They found Kairn in the library, where he was sorting through singed books. A feeling of guilt niggled at Isobel's mind as she saw the true extent of what her unstable magic had wrecked. The bookcases that had toppled over were standing again, but the floor was still littered with partially burnt pages and volumes. The Emissary of Ler looked up when they entered, and putting aside the book he was currently inspecting, he smiled.
"Ah, Nisa!" He came towards them. "I'm so happy to see that you're doing better. Yesterday was..." He shuddered. "Unpleasant. You've had some bad luck since arriving here."
She made a face. "That is quite the understatement. Definitely not what I had in mind when I came to visit Castel."
"Your brother must be beside himself." Kairn's face looked earnest in its concern, and she could sense no deceit from him. In fact, she could feel very few emotions at all. Some people were like that. Hard to read without physical touch and true effort. Boreas was like that as well.
"Castel is certainly not happy," the Spymaster said with wry amusement.
As if he hadn't even noticed the other man's presence before now, Kairn nodded towards him. "No brother would be, I imagine. I have no sisters, so I can't fully know, but the thought alone of something happening to Nisa is awful. And to think those men were right here under our noses! Do we know who they are?"
"Were," Boreas said, his voice tight. "I found them dead last night when I went to interrogate them."
Kairn's eyes widened. "Dead? But... How? They were guarded, were they not?"
"They were. We don't know who did it. But it would appear we have a traitor in Fort Mael, and we must find them as soon as possible." Boreas crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the taller man. "Where did you go after you left Castel's chambers yesterday?"
A surprised laugh escaped the Emissary. "What? Do you think I—" He shook his head as if things would suddenly make more sense, then sighed. "Fine. Fine. I realise you must consider everyone a suspect at this point."
"Everyone," Boreas agreed. "I will be speaking to every single soul at Fort Mael if I must."
"To answer your question, I went to the medic to get patched up," Kairn said. His hand touched his upper arm where he'd been injured. He frowned. "I was there for maybe an hour while waiting for the medic to finish treating some soldiers who got injured during training. Then he stitched me up and sent me on my way. After that, I had a meeting with Dorn. You can ask him if you need to."
Isobel walked over to him and placed a hand on his lower arm while looking up to meet his green eyes. "I wanted to thank you for saving me yesterday," she said, and she meant it. If he had not arrived when he had, who knew what might have happened?
He covered her hand with his and smiled down at her, his face softening. "I'm only glad I arrived when I did."
Searching his eyes, she could sense no deceit, no ill will. His hand on hers was warm, and she allowed herself to enjoy the touch for another moment before pulling back. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed Boreas watching them with a glint of interest in his gaze. Ignoring the Spymaster, she smiled at Kairn.
"Thank you again. I don't think I can ever repay you."
"Your safety is payment enough."
She motioned to the books strewn across the room. "Why don't I help you with this? It's the least I can do."
Kairn's face split into a wide grin. "I would never say no to help from a beautiful woman."
A strangled cough sounded behind them, and Isobel gave Boreas a quick scowl. She didn't need his input on flirting with this man.
"That's decided then," Boreas said, sounding rather amused. "I need Nisa to help me today, but I will share her with you tomorrow."
"I look forward to it." Kairn sketched a quick bow and winked at her.
When she left the library with Boreas a few moments later, she gave him an annoyed look. "I don't want to hear it."
He chuckled. "I said nothing."
"I can feel you judging me."
"Then your empath compass is off. I'm merely amused." He grinned at her. "That man is so obviously interested in you, Nisa."
"I noticed," she muttered. "And my compass isn't off. I can't pick up on everyone's emotions all the time. Unless they are unusually strong, I need to focus. Or touch you. But with some people, like you, even touch doesn't do much. Some people simply seem naturally harder to read, or are better at holding their emotions back."
Boreas shrugged. "In my case, it could be both. I am not an emotional person, but my years as a spy and later Spymaster have probably hardened me. I've seen a lot. Lost many."
Surprised by the sadness in his voice, she put her hand on his arm. "We all have. But I imagine in your profession it is even worse. I'm sorry for all you have lost."
"Oh." The Spymaster blinked. "It's fine. I'm used to it. Terrible thing to say, really, but it's true."
"Did you want me to come with you to talk to the High King's Envoy?" she asked, happy to change the subject. "And any other people you want."
"Yes. With some of your abilities back, it might be useful in case you glean anything I cannot."
The rest of the day yielded them nothing useful. There was one young soldier who made her feel as if he were hiding something, but she couldn't pick up on what it might be. It might be something sinister, but it could equally be that he was hiding an infatuation for someone or that he had eaten the last biscuit in the jar.
It was frustrating. They were getting nowhere.
And Castel was still avoiding her. Even at suppertime in the great hall, he seated himself as far away from her as possible. It would have been laughable had it not been so heartbreaking to see him sitting quietly staring into his bowl of stew. As always, her instinct was to make him feel better, but she couldn't. He wouldn't allow her.
The following few days followed the same pattern. She helped Boreas with interviewing everyone in Fort Mael. Her evenings were spent watching Castel from afar, except for the brief interlude when she and Boreas joined him in his chambers while she worked through the magic binding the old visions to his soul. It was a slow and painful process for both of them as fragments of his visions would flash before their eyes. Most were harrowing in their obvious intent of trying to break him, while others were downright erotic.
