At least the food here was decent. For breakfast, there were corn tortillas and a tasty salad of tomato and avocado. Akna didn’t recognise what the salad was spiced with, but otherwise, the food was similar to what she was used to in Ninifin. Last night, they had had boar cooked in sour orange juice and vinegar, topped with onions, with squash on the side. In Ninifin, only priests and nobles would be eating something like that, so it seemed there were commonalities between the two cultures.

“In my misspent youth, I tried hunting once,” Lord Amar said. He was seated at the head of the table like last night, his wife in her wheelchair to his left. Akna had asked a question a few minutes ago about hunting in Orwin, and he and Harrick were still discussing the topic.

“I can’t imagine you hunting,” Harrick said. He was seated to his grandfather’s right, two seats down. Last night, his father had sat in the currently empty seat between him and Lord Amar. Akna wondered if they always sat in the same seats.

“That’s because I’ve carefully cultivated a demeanour and reputation that no one would ever suspect me of it. That way, no one will ever find out how bad I was at it.” Lord Amar laughed.

Harrick laughed with him. “Now, I wish I’d seen it.”

Akna was grateful Lord Amar, his wife, and Harrick were the only Padaras present right now. There had been too many of them last night, and nearly all of them had looked at Akna with disgust—if they had looked at her at all. Ever since leaving Ninifin for the first time to go to Scovese, Akna had discovered many of the things she’d been taught about Arnor and Arnorins were exaggerated or just plain wrong. Not all of it though. Foliths were as bad as she’d always thought. People like Felitïa, Harrick, and Lord Amar were exceptions, not the rule.

“How are you at hunting, Nin-Akna?” Harrick asked. “Better than my grandfather, I hope?”

“I’m...accomplished.” She wasn’t sure how much she should prop herself above Lord Amar, even if he had admitted to being bad at it.

“She’s great,” Corvinian piped up. He was picking all the avocado out of his salad and eating that, leaving the tomato. “She’s caught lots of food while we’ve been travelling.”

“It’s been strange hunting alone. In Ninifin, we usually hunt in groups. But I’ve been adjusting.”

“Couldn’t get Felitïa to help you?” Harrick said with a grin. “Do you plead incompetence like my grandfather, your Highness? Felitïa?”

Felitïa was slumped in her seat, her head hanging to the side. She perked up at Harrick’s call. “Sorry, what was that?”

Harrick smirked and took a bite of tortilla. “Forgive me, your Highness, but you seem—shall we say, distracted?—this morning.”

Felitïa lowered her head and picked at her food. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“I caught her reading in my study at three or four in the morning,” Lord Amar said.

Akna leaned over to Felitïa and whispered, “The Staff again?”

Felitïa nodded.

“Keeping secrets from us now, you two?” Harrick said.

“No, just making sure she’s okay,” Akna said.

Harrick chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m just teasing.”

“Perhaps before you continue your studies today, your Highness,” Lord Amar said, “you should try to get a bit more sleep.”

Felitïa stopped picking at her food, straightened up, and looked at Lord Amar. “Actually, your Lordship, I hope it doesn’t offend you, but I’ve decided to continue my journey right away. I know I said I would stay a day or two longer, but I’ve realised I can’t delay any longer than I already have.”

Akna glared at Felitïa. She appreciated the change in plan, but wished Felitïa had said something to her first.

“A shame,” Lord Amar said. “I was looking forward to more talks with you. I rarely get to converse with people so intelligent. But no matter. If you must go, I understand. I take no offence.”

“If you wish,” Harrick said, “I’d be happy to help you find passage on a ship upriver.”

“That’s kind of you, Harrick, but I’d prefer to travel a little more anonymously.”

Harrick nodded. “Of course. It’s too bad you didn’t get here when Gabriella was here. You could have travelled with her.” He frowned. “Although she wasn’t travelling anonymously, so maybe not.”

“Where was she headed?” Felitïa asked.

