“You don’t think they’ll force us, do you?”

With a groan, Quilla opened her eyes. She had been peacefully dozing on her bed. “What?”

Annai was sitting on the edge of her bed looking glumly at Quilla. “Force us to get one of those horrid tattoos.”

Quilla propped herself up on an elbow. “I don’t know. Hopefully not.” Ulises had said he wouldn’t force them, but he’d brought it up every time she’d seen him the past two days, and he seemed to get more annoyed each time she said no. Forcing them was not outside the realms of possibility.

“I don’t think I could take that,” Annai said. “What would people think if they saw it? Good people, I mean. Not Darkers. It would be bad enough being caught with any tattoo, but that particular tattoo? I can’t do it, Quilla. I can’t.”

Quilla lowered herself back down and flopped onto her back. They’d been through this multiple times and there wasn’t anything else to say about it. Annai had gone on and on about it for the past couple days. When Quilla had first told her, she had practically blamed Quilla for it and on a few occasions since. Worse, her complaints were often about tattoos in general—how inappropriate they were for a princess, how lower-class they were. It was enough to make Quilla almost decide to get the goat skull tattoo. She wouldn’t, of course, but there were times…

“Are you listening to me?”

Damn. Was Annai still talking? What had Quilla missed? More about the tattoo, or something else?

When Annai wasn’t complaining about maybe being forced to get a tattoo, she was complaining about their accommodations—which were too plain and lower-class—or the woollen kirtle she’d been given to wear—also too plain and lower-class—or the food—again, too plain. The words plain and lower-class were so common in Annai’s complaints, they’d practically lost any meaning.

From Quilla’s perspective, she liked the plainness of the inn they were staying in. Sure, it wasn’t fancy, but it was far better than anywhere else they’d been the last couple weeks. The beds weren’t bug-ridden, and the sheets were clean. It wasn’t the warmest, but it was far better than having to sleep outside or even in the place Gabby had gotten them while working at the docks. It also didn’t attract attention, as both Quilla and Ulises had tried to tell Annai on multiple occasions. Even with dyed hair, Annai might be recognised at richer establishments. Here, they could be reasonably confident of going unnoticed.

“I said, are you listening to me?”

Oops, she’d done it again. Quilla almost wanted to laugh, but instead, she turned her head and forced a friendly smile. “Sorry. I’m just tired.”

Annai scowled. “That’s your excuse every time you stop listening to me. I’m getting tired of it.”

Quilla dropped the smile and sighed. “What am I supposed to do, Annai? We’ve been through these things a thousand times already. There’s nothing more to say.”

“You don’t even know what I said.”

“Let me guess. You don’t want the tattoo?”

Annai glared at her.

“Or is it the draught from the window?”

Annai continued to glare.

“You don’t like your hair colour?”

“Fuck you, Quilla.”

Quilla sat up. “Fine.” She was going to regret this. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Annai crossed her arms and kept her head lowered, but she peered over at Quilla. “I was just wondering whether we might actually leave today.”

Quilla shrugged. To be fair, this was not a topic Annai brought up much compared to the other things. “I have no idea. Maybe.”

“It’s taking so long! We’ve been here for days now.”

“Two and a half.”

“Whatever. It’s taking ages and I’m sick of sitting in this tiny room…”

And there came the usual complaints. Quilla paid them no mind and thought about lying down again, but a knock came from the door.

Annai fell silent and looked to the door.

“Coming!” Quilla pulled out the key and went to the door. It was probably Ulises or Jona—or maybe staff from the inn. Nobody else came knocking at their door. Nevertheless, she kept it locked just in case. “Who is it?”

A voice she didn’t recognise responded, “A friend with oranges and cherries aplenty. Time to feast.”

“One moment.”

Annai leapt to her feet and fetched a dagger from the table by Quilla’s bed and brought it over to her. She then returned to her bed and pulled out her sword from under it. Then she nodded to Quilla.

Gripping the dagger in one hand and the key in the other, Quilla breathed slowly. The person on the other side of the door had given the correct passcode to identify them as someone in Ulises’s employ, but they couldn’t be too careful. She slid the key into the lock, turned it, then opened the door.

A figure in a hooded winter cloak strode past Quilla into the room, pulling off gloves. The person then pulled back the hood of the cloak, revealing a head shaved on each side with only a line of red hair down the middle. She looked about the room. Her eyes paused briefly on Annai, then stopped on Quilla. Her mouth turned up in a hint of a smile. “I’m in awe.”

