The harrier swooped down from the night sky, landing on a small ledge where I could begin the ascent. The bird—Teryn—called out three sharp kek-kek-kek calls. Raptor speak for “Grab here!” I presumed. Hoisting my bag onto one shoulder, I tied a short length of rope around the central handle of my shield and then looped that over my left shoulder.

  “If I fall, remember the love that we made fondly,” I told the harrier. It snapped its beak at me in aggravation as I grabbed hold of the rock with two hands. Taking to wing, Teryn flapped upward a bit and to the left, landing where he felt I could go next. And so we moved, foot by foot, up the dark stone walls of the basalt pillar, until we reached the round opening of a cavern midway up the cliff. Heaving myself over the lip, I crawled in and lay on the cool rocky ground to catch my breath. A gust of sandy wind blew into my ear. Teryn returned to his elven form as I lay with my cheek in the dirt.

  “You climb like a monkey,” he said as he placed his hand on my heaving back.

  “If monkeys climbed…like me, they…would be extinct.” I eased myself up to sitting, pleased with myself for keeping in shape. A fat guard is not an effective guard as things crop up in the line of duty that require a hardy constitution. Scaling the side of a cliff in the dark was just one odd example among many. “Their predators would pick them off with ease.”

  He gave me a small pat on the shoulder and then dug into his rucksack to dress himself. His robes were dark, rich red and embellished with gold threads. Expensive leather sandals graced his feet, and his earring was slid back through the hole in the tip of his ear. He looked regal. I, on the other hand, was soggy with seaweed stuck in delicate places. Fortunately, the role of guardian did not require a refined ensemble. My sword, shield, and armor were my calling card.

  “I suspect they know that we have arrived,” Teryn announced with volume, his voice carrying down a tunnel lit with flickering torches.

  Several forms stepped from the shadows, tallest among them Jaska Ashwish. Immediately, I noted that the people here were not just Sandrayan. All manner of commoners stood at his side. Those from the Black Sands, the woods of the Glotte, the Witherhorn Mountains, and even the hardy russet-skinned people of the Bhaston Tundra stood shoulder to shoulder with the pale elves of the mainland. My hand went for the hilt of my sword as I lifted my shield, taking a protective step in front of Teryn.

  “The Peacemaker and the Bronze Warrior. Welcome to our humble abode,” Jaska called, his arms out as if he were welcoming us to a palace.

  Teryn placed a hand on my arm, stepping around me, his amber eyes meeting mine. “There is no need for worry. These people wish to speak to us, not battle us.” His sight left mine to land on Jaska—unarmored and without weaponry—waiting patiently as if he had ample time. Which he did. At the moment, he held all the cards in this game. “That is correct, is it not, Jaska Ashwish?”

  “Aye, that is correct,” the large elf replied, his short blond hair still neatly clipped to his head as a royal guard would wear it. He was a large man, stalwart, and a vile kidnapper. “If we wished you dead, you would be dead by now.”

  “The witch in the desert certainly gave it her best try,” I replied, still on guard, my sword at the ready. This was not an ideal situation. Fifteen enemies before us and a sheer drop to our death behind. Amended to my death for Teryn could sprout feathers.

  “She was acting of her own accord,” Jaska was quick to reply. “Her role was to merely ride along to gather information if possible. To keep an eye on you two. I have notes written to her, and her replies, if you wish proof. Killing the envoy would do us little good.”

  Teryn stepped forward, hand out. I tensed as he strode to Jaska. “I wish to believe your words to be true. No peace can ever be reached if the two sides cannot show good faith.”

  Jaska strode out of the mass of rebels, clasped Teryn’s forearm, and shook it soundly. “Thank you, Mahouk. We wished no harm to anyone. We simply needed a way to show the ruling classes that our needs, the wants of the poor, cannot be ignored yet again.”

  “Stealing a pair of innocents was your best plan?!” I barked, striding up with fire in my heart. Jaska stood his ground as I closed the distance, his hand falling from Teryn’s.

  “Pasil…” Teryn warned, but I pushed my chest into the man who had caused such grief. I would not be called off, not now. I had watched those children grow from squalling infants to hearty toddlers filled with grace, good humor, and inquisitive minds.

