“I’m sure.”

“And you know I don’t like to spread rumor or gossip.”

“Of course not, brother. And I only ask because I sense the gods are trying to tell me something. I’m just not sure what. But I knew if there was one person who could help…it was Brother Simon.”

“Oh. Well.” It was sad, really. How the monk couldn’t resist the compliment. Which was why Ragnar used the man for information, but never returned the favor. At least not with any information that could do any real damage.

Simon leaned forward, and Ragnar did the same. “There have been rumors.”

“Yes?”

“That that particular bookstore is a cover for—”

“An orgy den? A prostitution ring? A sex-slave commune?” Simon blinked. “Uh…no.”

Feeling foolish, Ragnar explained, “Sorry. Again, it was that sense I got.”

“I understand, but it’s nothing that interesting, I’m afraid, brother.

Actually, the rumors I’ve heard are almost silly, but…I have heard it said that the bookstore is a cover, or a front, you might say…for a guild.”

“A thief’s guild?” Ragnar asked bluntly, thinking of Keita’s constantly growing wardrobe.

“No, no. A spy guild.”

Ragnar sat up straight, his chair making noises that suggested it wouldn’t last much longer, but Ragnar didn’t care. He was too blindsided by Brother Simon’s words. “A spy guild?”

“Aye. But as I said, it’s just a rumor.”

Just a rumor indeed. Yet a rumor that Princess Keita would easily believe. And he knew why, too. Because she probably liked the idea of bedding spies. Spies who could use her to find out information about the courts of the two queens. He wanted to ask, “Could she be so stupid not to see that?” But then he already had the answer to that question, didn’t he?

She was too stupid to see that.

Ragnar did, however, wonder how far Keita would go to keep her bed filled with “spies.” Would she simply provide information to her lovers or actually search information out? What had she already told? Was Esyld suffering now because her niece had become bed acquaintances with those who would harm her? Ragnar really didn’t know.

Although he did realize that he longed for the days when he didn’t have to deal with the royal Fire Breathers.

Gorlas watched one of his favorite beings pace restlessly around his private office. He clearly remembered when Keita had first wandered into his store. She’d been a bored student then, but with one look, Gorlas knew that sitting at a desk all day, listening to boring old professors give lectures, wasn’t the life for this beauty. Within a few days, the only classes she attended were his. Along with her Eastland friend, Ren of the Chosen. Both of them beautiful, smart, and devious. And considering the path Keita truly wanted to take, it was a perfect match for all of them.

Too bad she continued to forget the most important thing he’d always tried to teach her—her mother was not to be f**ked with. Something Keita refused to believe. And now…now she was here.

“What the f**k was Esyld thinking?” Keita demanded. “She couldn’t keep her lovers in the Outerplains? She had to come here to meet them?”

“Calm down.”

“I will not calm down! Has she lost her mind? Has old age set in early? She’s going to get both of us killed!”

“Keita—”

She rested her hands on her hips. “Where?” Keita demanded. “Where was she meeting him? Here? In a rented chateau? At the queen’s favorite human pub? Where was this dumb female settling in to meet her lover so that everyone who reports to my mother could see her clearly? Where, Gorlas?”

“She was staying at Castle Moor.”

Keita gasped, reached back for her chair, and dropped into it. “No!

You must be wrong.”

“That’s where she was sighted by my people. More than once.”

“My aunt was at Castle Moor?”

“I’d assumed you’d sent her there. It’s the one safe place I know when one wants to be discreet.”

“But…” she said, still dazed. “Castle Moor? My aunt?” Smirking, Gorlas relaxed back in his chair. “I must say I’m a little surprised by the tone, Keita. Coming from you, I mean.”

“It would surprise no one that I have been to Castle Moor…several times. Or that I’m on a first-name basis with your oddly alluring fellow elf, Athol. But Esyld is not me.”

“It is a smart choice.” Castle Moor was far removed from Southland politics and the notice of either the Dragon Queen or her human counterpart, the Mad Queen of Garbhán Isle. For enough coin, anyone looking to have some private time with a lover or lovers could find it at Castle Moor. And Athol, lord of the manor, was well known for keeping his mouth shut.

Gorlas only knew who came and went because he made it his business to know, and he didn’t spread around what he heard.

“I guess that’s true,” Keita said “Do you think she’s there now?”

“It’s possible, but I haven’t exactly been monitoring your aunt.” Perhaps he should have, but he’d never thought the dragoness would be so foolish as to get caught. Now Gorlas wished he’d contacted Keita and told her what he knew, but he thought her aunt simply had desires that needed to be filled. He knew it must be hard to live all alone in the Outerplains with nothing but your herbs, spells, and forest animals to keep you company.