“Of me?” Quilla said.

The woman’s smiled broadened. “Of course of you.” She stepped forward, arms wide, as if to hug Quilla, apparently unconcerned about the dagger in Quilla’s hand. She stopped just short of the dagger’s point, and clasped Quilla’s shoulders. She sniffed the air, her eyes closing momentarily as she sighed contentedly. “The Catalyst. I can’t imagine anyone I’d be more in awe of. Not even Night himself, I’d wager.”

She had deep blue eyes and light skin that, at first, suggested she was a Folith, but there was a hint of pale brown that suggested she had some Eloorin blood as well. She had several small scars on her face and head, and on the right side of her neck, a little above the shoulder was a tattoo of a goat skull. It was small, but surprisingly out in the open. There was a hint of another tattoo below it, but obscured by her cloak.

“Like it?” the woman asked.

Quilla gulped. “Isn’t it...um…?”

“A little obvious?”

“Yeah.”

The woman grinned. “From a distance, no one can tell what it is. Even if they’re up close enough to make out details, most people don’t know its significance, and if they do…” She let go of Quilla and made an exaggerated shrug. The back of each hand had a dagger-shaped tattoo on it. “I don’t care. It’s kind of fun.”

“Excuse me,” Annai said, “who are are you?”

The woman turned. “I take it you’re Annai.”

Annai raised her sword a little. “I am, and if you know who I am, you know the proper form of address—”

“Just as bitchy as I was warned, I see.” The woman turned back to Quilla. “Now, Catalyst—”

“Excuse me?”

The woman spun round again and stepped towards Annai, hands out. “Now look, Princess. I don’t care—”

Annai levelled her sword at the woman, the point just touching her jerkin. “Back off. I know how to use this, you know.”

The woman raised her hands, palm out, and stepped back. As Annai relaxed her stance a little, the woman leapt around the blade and behind Annai. In a flash, she twisted Annai’s arm behind her back, and the sword clattered to the floor. Annai screamed and tried to struggle, but the woman held her fast.

Quilla took a step towards them, but stopped. The woman had no weapon drawn. She was only holding Annai.

“Let’s get something straight,” the woman said. “I don’t care who you are, or what your titles are. I don’t give a damn about you.” She twisted Annai’s arm a little more and turned her to face Quilla. “I’m here to protect the Catalyst. That’s my sole purpose. However, I’m told she wants you alive as well, so I’ll protect you too. I won’t let any harm come to you for as long as the Catalyst wants you safe. But I am no one’s servant, especially not yours. I will not bend the knee, curtsy, call you Highness, or any other bullshit. Got it?”

Annai whimpered something, tears pouring down her face.

“What was that, bitch? Speak properly.”

“Yes!” Annai gasped. “I got it! I got it!”

The woman let go of Annai and shoved her aside. Annai collapsed on her bed, sobbing.

The woman untied her cloak and tossed it over Annai, then turned to Quilla. “I hope you got it too. I will defend you with my life, but I’m not your servant.”

Quilla nodded. “Yeah, got it, but would it kill you to tell us who you are?”

The woman snorted. “I suppose not, but the Princess’s reputation precedes her. I thought it best to get certain things out of the way right from the start. I’m—”

“Ah! I see you’ve already met Veronique. Excellent.” Ulises strode into the room. “I wasn’t sure if she’d arrived yet.”

“You can call me Vern,” Veronique said.

Two men followed Ulises into the room. One of them, a short, mousy man with a mop of curly grey hair flopped down on the end of Quilla’s bed. The other…

Sam?

The other looked like Sam, one of Dyle’s right-hand men. But Sam was dead. Rudiger had cut him in half right in front of Quilla. She could still feel the blood splatter on her.

“You all right?” Sam said, looking at her.

Quilla shook her head. “No, I just…”

Ulises made a wide gesture towards Sam. “Let me introduce Tarm.”

Wait. Not Sam?

He then made an equally large gesture towards the other man. “And Jakka.”

Quilla took a closer look at Tarm. No, he wasn’t Sam. He looked almost identical—tall, muscular, bald—but not exactly the same. Sam’s nose had been crooked from having been broken in the past. This man’s nose was prominent and straight. “I’m sorry,” she said to him. “You just look like someone I know. I was taken aback for a moment.”