Those left her leaving the room flustered with heated cheeks. Boreas, her constant companion during these visits, never asked why she blushed, but she suspected he knew. There would be a telltale blush on Castel's cheeks as well, but he barely spoke while she worked her magic. In fact, he barely spoke at all, having retreated behind his walls.
She needed to return to Highglaive soon. They had requested her presence. But she didn't feel like she could leave while knowing there was a traitor at Fort Mael. She ought to report back to Highglaive to let them know she received their message, but she'd been stalling because she knew that once she sent that message, she would soon have to leave.
Her powers were slowly returning as well. The magic she'd absorbed from their attacker appeared to have boosted her recovery. A small glimmer of light in an otherwise rather dreary existence.
The only other positive note was her time spent with Kairn in the library, helping him clean it up. The charming Emissary had her smiling and laughing in a way she hadn't for quite some time, and the more time she spent with him, the less subtle his flirting got.
"Pittance for your thoughts?"
She smiled at Boreas, who stood next to her in Castel's chambers. They were waiting for the commander to return from a briefing with his senior soldiers. Tonight was most likely the last time she had to work with him on his visions. It was bittersweet. She was happy that he would be rid of the worst of the nightmares, but sad because this had been the only time she still got to be close to him. It wouldn't matter to him that she had unravelled the magic lingering inside him. That there was nothing left to trap him in a vision. He would not want to risk it.
"I think my thoughts are worth far more than a pittance," she teased, trying to keep the morose thoughts at bay.
Boreas chuckled. "You drive a hard bargain. Fine. I will offer a silver coin."
"You're out of luck—and a silver coin—because I wasn't thinking of anything." She flashed him a grin as she picked up the small, sword-shaped letter opener Castel had accidentally thrown at her once. Knowing today was the last time she might be close to him had her emotions twisted in a knot and she struggled to remain still.
"And yet, I don't believe you." But Boreas didn't push. He could probably tell how frazzled she was from how she kept picking up and putting down random items from the desk. "I know you must leave soon, but are you staying over Winter Solstice?"
She nodded. "That was my plan. There is another storm coming, so it would be foolish to leave before it has passed. Ideally, I'd also like to help you find the traitor here first."
"We're making no progress on that. Whoever it is has either left or is hiding extremely well for us to not find them, especially with your help." Boreas scratched his nose and his brow creased in thought. "I'm wondering if perhaps those two were the only ones. But then who killed them? Someone who was only here to dispose of them and has since left? We've had a few deserters. It's nothing out of the ordinary. This life at the edge of the known world is not for everyone, but maybe one of them was the very person we're looking for."
"A powerful magic user hiding among the troops and then leaving when their mission was done?" She considered it. "It's possible. I've spent little time among the soldiers, so would most likely not have come close enough to sense their presence. So you think they're long gone by now?"
"If I had just killed four men, I'd get my arse as far away as possible."
"That would explain why we can't find anyone suspicious." It also gave her no real excuse to stay any longer. Once the storm abated, it was time for her to leave. Why didn't that bring her any comfort? She should be relieved to move on. To continue searching for the godstones. And yet she could not bring herself to feel any joy about leaving.
The door opened behind them, and Castel strode inside, but he wasn't alone. A young man with windswept brown hair trailed in behind him.
Boreas shifted, suddenly alert. "Kris, when did you return from Dreadlands?"
The young man bowed his head, and snowflakes fell to the floor in a flurry. "Just now, Spymaster. I had to see you at once. I bear grim tidings."
Isobel's eyes flew to Castel, wondering if he had already heard the news, but his face gave nothing away. It was as if he had closed himself off completely, not only from her but from everyone.
"Well, spill, boy!" Boreas urged when the young agent said nothing.
Kris nodded towards her and Castel. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to report now or when we are alone."
"Now is fine," Boreas said. "Castel is the Commander of the High King's forces and will most likely need to be briefed in any case. And I trust you recognise his companion."
The young man took another look at her, and she knew exactly when he realised who she was. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Sorceress Isobel!" He bowed low. "I beg your pardon. I did not realise, I—"
"Enough, boy. Her presence here is a secret, so keep it to yourself." Boreas leaned back against the desk, affecting a relaxed stance, but Isobel could sense the coiled energy within. "Tell us what you've found."
"Right." Kris straightened. Snow still melted on the shoulders of his thick cloak. "I finally found one of their bases in Dreadlands. I counted six scores of soldiers and monsters, at least."
"Not as many as we had feared," Castel said. "Not nearly enough to march on Messina."
"That's just it." Kris's lips turned down in a grimace. "From what I could tell, this was not their main force, and Messina is not their target. Fort Mael is."
A feeling of unease settled across the room, and Isobel could feel it crawling up her spine like a skittering bug.
"Why Fort Mael?" Castel voiced what they were all thinking.
"If they have a larger army, getting rid of Fort Mael would be the first step to clearing their path to Messina," Boreas pointed out.
"No, Spymaster," Kris said. "I mean, that might be part of their reasoning, but I heard them say there was something here they needed. Something important. A key."
Castel and Boreas turned to her, and she fought back the icy grip of fear trying to gain a hold of her soul. They all knew what the key was. Who the key was.
"They want me."
~~~~~~