The Prince's Mark

Chapter Thirty One

Tracou averted his gaze. He was stuck with Ina and Pendaer, even if Yash didn't understand exactly why.

"Right..."

"Are all dezmek so easily taken advantage of?"

How rude! Tracou glared up at Yash, whose eyebrows twitched in surprise. Damn. He was supposed to be getting on Yash's good side, not getting angry at him! Tracou bit the inside of his cheek.

"They... have my wand."

"I could have them searched. Then you would be free to spend your money as you wish."

That offer was too late, but if it had been an option earlier he would have taken it. Tracou eyed the door, imagining the shock and outrage Pendaer would have felt if some humans he had never met had forced him to hand Tracou's wand back to him. What a missed opportunity.

Yash followed Tracou's gaze to the door and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Are you worried they're listening?"

"I know they're listening."

"Hah, I see. Let's turn to other matters, then. From Ergakan to Terel, how long—?"

But a knock coming from the other side of the room, hidden by cloth, interrupted Yash. An elderly voice asked something in Winlean, to which Yash replied with words that slid from his mouth as though he had said them a thousand times before.

The towers in the Frosted Castle were all connected. If Yash was in one of them, who were in the others?

The two spoke for a while before the voice retreated.

"There's something I must attend to," Yash said, rolling up the map of Dezmer. "You're welcome to stay in the castle, though—in fact, I insist."

Tracou, who had been staring at the cloth, snapped his head back to face Yash. "My companions, too?"

"I'd rather they didn't stay... Ah, but you want them around because they have your wand. I understand. Choose one, then speak to Karthik—the boy who brought you up to me earlier—and tell him that I'm letting you and one other stay. You can do whatever you wish, within reason, but be ready for me to call on you again. Is that acceptable?"

He didn't have a choice. If he tried to push to keep both Ina and Pendaer in the castle with him, Yash might call the whole thing off and tell him to come back another day.

"Yes, that's fine."

"Excellent. Perhaps I'll call you for dinner," Yash said as he approached the room divider. He lifted up the cloth and was gone in a moment, much too fast for Tracou to catch a glimpse of what was on the other side.

After the sound of a door scraping against the floor faded, Tracou let out a sigh of relief. He drifted over to the exit, turned the knob, and jolted as the door lurched toward him. Pendaer, his ear pressed against the wood, lost his balance and nearly fell forward with a yelp. Ina grabbed his arm and yanked him back just enough to get Pendaer upright again. He coughed, turning away from the other two, but Ina had to be used to the lack of gratitude by now.

"Pendaer relayed everything he could hear for me. He wants Dezmerian goods, huh?"

Tracou closed the door behind him. "I guess so. More importantly, only one of you gets to stay... Who should it be?"

"Obviously me," Pendaer huffed. "What kind of stupid question is that?"

"I bet he'd make you leave if I told him I wanted Ina to stay."

"You aren't going to do that. What does Ina offer that I don't?"

Tracou couldn't keep a lopsided smirk off of his face. "Do you want a list?"