I double checked that my mask was firmly in place, then entered The Left Fiddle through the back door, Amelina on my heels. It was another warm night, made more stifling indoors. But the tavern had its windows open wide. We passed down a dark hall, momentarily overcome by the noise in the cookery. A few steps later, the hall quieted again. As we neared the front of the building, the sound picked up.

I passed a woman in an apron carrying an empty tray. She paused. "Lady Mask," she greeted. "I saved you a table in the corner."

I nodded, then continued into the tavern. The night was in full swing, revelers drinking deep from their tankards. The floor was warn and covered in rushes, the beams covered in years of dust. The patrons were dirty from days of work and weeks without baths. We crossed the room, keeping to the shadows, keeping our hoods drawn, before finding the table that had been reserved for us.

I'd used this tavern as a meeting place before, but it had been a while since my last visit. We didn't choose our locations for the clientele or the setting. Part of why our group functioned so well, was our caution. We never met in the same place frequently. We spaced out meetings, setting dates and times the day of, to avoid information leaks, and we enacted a chain of command that ensured those of lower ranks didn't know much about those higher up.

I dragged out a chair, ignoring the sticky grime on the table. The bar maid I'd seen in the hall hurried over with a bottle and several clean goblets. I was certain she'd cleaned them double, just for me. The bottle didn't look like something they normally served, either.

"For you, my lady. I didn't think you'd want the ale we serve here." She kept her voice low, for our ears only.

"Thank you," Amelina said. I remained silent, waiting as the woman began uncorking the wine and pouring us each a goblet. She left the others empty, to await the arrival of the others.

"I think it's good work you're doing, Lady Mask," she murmured as she set my goblet in front of me. Just as she put it down, she hesitated, then picked it up again and sniffed. "You don't mind?"

I nodded, urging her on. She took several deep sips from the other side of the goblet, testing the wine. We waited a moment, then, "It seems fine. You never know these days."

"You really think someone would try to kill her?" Amelina asked.

"Can never be too sure these days," the maid said. She set the goblet down again, then said, "It's on the house. And I'll bring some food over. Not our usual fare, something better."

"Thank you, truly," Amelina said, obvious gratitude in her voice. The woman nodded then left, to attend to other patrons.

This tavern was one of the businesses secretly allied to the Free the Forest network. We relied on places like this, people like this. Our venture would have been a disaster otherwise.

I took a single sip of my wine, just enough to get the flavor in my mouth. There was still time before the others arrived. "Did you catch sight of him yet?" I asked Amelina.

"The prince?" She didn't turn to look at me as we spoke, our voices a bare whisper. I made a humming sound. "Yes. Two nights ago, at dinner. He sat at high table, charming everyone around him. I didn't see any of his companions, though."

"They didn't attend?"

"No."

I frowned. "I wonder why."

"Word is, they went out into the city while the prince was dining with Lord Lasker."

"Torin and Soren?"

"Both present, though Soren looked utterly sullen about it."

A small smile pulled at my lips. He would be. Of course he'd rather be holed up in the library or working on his latest theories of flower cross pollination.

"What was he like?" I found myself asking. "The prince, I mean."

"Oh. Exactly as he's rumored." I lifted my eyebrow, even though she couldn't see me through the mask. "Tall, handsome, muscular. Not...not quite as muscular as a fully grown drengr, but he's nearly there. Still bulkier than any human might be. And...charming." The last word was breathy.

"All drengr are handsome and charming, are they not?" Amelina let out a shy giggle. I frowned and added, "Oh, gods. Not you too."

"I can't help it," she groaned. "I see why all the ladies fall at his feet. Flirt or not, he's charming and enigmatic. You should have seen him at dinner."

"I'm glad I didn't."

"Every woman who looked at him blushed, and every time he caught sight of their rosy cheeks, he grinned and winked. Like, he knew exactly what he was doing. Exactly what effect he has on them. Half the men in the room were impressed and hiding it, the other half were just plain scared for their daughters and their wives."

"Well, Lord Lasker did warn all the lords to lock up their maidens lest the prince ruin their virtue."

It's why I hadn't been permitted to attend, after all. Normally, I would have been weeping tears of gladness to miss one of the grand affairs Lord Lasker hosted. This time, I was actually peeved.

A commotion near the door signaled new arrivals. Two cloaked figures strolled through the room. They were maskless, but their faces remained shadowed. Edric and Sari took seats at our table. We greeted each other and I poured them each a goblet of wine.

"We've got a problem," I led with.

"The prince's arrival?" Edric guessed. I gave a small nod. "It's problematic, indeed. But, if his reputation is what it is, he probably won't be too much of an issue."

I considered, then said, "You think he's just going to party himself into a stupor and not bother with us?" There was obvious hope in my voice.

"It's his companions I'm more worried about," Sari said. "They been sniffing around the city the last few nights."

"Yes, I'd heard the same." I didn't tell them it was Amelina who'd just told me. They didn't need to know how I got my information. "Is that going to cause us trouble?"

"Possibly. But there might be a way to use this to our advantage."

"How?"