The big man laughed. “I get it. You must be thinking of my brother, Sam. As Mister Aderman’s wife, you must have met him.”

His brother. That explained it.

“We’re twins, so it’s easy to mix it up. How’s Sam doing? Haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Oh, he’s...uh…” What was she supposed to say? She looked to Ulises.

“We’re not entirely sure,” Ulises said. “Naturally, he’s with Mister Aderman, but Mister Aderman is currently keeping his location secret. Not even his wife knows where he is right now.”

“I’m not—” No. Quilla clamped her mouth shut. There might be an advantage to letting these people think she was still Dyle’s wife. “I mean, Sam was fine last I saw him. He’s always good to me, and my favourite of Dyle’s men.” The last bit wasn’t entirely untrue. She’d never liked Sam, but she disliked him less than the rest of Dyle’s cronies.

Tarm grinned. “Sam’s a good guy.”

“Can we get to the bonding?” Veronique said. “There’ll be lots of time for reminiscing on the road.”

“Bonding?” Quilla said.

“Yes, you and me. We…” Veronique looked at Ulises. “You haven’t told her?”

Ulises straightened up with a sigh. “I only received confirmation you’d accepted the job last night. I haven’t had a chance to tell her anything yet.”

Veronique rolled her eyes. “Go on then.”

Ulises straightened his tunic and cleared his throat.

Quilla lowered her head to hide a smile. She was starting to like this Veronique, if only because of her ability to keep assholes in line.

“Veronique here will be your bodyguard for your journey. She has received a very unique blessing from the Lord of Darkness himself. She can create a bond with her charge. It allows her to sense when you are in danger and grants her exceptional strength and agility when defending your life.”

“Yes, so let’s get the bonding done, shall we?” Veronique stepped up in front of Quilla and held up her hands. “Don’t worry. It’s easy and straight-forward, and only takes a moment.”

Ulises extended an arm. “Yes, but there’s—”

Veronique pushed his hand aside. “Shut up, Ulises. This is my time. Catalyst, give me your hands please.”

Quilla raised her hands a little, but hesitated.

“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt. Or, at least, it shouldn’t. I’ll admit, you being the Catalyst could have an effect on this, but it shouldn’t be bad. I’m kind of excited about it, myself.” Veronique smiled.

There was something oddly comforting about her smile, so Quilla raised her hands and Veronique took them in her own.

They stood there, staring into each other’s eyes, Veronique’s a deep, mesmerising blue. A few moments later, Veronique’s smile started to droop and her eyes fell. She let go of Quilla’s hands. “What the fuck?”

“Is there a problem?” Quilla asked.

Veronique rounded on Ulises. “She doesn’t have a tattoo. How the hell does she not have a tattoo?”

Ulises raised his hands defensively. “I was trying to warn you of that.”

“Are you telling me she’s not a Servant?” Veronique turned to Quilla again, leaning in close enough that Quilla could feel her breath on her face. “You’re not a Servant?”

Quilla backed up a step, but held her head high. “No. Why would I be?”

“You’re the Cat—” She threw her hands up and turned around. “Fuck!” She paced back and forth several times, while Jakka laughed his head off. She glared at him.

“What’s the matter?” Jakka said, getting his laughter under control. “The great Veronique not getting the crowning achievement of her career?”

“Fuck you, asshole,” Veronique said, then pressed herself close to Ulises, glaring up at him. “You should have told me.”

“I tried.”

“I mean before now. It should have been in your original communication.”

Ulises stared down at her. “Honestly, I assumed you would already know, and if you didn’t, telling you would make you less likely to accept.”

“I don’t like being played games with. You should have told me.”

Ulises raised his hands and stepped back. “Then I apologise. Are you refusing the assignment?”

Veronique glowered for a moment. “No, I’ll do it.” She turned to Quilla. “I’ll protect you, Catalyst—with my life, if necessary—but I strongly suggest you get a tattoo. I can even do it for you. I’m a pretty good tattooist if I say so myself.”

Quilla crossed her arms and shook her head. “No.”