  “Ripping them from their nursery in the dark of night, drugging an old religious woman and a royal guard who is a noble, trustworthy protector that stands head and shoulders above you even though her frame is small. I should run you through for nearly killing her.”

  “That was unfortunate,” Jaska replied calmly. A rumble went through the masses at his back, the tension rising quickly. “We meant no harm to the pixie. I have always enjoyed her company. She fares well, I hear from my sources.”

  “No thanks to you,” I snarled, itching to plunge my blade into his chest just to eradicate the smugness he oozed. “I will see the children. Now. The ambassador will not sit at a table with you until we are assured that the prince and princess are hale and unharmed. And mark my words, if either of the twins has even a scratch on their arm, I will rip through this throng of accomplices of yours like they were wheat falling to the scythe.”

  “We have no doubt that you could, Slayer of Yeti.” For once, I did not argue that moniker. His gaze held mine for a long moment before he spoke to those behind him. “Fetch the prince and princess.”

  “Pasil, you may step back now.” Teryn’s smooth voice somehow managed to wiggle into the red haze. I took a step back, weapons at the ready, eyes locked with the man who had betrayed us all. Jaska did not flinch, but I did notice the deep inhalation he took. So not as unaffected as he wished his followers to think. Good. Skewering the traitorous slug would please me greatly.

  “Let us go to the main cavern. We have wine and cheese, a fire, and a table set up for the talks,” Jaska offered, waving an arm at the tunnel as if he were the head server at a royal dinner. “I am aware that the fare is not what you would find at the table of the grand advisor, but we are not able to procure delicacies such as rare pink oysters or tundra ox roasts that set the working elf back a thousand gold per platter.”

  “We go nowhere until we see the children,” I stated, planting my feet.

  “So be it,” Jaska replied and then turned at the sound of a high-pitched squeal. The people parted to allow Prince Al’fur and Princess Alfina to race to us. For them, I lowered my shield and slid my sword into its scabbard. The two flung themselves at me, clinging to my shoulders as I lifted them from the damp rocky ground to hug them. Tears rolled down their pink cheeks.

  “Captain Pasil!! Did you bring Papa and Mama?” Princess Alfina asked, her face buried into my neck just as her brother’s was. They smelled clean and appeared to be in good health. Scared, surely, but unharmed. The bastard who had taken them should be counting his blessings. Her brother, always a bit shyer, whimpered into my shoulder around his thumb.

  “I did not, for we had to travel quickly, and you know how slowly the queen moves in the morning,” I teased and got a tiny nod of a gold head. Alfina lifted her head to stare into my soul. “I am so glad to see you, Princess. And your brother. Have you been treated well?”

  “They fed us stinky fish with eyeballs, but the cheese was good. Can we go home now? We miss our kitten,” she said with utmost sincerity.

  “We will go home soon,” I promised, my sight flying to Jaska as if to dare him to say otherwise. He did not. He merely waved a hand to indicate a move into the cave. I glanced at Teryn, smiling at us with damp eyes. “This is a friend of your parents. Do you remember meeting Mahouk Nouradi at the castle?”

  Both shook their blond heads. Al’fur mumbled something about a monkey eating a banana as we made our way deeper into the sea cave. It was damp. The stone walls slick from the moist sea air. Small alcoves of rock popped up here and there, the interiors dark aside from one, which had a single torch lighting a box in the middle of the craggy grotto. A box of plundered goods, perhaps?

  “Did anyone harm you?” I asked the twins as the gloom of the long walkway slowly gave way to a large inner chamber, with rounded rock walls and sleeping pallets laid out around small cooking fires. A larger fire burned in a stone circle—several large fish being cooked over the flames on spits—burned brightly. About fifty people watched us. Some the greeting party, some small children or teens, and some elderly. No two were alike, as opposed to Celear, where all the noble elves had a similar look of elegance. There was not an elegant face among them. Just common faces, hungry faces, tired faces.

  “No.” The princess rode on my right hip, her brother on my left. “We had warm milk and woke up on a boat. The sea was big. Grandpapa’s guard,” she looked right at Jaska, “told us we were going to a new land on an adventure.”

