So far, most of the places I'd visited had been in the left half of the castle, but Gideon lived in the area to the right of the throne room, almost at the end of the building. He had proper quarters to himself, and Leo let us straight into a small entrance hall shaped like half a hexagon. The walls had been painted white in such a haphazard way that the brush marks were startlingly obvious, and one open doorway stood against each side, creating three in total. I could hear rats squeaking.

Gideon appeared in the middle doorway, wearing his apron and leather gloves again. He was holding a pair of tongs. "Oh, Prince Leo. You didn't knock. I thought you were an intruder."

"As the entirety of the castle is my home, I didn't think it necessary." Leo's voice held a warning.

"You do usually --" Gideon looked between us and stopped. "Never mind. Just wait there a moment while I put these down, my lord."

When he'd retreated, I raised my eyebrows at Leo. Why had we barged in? Was it a display of power to make Gideon back off?

"I'm not going to get involved with him, you know," I whispered. "I thought you trusted me?"

"I do," Leo muttered. "But I didn't make a tomato pact of trust with him, did I?"

I smiled.

Gideon came back, his apron and gloves removed. He gestured to the door in the left-hand wall. "Come into my study."

That word made me think of Leo's study, piled with books and smelling of paper, so I was disappointed when we entered a cold, soulless space. An oak dining table covered in glass bottles and bowls of dark liquids stood in the middle of the room, and a bare desk and stool were in the corner. There was a bookshelf, but only one, and it was not even half full. The air smelled of strange chemicals.

Gideon fetched a book and sat down at his desk. "You look ravishing, Captain Grace."

I could still hear the rats squeaking somewhere. Flirting with Gideon was suddenly not so amusing.

I spared a glance at Leo, who had a face like thunder. "Thank you."

"I was hoping that we could discuss poison, not Grace," Leo said stiffly. "Is there any link between the poison that's been used on the victims? You've never mentioned where each of them come from, for starters. Or perhaps they're part of the same chemical group?"

"I would have mentioned a link if there was one." Gideon turned away and flipped through the book. "They all come from a different chemical group. They all come from different territories."

"And they can all be found somewhere in your quarters," I said.

"That's true," he agreed. "They're in a chest in the other room. But there's only one key, and it's always with me." He pulled a leather necklace out from under his shirt. A key was hanging on it.

"Locks can be picked," Leo said.

"I think I would have heard an intruder, especially if they'd visited me three times." Gideon stopped on a particular page and slid the book towards us. "Here's the first poison that was used: grykomis. There's a lot of information about how exactly it kills you, but somewhere here...yes, as I thought. It's found in the Ice Tribe." He flicked through the book again. "Fladyn and mivine are in here as well. Unlike grykomis, which causes a quick death, fladyn causes a slow, drawn out end. Bleeding, then collapse, then coma, then death. It comes from Izumo. And mivine -- the poison used on the victim you saw, Captain Grace -- comes from Notre Sagesse." He flicked through a few more pages and stopped again. "Ah, here's my favourite. The murderer hasn't used it, but it's the most interesting by far. Known commonly as 'pixie', the plant it comes from is found in Hoshido. It causes high fever and collapse. When the victim dies, they have a terrible smile on their face." He looked at me. "Spooky, isn't it? The science behind it is incredible. The --"

"We don't have time to hear all of this," Leo said. "Gideon, do you mind if we borrow that book?" He made it sound more like a command than a question.

Gideon handed it over. "Of course not, my lord."

We were interrupted by a knock on the front door. "Is Prince Leo in there?"

"Excuse me a moment." Leo departed the room with the book tucked under his arm, leaving Gideon and me alone.

The pathologist turned around so that he was using his desk as a backrest, scrutinising me. "You also look exhausted, Captain Grace."

Unable to help myself now that it had been pointed out, I yawned. "Only a little bit."

He smiled kindly. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"Er...two hours, maybe."

"I could give you something to help."

That was the last thing I wanted!

"What, poison?" I jested. "Yes, an eternal sleep is just what I need."

"Not poison. That may be my speciality, but I do have general medical knowledge." He stood up. "I have sleeping draughts. I can get some for you."

"No, thank you," I said quickly. "With this murderer about, I'd rather sleep lightly and be able to wake up if I need to."

"Try having chamomile tea, then," he said. "That might --"

"Grace, Gideon!" Leo reappeared in the doorway. "There's been another murder. We need to go. Now."

"A murder?" I repeated. "But haven't all the other killings been at night? Are you certain?"

"Yes, of course I'm certain!" he snapped.

"I just need a minute to fetch my gloves, my lord," Gideon said.

"Be quick about it. Grace and I will wait outside."

Gideon went into the next room, and I followed Leo out.

He shut the front door behind me. "Grace, I heard some of that. Do not, under any circumstances, accept sleeping draughts or any other form of chemicals from Gideon until this case is closed. For all you know, he could poison it."

