Kastali Dun

Jeanine and Feowen emerged through a hidden door and into a shadowed alley, tall buildings looming on either side. The door closed behind them, the sound muffled. She pulled her hood up and Feowen did the same.

They hesitated, searching for movement. Besides the noise of the city beyond, everything around them was silent. She exhaled, her shoulders relaxing.

"I still can't believe we found it," she murmured. It had taken months of exploration, but they'd finally mapped every single passage leading out of the keep. This was one of two leading directly into the city, right into the Pauper's District, putting them closest to the public market. The other let out into a nondescript neighborhood of tall homes in a working class part of the city, more centrally located.

Feowen merely grunted in agreement.

She reached into her pocket, removing a list they'd drafted earlier. Her eyes swept over the contents. With tensions high, it was becoming more and more difficult to intercept Tess for what they needed. Now that they had a way into the city, without having to leave through the keep, they could come and go more freely.

The market had only just opened back up a week ago, and already, they'd visited it twice. They had nearly thirty people living with them down in the cave now. That was a lot of mouths to feed.

Feowen's warm palm landed on her back. "Come," he said, giving her a gentle push forward.

She folded the list and tucked it away. They paused at the mouth of the alley, checking the street beyond, mostly for guards. There were more and more Oshean guards every day. Ships arrived from across the sea, and guards came with them.

They stepped out and made their way to the market, traveling at a leisure pace. There were others out and about in the late afternoon, making it easy to blend in with the crowd. The market came into view.

Feowen hesitated, reaching for the hilt of his blade beneath his cloak. "What is it?" she hissed, immediately becoming alert. Tall buildings along the docks cast long shadows. A group of guards stood fifty paces ahead, monitoring the crowd. That didn't seem to be what Feowen was looking at.

"I..." His eyes darted around. "I have the strange sense that we're being watched." The muscles in her shoulders bunched tight. "Come on. Don't act as if anything is amiss."

They passed the Oshean guards, keeping close to the small group of shoppers ahead of them, then slipped into the densely packet aisles between stalls. She removed the handful of cloth sacks from beneath her cloak. They slipped into an apothecary stall. The tent flaps were pinned open to let in some light, and a fire burned in a nearby basin, casting everything in a warm glow.

The tent was blessedly empty, save for the merchant inside, who greeted them with clipped words, her eyes darting to the shadows beneath their cloaks.

"We need these items," Jeanine said, keeping her voice low. She handed over her list and the woman began reading it over.

"I got everything but rilu grass and bitter clove, you'll have to try the tent down the way for that," the woman said, handing it back. Then she set about gathering up ingredients. At the counter, they placed them into one of the bags, then handed over a stack of coins and hurried on their way.

The tent down the way did not, in fact, have what they needed, so they went to two more before collecting both items. Then they stopped for a bag of vegetables. Then made their way to the butcher's section for meat, which was wrapped in cloth and placed into a third bag.

"Hungry?" Feowen asked as they passed a section selling cooked food. Her mouth watered at the heavenly aromas. Because they were rationing, the question was unnecessary. She was always hungry these days.

"Come on." Feowen guided her towards one of the stalls where they purchased skewers of meat and vegetables. He didn't eat meat, so she saved those for herself. And since he carried all their bags, she took immense pleasure in popping bits of charred veggies into his mouth as they walked.

There was absolutely no privacy in the cave. They relied on stolen moments like this, sneaking into dark tunnels to share a few impassioned kisses. Even those were rare, with Feowen's duties being what they were. He hardly had a spare moment these days. She'd all but begged him for this outing into the city.

"Delicious," he growled, as she placed a chunk of perfectly seared vegetable into his mouth. His teeth purposefully grazed her finger as she pulled away, sending a rush of heat straight to her belly. Their eyes connected beneath their hoods and she caught a glimmer of amusement.

"Are we still being watched?" she asked, as they continued on through the market.

"Yes."

"Should we be...worried?"

"I am not sure."

Feowen was always alert, by nature. But he didn't appear overly concerned. That had to be a good sign.

"Shouldn't we try to lose whoever it is? I assume they're following us."

"They are," he confirmed.

How he knew, she could not say. It wasn't as if he was stealing glances over his shoulder. But, he was a sprite, and far be it from her to question their abilities.

By the time they slipped out of the market, the sun was at the horizon, casting the land into shadow. She sighed forlornly. "I wish we could stay out longer."

"Indeed."

There was a curfew in place. Anyone out two hours past dark would be punished. Already, others were making their way out of the market as well. It created a steady stream of bodies to hide among.

They retraced their footsteps back to the alley that they'd come from. The further from the market they got, the more things around them quieted. She could have sworn she heard footsteps behind them, but when she glanced over her shoulder, there was nothing.

At one point, Feowen chuckled.

"What?" she snapped, keeping her voice low.

"He's not going to let you see him so you may as well not bother. You'll just get a pinch in your neck."

"He? Wait...so you know who is following us?"

"I think I have an idea, yes."

"And you've known this whole time?" Perhaps that was why he hadn't seemed too worried.

"Not the whole time, no. But I have my suspicions now."

"And we're leading them right to the alley?" Her heartbeat sped up.

"If it is who I think it is, then all will be well. If it is someone dangerous to us, I'll simply kill them."

A quiet chuckle sounded somewhere behind them, making her falter. Whoever it was, they had heard his threat and thought it was amusing. Well!