“To Arnor City by way of Quorge. I think the two of you would get along well. She’s a little more...extroverted than you, I suppose, but you’re both very intelligent, and I get the impression you share similar views on many topics, particularly politics. She’s probably left Quorge by now, and will be on the road west towards Porthaven.”

“I’m sorry I missed her. Cerus speaks very highly of her.”

“With good reason, I’d say,” Lord Amar said. “Cerus is a bright lad.”

“Cerus?” Lady Delayus lifted her head and looked around. “Cerus?”

Lord Amar reached over to her and placed his hand on hers. “No, my dear, he’s not here.”

“Oh.” Lady Delayus’s head lowered again, and her eyes closed.

“I do have a question, your Highness,” Harrick said.

Felitïa stifled a yawn. “Go ahead.”

“Why did you come to Dorg in the first place? If you came from Ninifin and are headed to Quorge, surely it would have been quicker to cross through Plavin-Tyl?”

Felitïa nodded. “It would have, yes, but I’m afraid my reasons for taking this longer route are complicated and would take awhile to explain.”

It had been Zandrue’s suggestion to come this way. They had discussed their options the night before Akna, Felitïa, and Corvinian had split from the rest. Travelling through Plavin-Tyl had been too dangerous an option.

“Couldn’t we sneak through and avoid these Red Knights?” Akna had asked.

Zandrue shook her head. “Last time, they just knew we were there. Our enemies seem to have some way to find us. At the time, we didn’t even know we had enemies.”

It would have been an easy thing to explain to Harrick, but Akna suspected Felitïa didn’t want them to know of her difficulties with the Red Knights. Perhaps it had something to do with her sudden decision to leave.

“If you’ll excuse me, your Lordship,” Felitïa said. The old man nodded, and Felitïa stood up.

“I’m not finished,” Corvinian said. He had more salad and was again eating only the avocado.

“Don’t worry,” Felitïa told him. “You can stay and finish up. We won’t be leaving right away. Stay with Nin-Akna until I get back.” She headed out of the dining room.

Akna stood up. “Apologies. I need to speak to Felitïa before she goes.”

Lord Amar nodded. Corvinian looked up at her, a piece of avocado partway to his mouth.

“I’ll be right back,” she told him. Then she hurried after Felitïa.

Felitïa stood in the hallway, waiting for her.

“What’s happening?” Akna asked. “Why the change in plans?”

Felitïa glanced each direction down the hall. “I had a very strange encounter with Lord Padara last night. It might be nothing, but I don’t want to take my chances. I’ll tell you all about it once we’re on our way. In the meantime, it’s possible he guessed that our encounter is the reason for my departure, so be mindful and watch over Corvinian.”

Akna nodded. “Of course.”

“I shouldn’t be long. Can you and Corvinian get everything packed and the horses prepared? Even if the ship isn’t departing right away, I’d like to move everything to it as soon as possible.”

Akna nodded again.

“Sorry to leave you alone with the people here.”

“I’ll survive.”

“Thank you for everything you do. I really appreciate it, you know. I could never have made this journey without you.” Felitïa hugged her. “I’ll be as fast as I can.” Then she let go and hurried off.

Akna returned to the dining room and sat back down. “Sorry for that.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, my dear,” Lord Amar said. “Her Highness’s decision to leave has taken us all by surprise. Only right you should find out what’s happening.”

Harrick leaned towards her. “I hate to pry, but did she by any chance say—”

He was interrupted by the door opening and his sister Wendy entering the room. “Good morning, Grandfather, Grandmother, Harrick.” She took a place at the table her grandmother’s left, across from Harrick—the same spot she’d been in last night. She scanned the table, her gaze falling briefly on Akna. Although Felitïa had ended up borrowing a dress from Wendy, the two weren’t very physically alike. They shared the same height and hair colour, but just about everything else was different. Felitïa couldn’t have been very comfortable in that dress.

Akna flashed Wendy a smile, which was returned with a scowl.