  “I like adventures,” Al’fur said and shoved his thumb back into his mouth as Jaska and Teryn made their way to a deeply worn round table with two chairs. Bottles of wine, round wheels of cheese, and a few dark loaves of bread sat atop wooden platters. I took a step toward the table to taste the fare, but Jaska placed a hand on my breastplate. A low snarl rolled out of me.

  “The food is not poisoned,” he said, waving a small boy from the masses. The child ate some bread and cheese, washed it down with wine, and then burped.

  “It’s good, Papa!” the towheaded boy exclaimed and darted back to a young Sandrayan woman who was heavily pregnant. She gathered her son to her side. I had never known that Jaska had a child, let alone a woman from the Black Sands.

  “Now, let the mahouk and me sit and speak,” Jaska said, his smile one that if I had not been holding the twins, I would have loved to slap off his face. There would be time later. This man, the leader of this band of insurgents, would surely end up in the dungeons under the castle. Perhaps he knew that to be the case. Whether he did or not, Aelir would surely imprison him at the very least, and rightfully so. If one upset rebel could get away with stealing a member of the royal family with no punishment, we would all be in great peril. Laws were there for the good of the people.

  I knelt down, placing tiny feet in rough leather shoes on the ground. “I must stand guard over the ambassador. Can you sit by us?”

  “You always stand near Papa and Guard Tezen is with us.” I nodded at the princess, who dropped to a sit by my foot. Her brother curled up beside her, big blue eyes on me as I took my stance behind Teryn. “Where is Guard Tezen?”

  “She is home. We’ll see her soon,” I whispered down to the princess. Two children of mixed blood came over, carrying old toys, and tempted the twins from my side. I watched intently as they settled down near a fire, wooden blocks in hand, gold heads together speaking to each other as only twins did, as an old woman handed them some bread to chew on. Seeing that they were safe yet still close enough to reach, I folded my arms over my breast as wine was poured. A glass was offered to me. I refused it.

  “Now, let us speak of what requests the Court of Gray Ice has that they wish to enter into debate with King Aelir and Vahasi Khorsiri,” Teryn announced to all. The people in the cave looked happy enough, so they settled into routines such as sewing, cooking, and tending to children and the elderly. I had no idea how long this discourse would take, so I made sure not to lock my knees while keeping my sights on the twins and the man who had called me dear. There was much to sort out, both at that table and in my heart, but the table took precedence. For now.

  The talk went on and on throughout the night and into the following day.

  There were many points made on both sides, some good, some poor, and some that were dismissed as outlandish. Jaska was a smart man with a solid knowledge of what was at stake. My stomach growled loudly at the time of the midday meal. The talks were put on hold for food, refreshments, and sleep. It was cool in this cave, but the routines of those who dwelled in the heat of the Black Sands were observed. Seeing that Teryn was safe and the children napping with a group of other little ones, I set off to relieve myself.

  I asked an older man, pale-skinned like me but missing the pointed tips of his ears, where the privy was. He gave me a dank look but led me to the grotto with the box in the center. Plodding to the wooden box, I could hear the sounds of the sea as I neared. Once I stood beside it, I saw a hole cut neatly in the top. Ah. Leaning forward, I looked down through the box into the sea far, far below. I’d used worse places. Military forces quickly learned to shit in the woods, sand, or mountain peaks. Many times with wild beasts watching. This was no different from the latrines at the castle, perhaps just fresher-smelling. The fish down below were not pleased of that, I was sure.

  Returning after using the box, I washed my hands in a small bowl of murky water and made my way to the now awake royal twins. Teryn sat with Jaska, both still discussing opening up more formal talks with Aelir, the queen, and the vahasi about the new shipping lanes, ports, dues, and a variety of things I was not familiar with. They sat on the ground, on mats, sipping fish stew just as we all were, the ambassador unwilling to eat at the table as was his right due to his prestigious title.

  The twins ate well, enjoying the sweet tarts that Jaska’s woman had fried up over a low fire. I ate only enough to quiet my gut. The elderly and the youngsters should be filled first. I was happy with a small bowl and a hard roll.

  Jaska left Teryn to join his woman and son. I moved from the small fire to sit with the ambassador in the corner. He looked weary, yet his golden eyes glowed with pleasure.

  “Sit, dear, sit.” He patted the mat. I dropped down beside him, still in full coil root armor, and stared at his face. “I must look a fright.”

