Silence settled across the round table as we all stared at Fallon. Even he couldn’t believe the treasure trove of hidden information that Kabbah had left inside his head—whether he’d done it willingly or not was a mystery, but it didn’t matter. It was a much-needed break.

Lumi took a deep breath, which she released slowly, pensively. “She threw Eirexis over the tallest mountain, and it became home to rosy fishes… it might sound cryptic, but I think it’s actually very telling.”

As the pieces of the puzzle began to take their rightful places in our group memory, ideas began to spring up. Eira was the first to speak after a long pause. “We need the sites that are closest to tall mountains and rosy fish sanctuaries, then. Right?”

“I’ll need to look into it and confirm, regarding the sanctuaries,” Medina replied. “I don’t know them by heart, but the empire’s biologists surely will.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just pinpoint the sites that are close to mountains and oceans?” Raphael asked. “Surely, such geographical features rarely get together like this.”

“Rosy fish aren’t just saltwater creatures. They live in fresh water, too,” Eira replied. “We shouldn’t overlook the inland sites.”

Taeral pointed at the three locations we’d previously agreed on. “We may as well start here, where Eira pointed,” he said. “In the meantime, Medina can update us on the other possible locations.”

“Great. Let’s go, then,” I chimed in, undoubtedly excited about this. Fallon’s weird memory spurts creeped the heck out of me, but I couldn’t deny their usefulness. Memory residue wasn’t uncommon when possessions occurred, though we’d never heard of a Hermessi leaving such snippets behind. It probably had to do with Fallon’s rare hybrid nature.

“Hold on,” Eira said. “The sanctuary I showed you isn’t close enough to a mountain for it to fall within our search parameters.”

“And I need to notify the site guards, first,” Medina said, giving Taeral a stern look. “The emperor will also be expecting you all for dinner tonight. I suggest you let me make the proper arrangements before you head out, for your safety and ours.”

“Time isn’t really on our side here—” Taeral tried to protest, but Medina cut him off.

“Eirexis isn’t going anywhere, and I need to make sure you don’t walk in anywhere uninsured,” she replied. “You will let me do this my way, or you’re on your own.”

Lumi gently gripped Taeral’s upper arm. “Let’s not upset our host,” she murmured in his ear. “We can leave at first light.”

Taeral wanted to say something, but changed his mind quickly and gave Medina a polite nod. “Fine. We’ll do more research in the meantime, then, and double-check our gear, while we’re here.”

He didn’t seem happy with this, and neither was I for that matter, but I understood Lumi’s diplomatic approach. The clock was ticking, sure, but Medina did have a point about preparing the sites for our arrival. We didn’t need anyone’s attention on what we were about to do. We’d considered using the invisibility spell to move around these sites long before we’d come into the room, but both Lumi and Raphael had agreed on one thing: there was a risk that the spell might falter where Eirexis was concerned. We didn’t know what kind of object it was, magically speaking. We didn’t understand it, and we definitely didn’t want to risk not being able to hide it with invisibility spell, once we did find it.

Using a more official capacity, as Medina had suggested, made more sense. We could walk in with little to no fuss, and we could look for Eirexis. Once located, we could deal with its Reaper and hopefully survive, to then walk out of there undisturbed. The ideal scenario sounded easy. The practical application, however, filled me with dread.

“Our scholars are also still researching the empire’s lore,” Medina added. “We’re actively looking for any mention of Death and Reapers. It is our hope that we’ll find some legends, at least.”

“What’s the purpose of that search?” Herakles asked.

“There’s a seed of truth in every story,” Medina replied. “The more you learn about Death and her Reapers, the better. Don’t you think?”

It sounded reasonable, and I had every reason to thank her for such incredible support. However, there was something that didn’t quite fit into the overall picture, where Medina was concerned. Whether it was just my paranoia or something I’d instinctively spotted and had yet to identify, it just didn’t click. She seemed too nice. Too helpful. Gah, I’m either losing my mind or I’m simply an awful person.

It had been my experience so far that nothing came easy, and Medina’s assistance contradicted said experience. She was handing us locations on a silver platter. She was hiding us inside the palace, smack under the Hermessi’s noses. She was facilitating our movements across the empire. Anyone else would’ve been thankful for such support. Yet I couldn’t take it for what it was. Concern wormed its way through me, skewing my perception of her.