"Gideon?" I said. "He's not the murderer! He was just sitting right in front of us!"

"He was in front of us when the body was found, yes. But the man is lying in an old wyvern stable. He could have been there for hours. We don't know for certain that Gideon was in here, minding his own business, a few hours ago. He specialises in poison!"

"Fine. Is chamomile tea also too dangerous to try?"

"No, but it tastes disgusting. I wouldn't recommend it." He wrinkled his nose.

It was such a funny, unconscious reaction that I smiled. "What do you recommend, then?"

"Imagining yourself in a particularly difficult battlefield situation and trying to get out of it."

"What? That's what you do?"

"But I think," he said over me, "that you don't actually want to go to sleep at all."

I stilled. "What? No, I --"

The front door opened behind us, and Gideon stepped out in his apron and leather gloves. "I'm ready, my lord."

"Good." Leo stalked off. "Let's go."

***

We followed Leo to the wyvern stables in tense silence. When we reached them, I discovered that they looked just like stables for horses, except that they were black, of course, and the stalls were much longer and wider. I eyed the ferocious beasts around us apprehensively as we walked to the back of the building.

Commander Jago and a teenage girl were standing by an empty corner stable. The last few stalls leading up to it were also empty, the doors broken, rotted, and covered in cobwebs. I doubted this part of the barn had been used for years.

Commander Jago stepped back when he saw us coming, leaving the girl standing in front of the door that led to the crime scene. She was crying.

Leo looked at me and made a discreet gesture, then entered the stable so that all but the top of his head vanished from sight. Gideon followed him. I rolled my eyes. Men.

"Hello," I said to the girl, trying to keep my voice soft. "What's your name?"

"Kelly," she said thickly.

"I'm Captain Grace. I know this is very upsetting, but could you tell me what happened here, Kelly?"

"I was told to c-come and clean the old stables," she sobbed. "We do it every once in a w-while. He was just...there."

"There wasn't anyone about? Nothing suspicious?"

She shook her head.

"Is the cleaning of these old stables scheduled?"

"Yes. It's b-been on our job list all week."

So the murderer would have known for certain that we'd find the body...

I left her with Commander Jago and went inside the stable to have a look at the victim myself. SOMEONE REMEMBERS had been carved into the back wall. Gideon was inspecting the body. I could see enough to know that he was a young stable boy, perhaps nearing the end of his teenage years, and that his veins were bulging out of his skin just like the third victim. It also smelled of rotting milk.

"Mivine," Gideon said, standing up. "It killed him about an hour ago, or perhaps just under. I'm surprised the killer's used the same poison twice."

"Perhaps they couldn't get their hands on anything new," I said. "But why strike at a completely different time?"

"To shake up the pattern and confuse us even more than we were already, no doubt," Leo muttered. "They must know that with every killing, they're making us more fearful. And murdering someone during the day is a way of letting us know that they can strike at any time they wish."

"Is this man connected to Queen Kassandra, too?" I asked.

"Yes," King Xander said.

We all startled and turned around as a shadow fell over the stable. King Xander came to a stop in the doorway and loomed over the body, his eyes dark. "He was in charge of bringing Kass' wyvern whenever we left the castle. This has long since stopped being a coincidence." He looked at Leo. "I want this killer caught now."

"So do I," Leo said. "Grace and I are trying our hardest, Xander."

"Then please," the King replied, his voice low and dangerous, "tell me you have something."

Leo and I exchanged an uneasy glance.

King Xander sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. "Damn this! Leo, I want the ninjas' rooms to be searched immediately with no warning given. I want you to question them again, and I want them under constant surveillance, day and night. The moment someone acts suspiciously, I want them in the dungeons. Did you find out why the women were lying?"

Leo explained.

"I don't believe them," King Xander said. "There has to be something else going on here. I do not want the Royal Guard to take their eyes off them for a moment, with the exception of when they're in their rooms at night. During that time, they will be stationed outside their doors. Understood?"

"Yes, Xander," Leo said. "I'll arrange it immediately. Grace, could you go to the garrison and get a head start on questioning them?"

I looked at him in surprise.

"I told you that I trust you, didn't I?" he said. "Go. Interrupt whatever training sessions they're teaching and gather them together as soon as you can." He moved away.

I suddenly remembered the letter in my bra. I turned my back on Gideon, trying to slide it out with as much normalcy as a woman fishing something from her breasts can muster. "Wait, Leo! I know this is a bad time, but if you're going to your study, take this."

He turned back and took it from me. "I won't have the time to arrange its transport to Macarath until this evening."

"That's fine. Thank you."

He nodded and stalked away. After a few moments, I heard the click of his boots accelerate as he broke into a run.

"I should go." I turned back to Gideon. "Are you -- do you --"

"Yes, I deal with the body," he said. "It's all under control. Hurry, Captain Grace. And good luck."