  “You look handsome as always,” I confessed as I let my shoulders rest on the smooth rock wall. The tension in my lower back eased slightly. “I must admit that I have missed things being discussed when the twins wished for me to be with them. I find it difficult to deny them a few minutes of my time. I am the only familiar face they see.”

  “Please do not apologize. You should ease their discomfort when they need it. The talks are going well. I think the king will be amenable to many of the things the Gray Ice are asking for. Fair wages for dockworkers, open ports to all vessels, lower docking fees for smaller ships. Cargo is a large concern as are the wages being offered to those who will work on the docks. There also seems to be a general displeasure with how the wealth is distributed across all the lands of Melowynn. Something that I understand and agree with, but—and this is a large but—the noble houses are not going to open their coffers to let the common people race in to empty them. Centuries of the rich growing richer on the backs of the poor will not be eradicated with a treaty about land, facilities, and dock maintenance.”

  “Are they asking for such things?” Surely no one thought massive social change would take place with the snap of a finger.

  “Not so much asking as making it a talking point to bring before the heads of state. This would entail gathering all the rulers, not just the elven leaders, but the queen of the dwarves, the mispack of the Yeti, and the prizerman of the Tundra who has yet to agree to even interact with the elves on the other side of the Witherhorn.”

  “Not a small task,” I offered and got a tired nod of his head.

  “Not a small task at all, but one that I have agreed to lay before each head of state for consideration. That is the best I can do right now. The ports are a start.”

  “Every great journey begins with a starting place.”

  He smiled and then let his head drop onto my shoulder. “Such a wise warrior you are. Wake me when Jaska is ready to return to the table.”

  Both negotiators slept until the moon sisters rose and returned to the table. The talks stalled for a short time so we could all stand in the opening of the cave to watch the moon sisters align, the night growing darker for a long stretch of time. The old people prayed to their gods, the children danced for the moon twins to play hide and seek with them, and I watched a bird drop from the starry night to land in front of Teryn. A peach-faced parrot. The ambassador looked at me and then at Jaska.

  “Our time is growing short,” Teryn said to Jaska. “This will be from King Aelir, I am certain, demanding a reply before he must flex his military power. Jaska, are you willing to agree to the outline for the ports that we have hammered out? The rest will be a slow slog that will take many seasons to bring about, but I will see that we will begin working on the changes that are so badly needed.”

  “I think it is a good place to start. Tell the king I am willing to come back to Celear for my trial.” His woman began to whimper into her hands. He tugged her to his side, kissed the braids piled atop her head, and turned to his backers. “This is the opening that we wished for, and it will pry open the doors of suppression that have kept us at the feet of the powerful for far too long. My time under the castle will not be spent idly. I will pen letters to the kings, the vahasi, the queens, and the others who rule our lands to remind them that the Court of the Gray Ice, a court made of simple people for simple people, is alive and well across the lands of Melowynn.”

  The crowd cheered. His woman wept. His son clung to his leg.

  “Captain Pasil,” Princess Alfina asked while tugging at my hand. I looked down at her and her brother. “Does this mean we’re going home to our papas and mamas and kitten?”

  I glanced at Teryn. He gave me a slight nod, so I knelt to speak to the twins at their level.

  “Yes, Your Highnesses, we are going home.”

  THERE WERE SIGNATURES ON ROUGH VELLUM—and goodbyes—to be made.

  Vows from both Mahouk Nouradi and Jaska Ashwish stating that negotiations were now taking place between the vahasi and the Court of the Gray Ice. Under such a treaty, those involved with the rebellion were to be given leeway to return to their homes as long as no other transgressions against the ruler of the Black Sands were committed. As Teryn could not speak for King Aelir, the pact stood only on Sandrayan lands for the moment. I suspected, and rightfully so, that our king would not be as generous to the people who conspired to abduct his children. But that was to be worked out once the twins were back in the castle with their parents. Teryn suggested that once the prince and princess were safe and coddled, the king, queen, and the consorts might be less prone to hang the kidnappers in the town square. Something that I could not see Aelir doing since he was not prone to violence. Then again, his beloved children had been taken, so I dared not say he would not toss Jaska and his cronies into the sea with rocks tied to their feet.