Breakfast became a lot less enjoyable after that. Akna rushed through her remaining food and urged Corvinian to finish his. “We have to pack.”

The boy sighed. “Just a minute.” He took a spoon and began crushing his uneaten tomato pieces. When he’d finished, he picked up his plate, brought it to his mouth, and slurped up the mixture of juice and crushed flesh. He wiped his face with his sleeve. “Xtab showed me that. It tastes better that way.”

Wendy curled her upper lip and scrunched her nose with a soft hiss.

Akna smiled at Corvinian, then looked at Wendy. “I’ll have to try that sometime.” She stood up and bowed to Lord Amar. “If you’ll excuse us?” When the elderly lord nodded, she took Corvinian’s hand and led him from the room.

* * * * *

Akna hadn’t unpacked much, and it turned out, neither had Felitïa, so packing everything back up again was a quick and easy task. Then she and Corvinian carted everything to the stables, which were a short distance down the road from the house.

The stables were big and the Padaras had more horses than Akna had seen in her life. The rows of stalls extended for longer than she could see and the smell was almost overwhelming. Before leaving Ninifin with Felitïa, Akna had never ridden a horse and knew nothing about their care and upkeep. Rudiger had given her some guidance early on and Felitïa had taken over later, but she’d had to do a lot of learning very fast. Nonetheless, she had no idea how to go about caring for so many horses.

“How many are there?” she asked the cute, young stablehand leading her and Corvinian.

“At the moment, twenty-seven, including your two,” the stablehand said. That was much less than Akna had expected. “Though sometimes we can have as many as forty or more.” She was short—only a little more than five feet—and small of frame. Her black hair hung down over her shoulders. In some ways, she reminded Akna of Chica. Her coppery skin was darker than Chica’s had been and Chica had had much longer hair, but otherwise they were very similar. The similarity was cheering until Akna blinked and saw Chica’s head explode again.

Akna turned her face away to hide her grimace at the image—she didn’t want the girl thinking she was grimacing at her. “Why so many?”

“Lord Padara has a big family. They don’t all live here, but sometimes, he holds family gatherings and they all show up at once.”

“That must keep you busy.”

She nodded. Her smile created a dimple on her cheek that again reminded Akna of Chica. “Here are your two.” She motioned to two adjacent stables.

Mulac stuck his head out the first one, his ears perked.

“Thank you,” Akna said.

“If you need anything, just let know. I’ll be happy to help.” The stablehand smiled at Akna again, then headed back towards the entrance. Akna watched her go. When she glanced back for a moment, Akna waved and the stablehand waved back.

There was a tug on Akna’s jerkin. “Are you going to stare at her all day or are you going to help me with the horses?” Corvinian said.

Akna continued to stare until she couldn’t see the stablehand any longer. “She’s cute, all right?”

Corvinian dragged two of the packs over to Xoco’s stall. “Yuck, all that mushy stuff is gross.”

Akna carried the remaining packs over. “That’s because you’re still really young.”

“I thought you liked Meleng.”

“I do, but Meleng’s not here. He’s not interested in me that way, anyway.”

“Yeah, ’cause Meleng knows it’s gross.” Corvinian started to open Xoco’s stall, but Akna nudged him over to Mulac’s. He always wanted to tack up Xoco, but the mare didn’t seem to like him very much and Mulac was much more cooperative. “Do you want to fuck her?”

Akna rolled her eyes. “You know Felitïa doesn’t like you talking like that.”

“Felitïa isn’t here.”

He responded similarly any time she told him off for his language. He knew she’d let him get away with it. She usually didn’t bother saying anything at all, as she didn’t really understand what Felitïa’s problem was. The only reason she said something now was to change the topic.

“Well, do you?” he prodded.

“I don’t even know her. I just said she was cute. That’s all.” She started to tack up Xoco.

“That’s good, because I hear Zandrue and Rudiger sometimes, and it sounds really gross.”

Akna laughed.