Feowen rounded the corner, slipping deep into the alley before setting his bags on the ground and spinning around. He had his hand on the hilt of his blade, but kept his hood up. She did the same, ready to draw her weapon.

Several moments passed in tense silence, then a shadow materialized, as if detaching from the walls. It stalked closer, slowing. A low, musical voice said, "Took me weeks to track you down, Prince." Then, a hand went up and their stalker's hood was removed. She found herself staring into an unusual face. A face that could only belong to a sprite, with its angular features and bright eyes. But it wasn't a sprite she knew.

"Well, well, well." Feowen relaxed, lowering his own hood and stepping forward before pulling the male into a one armed embrace. "I thought you had others doing your dirty work, Tasar?"

The male chuckled. "Not for something this important? No. Who's the girl?"

"Ahh." Feowen grinned, glancing her way. She lowered her hood, gazing warily at the stranger. "This is Jeanine. She's..." He hesitated, thinking something over, then said, "Mine. She's mine."

A rush of shock followed by searing heat stole through her. She opened her mouth to greet Tasar, but only a squeak emerged. Feowen found this amusing, and chuckled. Her cheeks flushed red. But what had he expected, saying something like that to a stranger?!

Tasar quickly disregarded her. "I take it you got somewhere quiet we can talk? I bring news."

"Indeed I do. Come." Feowen reached for their goods, hoisting the bags up, before leading them to the secret door.

She followed him, and Tasar took up the rear as they proceeded into the passages. If the male was surprised, he showed no sign, quietly walking behind them. She had a million questions. Why did Feowen trust this male? Who was he? Had he come from Esterpine because he was obviously a sprite? What news did he carry? Something that might help them overthrow Kane?

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but she didn't want to with Tasar there. So, they walked in silence. It took nearly an hour to navigate the twisting turns before they emerged into the familiar cave they'd called home these past months. The only word out of Tasar's mouth was, "Interesting," as he surveyed it.

Something told her it would take a lot to impress this male.

"This way," Feowen said, leading them down through the clusters of stalagmites. He passed their bags off to one of the attendants at the cookfires. She shot a quick smile at Desaree and Jocelyn, before motioning with her head. They quickly rushed off, likely to collect Selphie and Miera.

Feowen led them to the command table at the back of the cave. They'd attracted enough attention that when they arrived, the remainder of the queen's guard and inner circle had assembled with them. She and Feowen discarded their cloaks, tossing them over nearby chairs.

"This is Tasar," Feowen said, introducing him to the others. She studied their faces, their brief expressions of surprise. A few appeared to already know him.

"What brings you here, Spymaster?" Aithlin asked. "Not that I am unhappy to see you."

"Ahh, Aithlin. It is always a pleasure to look upon your face." She snorted, rolling her eyes. Aithlin was beautiful and Jeanine had once harbored a bit of jealousy about it. Now that she felt more secure in Feowen's affections, she only regarded Aithlin with warmth. "There is still a place among my ranks if you ever decide to join us," Tasar added, entirely sincere.

"I already have my calling, as you can see."

"Your ranks?" Jeanine found herself asking, curious.

"Tasar heads up the Thorios Delles Briahaad," Feowen explained. "The Eastern Ghost Unit. A unit of operatives that function as spies and assassins."

Jeanine's lips parted in shock. She'd lived in Esterpine for some time and had never heard of such a thing. When she looked at Tasar again, a shiver of unease passed down her spine. He was obviously not a male to be trifled with.

"Indeed." Tasar confirmed. Then he hesitated, jerked his head to the right, as if he'd heard something, and froze. Jeanine immediately tensed. But the spymaster merely brushed off his reaction, turning back to the rest of them. "I come with news. The queen has returned."

"What?!" Gasps rang out through their group.

"You are certain?" Feowen said, stepping forward. Excitement danced in his eyes.

"Absolutely. Your sister and her mate sent me here—that Koldis fellow. I quite like him, actually. Sensible for a drengr, I think—"

"Get to the point," Feowen growled.

"The queen has returned to Dragonwall. We are to make ready her return to the capital. She has reached Esterpine and will eventually come here. Have you a way she might enter the city undetected?" At this, Tasar glanced around the cave then lifted his brows in challenge. He already knew, clearly.

"There is a passage that leads directly into and out of the city," Jassin said. "We can bring her here directly without attracting notice."

"What does it matter if she comes here?" Eylon asked, placing her hands on her hips. "The sorcerer has all five stones. If we make a move against him—if our queen makes any move against him—he will simply turn the drengr to stone. The queen's mate is a drengr, you know."

At this, Tasar only grinned. It was the kind of grin that spoke of secret knowledge. Something they didn't already know.

Jeanine's heart beat a little harder in her chest. Excitement coursed through her. Was it finally time to take back the kingdom?

"Here is what we are going to do," the spymaster said before taking a sip of wine. Then he shed his cloak and took a seat at their table. "We are going to help the rulers of Dragonwall reclaim their kingdom."

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Happy Friday Bookdragons!

Ahhh, much excitement now that Claire has returned. And hope, too. 

Things are crazy busy with me right now. Can you believe Talon the Black re-releases into the world Tuesday?! Two years in the making. The other books will follow. Reyr the Gold is set to release January 7th 2025 and I plan to release Verath sometime early March. Koldis will follow in late May (just before my birthday?) and the others will follow after that. :)

Next week's chapter is from Leah's POV. See you then!

--Mel