A Jewel Bright Sea. Claire O'Dell

in time. I had to extricate myself from a most uncomfortable situation. However, he did prove very useful in keeping me extricated. I shall have to commend both you and him to my father.”

      “That’s good to know.” Raab glanced at the half dozen men lying in a heap on the stable floor. “My apologies for neglecting you, Lady Vrou. I thought it best to question these idiots. Perhaps I did wrong.”

      “No, you showed good sense,” Anna said. “Koszenmarc might’ve murdered these men to keep them quiet.”

      Maté was frowning. “They look drunk.”

      “Drugged is more likely.” Raab prodded one of the men with his boot.

      Anna wrinkled her nose at the smell. “Disgusting. But I suppose we must summon a healer for them. Which one of you volunteers for this errand?”

      “Neither,” Maté said. “My Lady Vrou, let me send one of the stable hands. We can question the men ourselves before the healer doses them. First impressions are often important in matters such as this one.”

      Meaning, Anna needed to examine the men for any magical clues before a healer erased those traces with their own magic.

      “Very well,” she murmured in a dissatisfied voice.

      She settled herself on a bale of hay. Raab ordered one of the stable boys to fetch a neighborhood healer or surgeon, whichever one proved the least expensive. The rest he dismissed back to their duties. Once that was accomplished, he and Maté searched through the guards’ clothes.

      “No extra cash,” Raab said. “They weren’t bribed, which is as much as we expected. Lady Iljana, if you wish to make your own inspection, this one might prove useful. He’s the man I put in charge of the others, to my everlasting regret. Kovács and I will question him afterwards.”

      Anna knelt by the man Raab had indicated. He was older than the rest by a few years, but still young to her eyes. His hair was matted and greasy, and the stink of sweat and sour wine wafted up from his clothes.

      She placed her fingertips over the man’s eyes and lips.

      Ei rûf ane gôtter. Ei rûf ane strôm. Lâzen mir sihen der gëste.

      As her perception drifted down and away from the present, a queasy sensation washed over her and her mouth filled with the harsh taste of cheap wine, which barely disguised the tang of raw herbs. Were they fools, not to recognize the wine had been drugged? Or no, the taste changed within a moment to something sweeter, softer. That was the work of magic.

      She thought she recognized Koszenmarc’s own signature—it reminded her of gemstones catching sunlight, bright flashes with darkness in between. Another signature lay underneath his, a sharper, stronger one that reminded her of the healer Thea, the one aboard Koszenmarc’s ship.

      Her own thoughts faded, subsumed by the guard’s memories and emotions.

      ...the glimpse of a dark brown man offering him a flask. She recognized Koszenmarc’s face, his pale eyes narrowed with humor. A sense of trust and camaraderie washed over her, as the stranger tipped back his own flask and drank. “To us,” Koszenmarc said. “To a fine day and bright futures.”

      There was an argument about who deserved the next swallow, but Koszenmarc immediately produced a second flask. The leather was warm from the sun, the wine sweet and cool. It wasn’t until she took a second, longer drink that a sudden chill exploded in her stomach and dizziness gripped her. She knew, the guard knew, the wine had been drugged. Someone caught him, dragged him into the alley behind the stables. He struggled but his arms and legs wouldn’t obey.

      As the guard’s consciousness faded, Anna undid the bonds between them, like cutting stitches from a seam. One last glimpse of the past carried over, not of sight but sound. Koszenmarc’s laughter.

      She released a long, slow breath and murmured another spell to erase her signature. When she opened her eyes, she found both men watching her intently.

      “What did you see?” Raab demanded.

      “Exactly what we guessed. Koszenmarc drugged them, and those fools let him.”

      Raab grunted. “We ought to question them anyway. Maybe we can pick out a few details. Find out what Koszenmarc planned for us.”

      For me, Anna thought. But she did not correct him.