed to smack the laughter from Haana's eyes. 'Who is he?'

'Of course I shall tell. Uncuff me and I'll share with you all my secrets, foolish girl!'

'Very well.' Isla slipped back into Eling. 'Let's start small. What have you done with Aldir's mother?'

'Prijsti?' Haana cocked her head. 'A simple kitchen wench in the palatial ring. She served her purpose.'

Aldir moved before Isla could stop him. He grabbed Haana by her hemp shirt and pulled her forwards in her seat. 'What did you do to her?'

'Where would be the fun in telling? Isla will have to go there and see, won't she?'

'How did you get her ring?'

'She gave it.'

Isla stayed Aldir's hand moments before it came flying. 'Don't let her incite you.'

Haana laughed. 'She sold it. Years ago. That is how much her family means to her.' Aldir's arm trembled, but he stepped back. Isla held him steady as Haana continued, 'Sold it for a bit of coin and a place serving in the palatial ring. Even got a house at the servants' district. Lesser help must share rooms in the domestics wing, but not her ... Prijsti was a favourite ... for her looks ... for you know what else. It is true what they say. Once a whore, always a whore.'

It was Isla who struck her with the back of a hand. 'You like that word. It betrays your insecurities.'

'I have none.'

'Who do you work for?'

'I work for the kingdom.'

Isla grit her teeth, forcing patience. 'Silver-servants work for a particular member of the royal family. Which one do you serve?'

'Care to strike me again? I might answer your question, then. Or I might tell a falsehood. You never will know which.'

'You were right, Aldir. This has been a waste of time. Let your uncle do with her as he sees fit.'

'I will tell you this.' Haana stopped her before she could turn. 'Do not underestimate the lengths my master will go through to see your head on a pike. When we discovered Edric was guarantor for your travel permits ... well, it was not difficult to learn about him. Former Knight Protector. Removed for his political involvement. It was not long before we learnt of Prijsti. She was only ever a pawn to help us find you, Isla. It has always been about you.'

Isla met Aldir's gaze – as bewildered as she felt – for they must be wondering the same thing: Why?

She was nobody of importance. Her father had only been a fisherman from a small village, her mother a teacher at a neighbouring school. They were not worldly enough to have made any enemies.

Was it her absconding from the conscription? Or from her supposed privilege of being an early-bloomer? Surely neither crime was so heinous it would merit such devotion and resources into her assassination?

'My master will know by now the fate that has met us. You should know this, Aldir. You have a bondmate, after all. How strong is your bond? Mine is iron-bound, even so far beyond the continent.'

She has a bondmate. Yet another one of her secrets. Isla no longer found it within herself to be surprised.

'You left your bondmate in Surikhand?' The look of disgust on Aldir's face was palpable. 'Leaving it so far and for so long. I've never heard of such a thing.'

'My bondmate can care for itself. We work best far apart. You know what a strong bond can grant us.'

Aldir took Isla's arm and pulled her aside. 'We should leave.'

'I don't understand.'

'Strong bonds connect a human to its bondmate. The connection varies depending on strength. Her bondmate may be able to hear everything she hears, see everything, feel everything.'

Haana laughed over their whispers. 'It makes no matter now. My bondmate will report my capture, my death, and you will be presented with a batch of new silver-servants whose neither names nor faces you know. She is the least of your problems.'

Isla marched back to meet her. 'What do you want?'

'There is no running. No hiding. You will spend the rest of your days watching over your shoulder. I was kind enough to leave Noi and Aldir out of it, but the others ... who knows what they will do to those in their way?'

'Why are you telling me this?'

'Because the only way to stop it is if you return to Surikhand.'

Make it easier for her master. Isla sniffed at the unspoken words. 'I may as well hand you my head on a silver platter.'

'That would be easier, yes.'

'I'm done, Aldir. Let's go.'

'You never asked how we knew about you to begin with.' Haana's voice rose, stopping Isla in her tracks. 'Why not take a look in my pendant? You know the one, yes? Silver. With a red bird. Go on. Twist it open.'

Aldir shook his head, but Isla could not resist. What was the worst that could happen?

She grappled with the pendant in her hand, wrenching the coin open. A folded paper fell and disappeared into the dark floor. Isla cursed and bent down, groping blindly by Haana's feet. A moment later Aldir was beside her with his torch.

'Thank you,' Isla mumbled. She found the piece and studied it under better light.

An ink drawing. Her forehead crinkled. The portrait of a girl stared back at her. It was a vividly detailed image, from her full lips, low-arched brows, down to her tapered eyelids.

'Is that ...'

'Striking likeness, yes?' Haana interrupted.

Isla traced her own jawline. No, this isn't me. Her cheekbones were higher in comparison to those rounded cheeks. Her chin was not so pointed. Even so, there was a familiarity in the picture that she could not quite place.

'Tam Mai has indeed grown into a lovely creature.'

It can't be.

'It would be a pity if anything should happen to her.'

Isla looked up, lost for words. She had never mentioned her sister's name. Certainly not to Haana.

'I will advise you one last time, Isla. Return to Surikhand.' With that, Haana kicked up her feet. The pendant Isla had not realised she had lost went flying in the air, and the silver-servant caught it between her teeth. Before anyone could stop her, she bit down hard. Purple seeped out of the coin, dribbling over Haana's lips and chin.

The reaction was instantaneous. Haana's body gave into a violent convulsion. Froth bubbled and spilt from her mouth. Her fingers tensed, arms shook against their shackles; and just as sudden as it all started, she fell still and silent.

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