Once they had the horses ready, Akna double-checked the Staff of Sestin was tied securely to Xoco’s side. Then they led the horses through the stables towards the exit to wait for Felitïa.

“Can I ask you a question?” Corvinian said.

“Of course.”

“It’s kind of personal.”

“If it’s another question about who I want to sleep with…”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Go ahead then.”

“Why haven’t you let me or Felitïa call you without your honorific? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Akna stopped walking, which annoyed Xoco, who yanked on her reins. Akna took a moment to placate the horse.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Corvinian said.

“It’s all right. I guess I’m just picky about who I give that right to. But yes, we are friends, so you can address me without my honorific if you want.”

He grinned. “Thanks! You can call me Cakulha if you want. Without the honorific too.”

“Do you want me to? I thought you preferred Corvinian. It’s your real name.”

“I do, but it doesn’t have an honorific. I just wanted you to know you don’t need to use an honorific with me either. Because we’re friends.”

“I could use a short form of your name if you want. What about Corvin?”

He shrugged, but his smile grew larger. “Sure, if you want.”

“It’ll be a special thing, just between us. So it’ll be like I’m not using an honorific.”

“Okay!”

“Then it’s a deal, Corvin.” She ruffled his hair.

“What about Felitïa?”

“If you want her to call you Corvin, I guess that’s okay with me, but I thought it was going to be our thing.” She started moving again, and he followed beside her with Mulac.

“No, I mean, why don’t you let her call you Akna? She’s your friend too, right?”

“I…” This was awkward. “I don’t feel ready for that yet. I can’t really explain. Okay?”

Corvin nodded. “Okay. I was just curious.”

“Try not to make her jealous, okay?”

He grinned. “I’ll try.”

They passed a small group of stablehands near the door. “Is everything good?” the cute girl from earlier asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Akna gave her another smile, and the stablehand smiled back.

“She wants to have sex with you,” Corvin said.

“Corvinian!” Akna focused her sight on the stable doors and away from the stablehand. She didn’t want to see the girl’s reaction. “He’s...uh...he’s just a kid with silly ideas,” she called back.

Once they were outside, she rounded on Corvinian. “Don’t ever do anything like that again!”

“Sorry.” He lowered his head.

“Don’t ever do what?” It was Harrick Padara. He was standing a short distance away.

Akna avoided eye contact with him. “It’s nothing. Corvinian was just being...a kid.”

“Ah, forgive me for prying again.”

“Are you here to see us off?” Corvin asked.

Harrick nodded. “I thought I’d walk you and Felitïa to your ship before I return to my own. If you don’t mind, of course.”

Akna began a quick double-check of the horses. “I’m fine with it. I’m sure Felitïa will be too, but I shouldn’t speak for her.” She double-checked the Staff was still secure and then double-checked the book of secrets was packed.

“Of course. I’ll be certain to ask her when she arrives. We may be joined by someone else for part of the walk, too.”

Akna checked her spears and tightened the straps. Corvin often left them a bit loose. “Who?”

“A friend of mine. My partner to be precise. We don’t get to spend a lot of time together. I’m either busy with my ship or with my family, and I can’t bring him to the house, so we have to take what time we have. But I also wanted one last chance to talk to Felitïa before you leave.”

Akna stopped double-checking her own packs. “I’m confused. Why can’t your partner come to the house? What’s he your partner in? Is this a Folith versus Eloorin thing?”

“No. He’s my partner as in lover.”

“Oh. Sorry. My knowledge of the language isn’t perfect. I sometimes get confused by words with more than one meaning. I still don’t understand why he can’t come to the house though.”

Harrick sighed. “Grandfather’s very open-minded and supports my relationship with Gusta, but he says others wouldn’t understand, and he’s right.”

“Wouldn’t understand what?”

Harrick looked at her, his head tilted. “We’re both men.”

Akna was still not sure she understood, but she let it go with a simple, “You Foliths are weird.”

