Standing at the foot of his throne, Alfons could not keep the grin off his face. As soon as Lirens and Mardans had returned to the palace’s Throne Room, the prince, on bended knee, had presented him with Margonne’s dagger, and the king had promptly called for wine to celebrate. Relieved, his worry erased, he laughed and joked as he had not done in the last few months. Before a hastily assembled audience of courtiers, visitors, and palace servants, he toasted Lirens and Lieutenant Tinetta for their dogged pursuit of the dagger’s whereabouts, promising them the king’s commendation for their service to the crown.
In return, his brothers toasted his health and wished him a lengthy, peaceful reign. A long line of curious onlookers filed past the throne, gazing upon the dagger lying on its seat as two burly palace guards looked on at either side. With the queen smiling radiantly beside him, the king tossed out ideas to her and Lirens about declaring a festival day in the next week or so. Something was said about Dance and Red giving a final performance.
Young Hugh Walls appeared at Mardans’ side a few feet away, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. When Mardans turned to him, the boy gave a quick bow and handed him a note on expensive cream-colored paper. Breaking the seal, he read the sparse contents, written in his mother’s exquisite hand:
D. T. sighted this noon heading west. I have details. T. S.
Mardans handed the note to the prince, who passed it to the king a moment later. Alfons sobered, looking heavenward. “Those two are determined to rob me of my joy!” Handing the note to Constans, he turned to his brothers. “We cannot delay. See what Tiena knows about this, but make haste. We’re already behind. In the meantime, I will send word to Captain Siral to prepare your company for a ride.”
“Yes, lord,” Lirens and Mardans said in unison, bowing, and they left him there, holding his wife’s hand and gazing up at Margonne’s dagger, a slight smile still lingering upon his face.”
Dressed in a green housedress that she somehow made look elegant, Tiena was waiting for them in her front room when they arrived. She waved them to seats and served them lemonade before sitting on a settee across from them. “I know that time is critical, so I’ll give you the brief.
“More than a week ago, I sent agents to all the gates to watch for any sign of the Tilantas. I also sent an agent or two down to the docks with instructions to monitor people boarding vessels. They had seen nothing amiss until about noon today when one of them, who had crossed the lake to watch the landings at Fairbank, spotted five guards trying to conceal a noblewoman. She wore a hat and veil, so he couldn’t see her face to make a firm identification, but he said she was haughty and scolded her protectors every other step. Does that sound like anyone you know?”
“It sounds like Désira,” Lirens answered, sitting up in his chair, “but I’ve known many other noble ladies who would fit the description.”
“You are not wrong, my prince,” Tiena said with an uncharacteristic growl in her voice. “I’ve run into a few myself.” Sighing, she tucked her bare feet under her and continued. “But my agent was sure it was Désira because he recognized the lead guard: Prytan Verus. They hustled her into a coach, loaded a couple of trunks on the luggage rack, and headed west. He said Verus stood on the footman’s step at the back, and the other four rode horses. That was the last he saw of them before reporting the sighting to me.”
“Assuming the driver is one of theirs,” Lirens said, looking up to the ceiling, “they have six men guarding her. I shouldn’t need my whole company.” He rose and bowed toward Tiena. “Our thanks to you and your agents once again, Tiena! We are in your debt.”
She waved his pledge away. “Call it doing our duty to rid the kingdom of traitors,” she said. “But don’t think I won’t remind you if I really need something later.” Her smile was wolfish until she laughed.
The prince chuckled, shaking his head. He looked at Mardans, who had not risen with him. “Are you coming?”
Mardans grinned. “You know, I’d love to take a long, hard ride into the western plains, but my schedule’s a bit full with looking for Formosis and keeping my mother from putting the whole world in her debt. So, not this time, little brother. Besides, you don’t need me for this. You have better-trained soldiers to do this job.”
“Fine,” the prince said curtly. “I will tell our august brother you will be staying here, hiding behind your mother’s skirts, as usual.”
“You two!” Tiena said, exasperated. “Keep me out of your interminable bickering!”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both said, faking being abashed and then laughing, which Tiena joined after a moment. Lirens gave her a hug and took his leave. Mardans walked him to the door and wished him luck, which got him an eye-roll and a “Who needs luck?”
“Well, he’s off on a merry chase,” Mardans said after closing the front door and watching the prince hurry away. “He will be lucky to get his men and their horses onto boats before sunset. Désira will have seven or eight hours’ lead. It will be a long pursuit.”
“I can’t see a coach getting to the Tanjari border before he catches them,” Tiena said, fingering the string of pearls around her neck. “It’s a long way, and coaches are slow compared to horsemen, especially if they take extra mounts. The prince will have her back here in irons in a few days.”
“Won’t that be a sight to see!” Mardans said with a snicker. “She’ll demand silver fetters since iron is so pedestrian.”
“So, famous Finder,” his mother said after a moment, aiming a stern gaze his way over the rim of a glass of lemonade, “what are you doing to find Formosis? With Désira’s flight, you can concentrate on just him now.”
Mardans sighed and flopped into his chair across from his mother. “I’m running into solid walls everywhere I turn! It feels like I’ve exhausted every rational avenue of inquiry. My absence from Palisade for the last several years hasn’t helped either. I don’t know him or his haunts as well as I should. He’s simply disappeared. If he stays put, I’ll never find him.”
“Well, that sounds defeatist, my boy,” Tiena said with clear disapproval of his despair. “Have you tried—as disagreeable as it may be—to climb into Formosis’ mind and consider what he would do? You knew him as a child. You’ve matched wits with him now as an adult. You’ve spoken with his brother. What have you learned of him that could lead you to consider other possibilities?”
He grimaced. “I’ll give it another go,” he said, lacking excitement for the mental exercise. “Since rational methods have failed, maybe I should speak to the Prophetess. She might be able to shed more light on my gift or at least spur some new lines of thought.”
“Why don’t you take the fetching Lady Marini with you?” Tiena advised, feigning innocence. “She should meet the Prophetess.”
“Why do you say that?” Mardans spluttered.
Tiena laughed at catching him off-guard. “No, I don’t have you watched, my dearest! Well, not all the time. But more than any other, I know my son. No one will ever catch your eye as she has. If you plan to keep her around long-term, let her help you.”
Mardans let out a long breath, saying, “I should have known! No secret is safe around you! But I like the suggestion. I will see if both women are free.”
A note:
Tiena’s agents had a number of ways to report to her. Of course, the easiest was to appear in person, but oftentimes, doing so was impractical and time-consuming. Some agents used birds of various kinds, slipping a coded message into a small cylinder on a bird’s leg and sending it aloft to find its way home. Some messages of lesser importance and timeliness went by post when it was deemed trustworthy or sent with reliable travelers, although they usually avoided trusting sensitive information to people outside the agency. In this case, the agent who saw Désira Tilanta and Prytan Verus across the lake sent the message by an in-house mirror code, similar to our Morse Code but using flashes of light.