“I need to go, for now, but you’re all free to keep working here,” Medina said and walked over to the door. “I shall see you all in a few hours, at dinner.”

As soon as she opened the door, I caught a glimpse of a familiar Cerixian darting down the hallway. It had only been a second, a fraction in time, but I was quick to recognize him: Skit. Medina didn’t even seem to notice him as she walked out. She stopped and turned around to look at us, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Thank you, Prime Minister,” Eira said. “We’ll see you later.”

She disappeared down the hallway, and I rushed outside to check. There was no sign of Skit anywhere. Convinced I hadn’t imagined him out there, I asked Varga for help. “V, can you use your True Sight on this floor and tell me if you see Skit anywhere?”

Varga frowned but didn’t question me. His eyes glimmered gold as he glanced around. He shook his head. “I don’t see him.”

“Dammit. I swear I saw him just now,” I muttered and looked at the rest of our crew. “Didn’t anyone else spot him in the doorway when Medina left?”

“No. Though, to be fair, I was more preoccupied with the map,” Taeral replied apologetically.

I sighed. “It’s okay… Don’t worry. Maybe I did imagine it.”

Herakles walked over to me, and my heart started beating a little faster. I’d put the thought of him away for the time being, but it was hard not to react to his very presence at any moment. Herakles was intense like that. “You saw Skit?” he asked, and I nodded. He gave Taeral a wondering glance. “We could ask the emperor about Skit, later.”

“Or we could look for him,” I suggested.

“We’ve been advised to stay in this part of the palace,” Raphael reminded me.

I didn’t like this. It felt as though Medina was dictating one too many terms of our presence here. Granted, they were all measures for our safety, but I still couldn’t help but feel suffocated, as if I couldn’t move or breathe without accounting for it with Medina. I understood that discretion was necessary, but… again, something just didn’t click right.

Taeral

“I think I caught his scent,” Herakles said, surprising us—Riza, especially, whose amethyst eyes nearly popped out at the sound of his words.

“What?” she croaked.

“It’s faint, but I can tell he was nearby,” Herakles replied.

Eva joined them in the doorway, taking deep breaths and letting her serpentine tongue flicker between her lips as she searched for the same trace. She gave me a concerned look. “Riza and Herakles are right. He was definitely here.”

“Yet he didn’t come in or make himself seen or heard,” Riza noted, crossing her arms.

Herakles exhaled slowly and shut the door. He lowered his voice as he looked at us. “Has no one else noticed how weird this place is, this time around?”

“Weird as in still standing after the Shills and the Hermessi came down on it, looking for us?” I replied, my sarcasm blaring.

“No, as in… everything’s a little too tight and nice, while key people we trusted are either hiding or missing. See Skit and Trap Mellon, for reference,” Herakles shot back.

Riza’s face lit up. “You see it, too, then.”

“See what?” I asked, gradually getting more confused.

“There’s something off here, Tae,” the jinni said. “There’s something about Medina, about the way things are organized… it’s just not okay. I thought I was being paranoid, but I’m obviously not the only one thinking this.”

“No, you’re not,” Eira replied. “It’s been bothering me, too.”

It all came as a surprise to me. I hadn’t sensed any ill intent coming from Medina, though her protocols for safety had come dangerously close to exasperating me, earlier. I’d seen only goodwill and a desire to help us. I didn’t like the thought of Trap having gone dark-side, either, and I trusted Eira in her reasoning that he might’ve been framed, but I never considered Medina as part of this mysterious problem or as acting in some kind of ill manner. On the contrary, she’d been a much-needed help.

“Is this about Trap?” I asked Eira, making sure I wasn’t getting the wrong idea here. She nodded. I was getting the right idea here, and I hated being right. Eira was, in fact, suspicious of Medina. “What, seriously? You think she’s involved in what happened to Trap?”

“She wouldn’t be the first prime minister to act against us,” Eira replied flatly.

“She’s been helping us find Eirexis!” I snapped. “I totally agree on figuring out what happened to Trap, but why would you even suspect Medina of any involvement?”