The door to the queen’s library opens, and K?spar languidly walks in, hair unkempt, with bags under his eyes. He falls into the leather chair across the room from Kolaus.

  “I hope this is important enough to justify barely four hours of sleep.” K?spar says as he rubs his eyes.

  “The fate of Agrela depends on it.” ?nnywella adjusts her wool sweater, hoping for the itching around her neck to stop. “I called for you so you could tell Kolaus everything about M?rel and the priestess.” She had forgotten the name.

  K?spar covers his mouth and yawns. “Did you hear about how the High Priestess of Styd?n washed up dead?”

  Kolaus nods.

  “Well, M?rel probably had her run out of town. He tried to buy her—”

  “In what sense?” Kolaus raises an eyebrow.

  “Not sure—I don’t think anyone would try to purchase a priestess like a whore, so maybe she had information on him or information that he wanted.” K?spar shrugs. “That’s not really relevant. He tried to do something similar to the new High Priestess, last name of Ny??. She told her brother, and this brother apparently threatened M?rel, causing him to back off.”

  “Where did you get this information?” Kolaus furrows his brow; all of this is far too vague to base plans on.

  ?nnywella rubs her hands on the red skirt of her dress. She should have asked that question originally, but she doesn’t doubt K?spar’s ability to find accurate information.

  “A very expensive prostitute.” K?spar says wryly, watching Gekaryna run her hand down her face.

  “I don’t believe that’s reliable; how can we trust this information?” Kolaus says.

  “Prostitutes hear nearly everything; rumors don’t go up social classes, they go down. If you want to learn about a place, you always talk to the people who are the worst off. Have I ever been wrong with the information I gave ?thalrykk?” K?spar’s unbothered by Kolaus’s doubt; they have lived very different lives and have very different skills.

  “No... No, you haven’t.” Kolaus says. In the past two decades, K?spar has made himself irreplaceable to the Herst Court; the information he gathers is just as much so.

  “Exactly.” K?spar wraps his arms around himself in an attempt to keep his hands warm.

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  “What do you know about this brother?” Kolaus stands, turning the wooden chair around to face K?spar.

  “Absolutely nothing.” K?spar shakes his head, then pauses to yawn. “All I know is that his family name is Ny??. The woman refused to talk about him.”

  ?nnywella turns from K?spar to Kolaus. “We can reasonably assume that this brother is some sort of criminal—a respected one at that, or a possible revolutionary; I doubt that the former head of the Styd?n guard would back down from a man whose capabilities he doesn’t know.”

  “That was my thought when the woman refused to discuss the brother.” K?spar says, nodding in agreement. He watches Gekaryna turn to him with a smile—he’s going back to Styd?n, isn’t he?

  “I want you to go back to Styd?n?” ?nnywella says.

  “Alright, but why?” He has no issue going; it’s his job, but why is she sending him back so soon? ”Why are we focusing on M?rel?”

  “Ah, yes.” ?nnywella sniffs. “So, I received an anonymous letter, which we determined had been sent by M?rel Humel; he stated that he would help in Styd?n being placed under my rule and be on my side at my meeting with the advisors... under the condition he becomes the baron.”

  “So you want me to go kill this brother so M?rel doesn’t have anyone vying against him if something happens?“ K?spar asks; he wishes to figure out exactly what she wants him to do.

  “No, no, no.” She taps her cigarette on the edge of the ashtray. “M?rel will most definitely not take the title of Baron of Styd?n. I would like to know more about this brother Ny??; if the government in Styd?n falls and we siege and take the city, he will become my problem.” She pauses and takes a drag; smoke curls from the corners of her lips as she turns to Kolaus. “What about this brother? make him baron? his sister is the high priestess; he clearly doesn’t like the previous regime; all of his power comes from me—I think he would be a good choice... once we learn more about him.”

  Kolaus nods. “Better than M?rel and Romyl. Let’s learn more about him first.”

  “I would rather be flayed and boiled than have to live under Romyl Dornytter.” K?spar says. “So you want me to go back to Styd?n and learn about this brother Ny???”

  “I want you to befriend this brother Ny??.” ?nnywella pauses. “And I don’t care how you do it. Just the usual: he can’t know who you are and all that smock [1] you already know.

  “Alright, I can do that. When is your meeting with the advisors? I would like to know how much time I have.” K?spar asks.

  “The 12th of the next maiden.”

  K?spar stands. “I’ll leave within the hour.”

  “There’s no rush, K?spar.” Cigarette hanging from the side of her mouth, ?nnywella waves her hands in front of her.

  “Have you ever ridden a horse down the Crown in the winter?” K?spar asks as he goes for the door.

  “I can’t say I have.” In all honesty, she can count on one hand the number of times she has ridden a horse.

  “Then you are a very lucky woman. I must pack. If something goes awry, or I find something out that you need to know, I will write; if not, I will see you after the meeting. My cipher will be what it always is: when Agrela falls.

  “So falls the world.” ?nnywella watches K?spar shut the door behind him. She turns to Kolaus. “Why are men like this?”

  Kolaus shrugs.

  Footnotes

  [1] “All that smock” is a phrase that refers to something useless, pointless, or filler. The term stems from the common flower ‘Maiden’s Smock,’ which serves no practical purpose other than simply existing and filling space.