“Do these new people know each other?”

“Not so’s I could tell. Don’t see them talking or traveling together.”

Celyn put down the water jug. “Thanks, Stenam.”

“Everything all right?” Stenam called after him as Celyn strode away.

“Aye. Everything’s fine. Thanks.”

But Celyn was lying. He didn’t think a damn thing was fine.

Briec found Fearghus standing outside the tower in progress staring off into the distance.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Annwyl’s gone missing.”

Briec threw up his hands. “I warned all of you she wouldn’t—”

“Quiet, quiet,” Fearghus said softly before forcing a grin.

Princess Agrippina walked past them. “Prince Fearghus. Prince Briec.”

“My lady,” the brothers said together.

“Off for a walk?” Briec asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t have guards?”

“I have no intention of going far.” She faced the two dragons. “I promised my brother I’d stay. And stay I will.”

“Stop acting like you’re doing us a bloody favor—ow! Those are my ribs you’re banging with your pointy elbow, brother.”

“What my brother Briec means to say, Princess, is that all we care about is your safety.”

“Of course you do. But I’m sure that . . .” Agrippina’s words suddenly faded away and she wrapped her fur cloak tighter around her human shoulders.

“Princess? Are you all right?”

She glanced up at the sky. “Yes. Of course. I just . . .” She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

Fearghus watched the Western royal walk off, wondering what she’d sensed.

“You want to go look for Annwyl?” Briec asked.

“You’ll come with me?” Fearghus couldn’t help but be surprised by the offer.

“Gods know, you can’t drag that woman back here by yourself.”

Fearghus laughed. “Good point. Should we tell the others?”

“No. They’ll just panic. And we shouldn’t be too long. Doubt she got far.”

Talaith walked through the Great Hall, stopping to look around. The room was unusually empty and everything was so . . . quiet.

Talaith walked back to the big front doors and stepped out onto the steps. A servant was walking up, smiling and nodding at Talaith.

“My Lady Talaith.”

“Hello, Jenna. Is something going on?”

“M’lady?”

Talaith gestured with her hand at the empty courtyard. “It’s so quiet today. No one around. Just wondering if I’d missed news of a street fair in town or something.”

“No, m’lady.”

“All right. Thank you, Jenna.”

“Of course, m’lady.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Talaith shook her head. “Living my life with these dragons and Annwyl has made me paranoid and unreasonably crazy.”

She turned to go back inside when . . . wait . . . wait . . .

Talaith spun back, her arms tightening around her body, her gaze searching.

It was like a blanket had settled over her, muting everything around her. She doubted anyone else would notice it. It was magickal and powerful. Extremely powerful.

She couldn’t touch it.

Talaith closed her eyes and called out to Rhiannon, but there was nothing.

But . . . but perhaps Rhiannon had noticed on her own.

Of course. She must have noticed. What could possibly distract her from something so dangerous?

“You are ridiculous,” Rhiannon accused her sister-by-mating as they stood by Rhiannon’s throne. “I am not after your mate. I adore dear Bram, but it’s not like that.”

“Then why are you always hugging him? Throwing your scales at him.”

“I am doing no such thing!” Rhiannon snapped back as she waved her claws at what felt like bugs or something buzzing around her face.

“That’s what it looks like to me!”

“My good ladies,” one of the Elders tried to interrupt, but he quickly stepped back when the tips of two tails slashed at him, nearly taking his snout off.

“Keep out of this,” Rhiannon ordered before focusing again on Ghleanna. “And trust me, sister, if I wanted your mate, I would have had him a long time ago.”

Ghleanna’s snout twitched before she growled, “You haughty cow.”

Celyn caught up with Stenam’s son and the boy’s friends about a mile or so outside of town.

“Hello, Robert,” Celyn called out with a wave.

“Hello, Lord Celyn!”

The boys ran over to Celyn, and he crouched in front of them, all about ten to twelve years old, and covered in a good amount of dirt from their play.

Celyn leaned in and said in a low voice, “I heard you’ve been spying a bit. On the search for evil, eh?”

“We have. We don’t like the look of these new people coming in and out of town, do we, boys?”

The boys all nodded in agreement.

“So what have you seen? Anything strange?”

“Nothing at first. Some of the new people went right to Queen Annwyl’s Tower of Death for work with the stonemason.” Celyn didn’t even bother to waste time cringing at that, and instead let the boy continue. “But then we started noticing that some of the men . . . they were handing off notes.”