Harrick smirked. “Yes, perhaps we are.”

“Aren’t you marrying Gabriella?” Corvin asked.

“Yes, but it’s a marriage of convenience. Gets our closed-minded families off our backs. That’s the idea at any rate. My relationship with Gusta is more an open secret, so not everyone will be fooled.”

Akna shook her head. “Foliths.” She didn’t know what else to say.

Harrick asked a few questions about Ninifin after that while they waited for Felitïa to return. It was a little over an hour before she showed up, and Harrick had to re-explain his presence—though it was quicker this time as Felitïa picked up on what he was talking about right away.

“I wonder if my mother knows Gabriella’s real reason for marrying,” was Felitïa’s only comment before agreeing to let Harrick walk with them and for his partner to join them along the way.

Harrick just wanted to engage in small-talk on the walk to the ship. He was mostly interested in Felitïa’s childhood away from the Arnorin Royal Palace. “Gabriella will be very disappointed in me if I don’t find out at least a little about you in your time here,” he explained.

Felitïa was evasive in her answers, and when they met with Harrick’s partner where the road met the base of the cliff, she changed the conversation to how Harrick and Gusta had met—something Gusta was happy and eager to talk about.

Much later, when they were in the cabin on the ship waiting to depart, Felitïa told Akna and Corvin about the encounter with Lord Amar that she had mentioned earlier.

“The Staff actually said something different?” Akna said.

“Just two words,” Felitïa replied. “‘Be wary.’ It wasn’t even with me, and it was only for that moment. It’s back to calling my name now. But it started acting odd when we first got there. Kept yelling my name even louder and more vigorously than ever. Now we’re out of there, it’s calmed down. In fact, it hasn’t uttered a peep since I met back up with you at the stables. I don’t know what set it off, but I didn’t want to take any chances, not when there have been two attempts on your life already.”

“I’m happy to move on,” Akna said, “but I would have appreciated a warning.”

Felitïa grimaced. “Sorry about that. I made the decision spontaneously and I should have waited to talk to you first. I just felt the need to get out of there. I’m so exhausted. I keep making bad decisions. The sooner we get to Quorge, the better.” She took out a necklace of beads from her scrip.

“Where did you get that?” Akna asked.

“Lord Padara gave them to her,” Corvin said.

“I’m going to risk keeping the Staff in the hold with the horses. The extra distance might make it easier for me to sleep. I’m going to keep these in the hold too. I’m probably just being paranoid and they’re completely normal prayer beads, but I don’t want to risk keeping them on me in case Lord Padara really is up to something. I can’t ignore how nervous he was about me being there at that time.” Felitïa placed the necklace in her lap.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“I’m looking forward to meeting this Agernon you’ve mentioned,” Akna said at last.

“You’ll like him,” Corvin said. “He acts mean, but he’s actually really nice.”

“He has a tender heart, though he’d never admit it.” Felitïa snatched up the necklace, and went to where the Staff was lying under one of the cots. “I’ll take these to the hold. You two get some rest.”

Akna placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take them. You need rest more. I’ll be back soon.”

Felitïa hesitated a moment, but then nodded. Akna took the Staff and necklace and left the cabin.

She wasn’t looking forward to another sailing journey, but she hoped sailing a river would be smoother than the ocean. Probably not, but at least it was a much shorter journey and should only take a couple of weeks.

In the hold, she laid the Staff against one of the poles in Xoco’s stall. The horses would likely ignore it. She then went over to their saddle bags and opened the one containing the book of secrets. She was about to drop the necklace in, but stopped. If Amar Padara had given these to Felitïa for some purpose, what would happen if someone else kept hold of them? If they were coated with some sort of slow-acting poison, she’d notice well before it could do extensive damage, so it seemed unlikely that was the case. It was worth the risk though, as she might be able to learn something.

Akna stuffed the necklace inside her jerkin so she could put it in her personal bag later. Then she returned to Felitïa and Corvin.