Sari grinned, then set off onto one of her grand plans. I loved this woman. She was intelligent and hugely underestimated. She'd come from the south, from the deserts of Austar when she was a teen. Her family had moved here after some sort of family feude that had happened. Their darker skin set them apart. The north didn't get many south westerners with the giant forest blocking off half the kingdom.

But her family had settled in, she'd grown up, taken a husband, and now served as the head of the spy network for Free the Forest. I admired her mind, her quick wits, and her fierce bravery. She was fighting for a people that hand't initially been hers. Yet, she'd adopted them all the same.

I listened patiently as Sari hashed out her idea. As she spoke, a new hope flared in my chest. "You think it will work," I asked, looking at Edric.

He shrugged. "I know the owner of the Nib's Scribe. He'd be willing."

I was familiar with the establishment. "You're sure the owner won't just run to Lord Lasker?"

"He's mentioned his desire to get involved with the network." Edric shrugged. "He'd have to go about it covertly, so the papers wouldn't be traced back to him. But...I think it's doable."

I exhaled. Maybe this would work, after all. So far, very little of our efforts had actually gotten us closer to our main goal. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor had its purpose, but the true purpose was lifting the wood tax for the locals, and offering us our wood at a reduced price. Lord Lasker didn't seem to be closer to either of those. If anything, our efforts only made him more tight fisted.

Why couldn't he see? Why couldn't he understand what his efforts were doing to his own people? He thought that the increased sales down south would allow for more merchant ships, better trade of his wares. But that trade would never truly improve the lives of the people in this region.

Heat flushed my skin. I pushed my emotions down deep and focused on the task at hand—

The tavern went quiet. Edric and Sari went rigid. Smartly, they didn't turn around, but I had a clear view of the doorway. Amelina gave a small gasp. "Stay calm," I warned them. We're just patrons enjoying a drink.

"Yes, but if he sees your mask, he might think something suspicious is going on."

I angled my face down, clutching my goblet in my hands, staring into it as if contemplating the answers to the universe. Amelina did much the same.

From the top of my gaze, I watched as the newcomer surveyed the tavern, his gaze slipping around, eyes landing on every table. Gods! He was bigger than I'd expected.

"It's not the prince," Amelina whispered.

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing. The prince's four companions were probably the ones we ought to worry about. When his eyes landed on us, I was careful to continue observing my drink. My heart hammered as a string of awful scenarios played out in my mind. Holding a rebellion together was hard enough. I didn't need pesky drengr snooping through our activities.

What if he walked over here? What if he asked about my mask? What if he demanded I go with him? The four of us, gods' hell, the entire tavern of drunks, wouldn't be a match for a drengr.

His gaze slid past us and he stalked into the tavern. Some of the conversation began to return. He went to the bar and pulled up a stool. I exhaled.

"You ought to leave now, Lady Mask," Edric warned. "While his back is turned."

I nodded, thinking back to the plan we'd discussed just before getting interrupted. "Do it," I decided. "Sari's plan. You have my approval."

"Consider it done," he answered.

We stood, keeping to the shadows, and crept towards the back hall. The drengr's body stiffened, then his head whipped in our direction. The hallway closed up around us just as I felt his eyes on my receding back. "Gods," I cursed, hoping he wouldn't round the back.

"Let's go this way," Amelia said, grabbing my hand, leading me up the stairs to the second floor. We rushed down the hallway and found an unlocked door to one of the rooms. It was blessedly empty. There was a window overlooking the tavern's back alley. I gasped, spotting the drengr almost immediately. He looked around, then his eyes lifted and fell directly on us, standing in the window of the dark room. I spotted the lift of his brows, curious, then his pleased grin. Like he'd caught us.

I half expected him to come storming back inside. Instead, he casually strolled off down the alley, as if his work for the night was done. And maybe it was.

But...what, exactly would come of this? He hadn't seen my face. Didn't know my identity.

My stomach dropped. "What if he tells the prince we were here? What if the prince takes the tavern owner in for questioning." My breaths came in rapid gasps.

Every person who'd been taken by Lord Lasker hadn't returned. I didn't want to think about what questioning entailed. But we'd all seen the proclamations posted to the news boards around the city.

"Everyone who joins the Free the Forest network understands the dangers," Amelina reminded me. She always reminded me of this, and I still didn't feel any better afterward.

"Come. Let's find a different way out."

We headed down the hall. A shadowed figure stepped from the stairs. I sucked in a breath, then exhaled, my shoulders falling with relief. It was the bar maid. "Come with me," she said, urgently. "This way."

She led us towards a hidden servant stair that took us down into the cellar. There was a door. I gazed at it. "Where will it take us?"

"All the businesses on this street have connected cellars. This will take you next door. They should all be unlocked. Go from one to the next. Six doors in, you'll reach the Lavender Inn. No one should notice you leaving from there. But...I'd recommend abandoning the masks at that point. That will only make you more suspicious, no?"

"Thank you," I told her, clasping her hand. She left the cellar and we slipped through the door, glad to be safely on our way. But how much longer could we keep on like this? Some day, there wouldn't be a secret door or a tunnel to escape through. And I couldn't help but feel that with the prince's appearance in Woodport, that day would be here before I knew it.

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