With a scowl, Veronique wagged a finger in Quilla’s face. “Be it on your own head then. I’ll protect you, Catalyst, and in most situations, there won’t be a problem, because I am damned good at what I do, even without Night’s blessing. But know that there are forces in this world that, as a good as I am, I won’t stand a chance against. If we come up against them, I’ll give my life in your defence, but I will die, and you’ll be taken by them for whatever they have planned for you. So you better pray to your gods of light we don’t encounter them. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it,” Quilla said.

“Good.” Still scowling, Veronique went over and leaned against the wall by one of the wardrobes. “Let’s get everything else taken care of, shall we?”

Ulises clapped his hands together. “Excellent. Lady Steranovist, perhaps you’d like to sit and be comfortable?”

Quilla sighed. She wanted to be stubborn and refuse, but she’d probably start pacing if she did that, so she walked over to her bed and stared down at Jakka.

“Your bed?” he said.

She only continued to stare.

“Don’t worry, I’ll move.” He jumped to his feet and crossed over to Annai’s bed where Annai still lay, mostly covered by Veronique’s heavy cloak.

As Jakka sat down, Annai sat up, pushing the cloak aside.

Jakka jumped back to his feet. “Your Highness! My apologies. I didn’t know you were there. You are clearly an expert at stealth.”

Annai glared at him. “Are you mocking me?”

Jakka gasped. “Never, your Highness. All right, I confess, I knew you were there, but I’m merely trying to jest, not mock. I apologise if it came off as mocking.” He bowed low to her. “I will make it up to you in any way I can. You need simply name it.”

“Oh, well, fine then. I forgive you. You...you may sit at the end of the bed if you wish.”

Jakka bowed again. “Thank you, your Highness.” He sat on the end of the bed.

“Shall we get started then, your Highness?” Ulises said.

Annai straightened her back. “Yes, of course, Ulises. Please proceed.”

Quilla slowly sat as Ulises began.

“Your Highness, my Lady, these are the people who will get you out of Arnor City, off the island, and to a safe location. As you know, Veronique will be Lady Steranovist’s personal bodyguard. Jakka here will be your guide. He also knows the right people to talk to in the towns and cities you’ll pass. And Tarm here is extra muscle. He will defend both of you as devotedly as Veronique.”

“Surely it would be good to have a few more people,” Annai said, “if it’s as dangerous as you say it will be.”

Ulises shook his head. “Too large a group will attract attention, your Highness, and we want to avoid that. Jakka and I have discussed it in great detail, and we agree the three of them provide your best odds of survival.”

Jakka leaned towards Annai in a sort of seated bow. “Fear not, your Highness. Your safety is our utmost concern. You’ll reach your destination alive.”

“And where are we going?” Quilla asked.

“Collogia,” Ulises said.

“Ugh,” Annai said. “Collogia is a horrid place. I had to go there once as a girl. Even the lord’s palace is a dump. And if you think Arnor City gets cold, you haven’t experienced anything. It is bitterly cold up there.”

“Why Collogia?” Quilla asked. There was an advantage to going to Collogia. It wasn’t horribly far out of the way of Quorge. If, once they were on the mainland, she and Annai could get away from the Darkers, they could head directly to Quorge, maybe even get there before anyone caught up to them.

“It was either Collogia or Lockanith,” Ulises said. “They are both strongholds of Darkers loyal to Mister Aderman, but Collogia is closer. It also doesn’t have a king-in-residence and, apologies your Highness, but it is best you stay away from your brother.”

Annai scowled.

“But Collogia is also the place where the next Dusk Supreme will be chosen,” Tarm said. “There’ll be Servants from the other factions showing up there as well. It’s pretty risky taking the Catalyst that close to them.”

“Wait,” Quilla said. “You didn’t even tell them where we were going?”

“Jakka and I only finalised our choice this morning,” Ulises said. “There wasn’t time to tell Tarm, and Veronique came straight here on her arrival. To address your concerns, Tarm, the Dusk Supreme—may he live and reign forever—is not dead yet. Anyone planning for his replacement is engaged in heresy.”

Tarm rolled his eyes. “Oh come on. Everyone’s planning for his death. We here all support Dyle Aderman for next Dusk Supreme. We wouldn’t be here otherwise. You want us to protect the Catalyst. Very good. I’m happy to do that, which is why I have concerns. Our people will be there, sure, but so will the people we need to protect her from. So why take her right into it?”

“Because Jakka showed me something yesterday that I didn’t know before.” Ulises turned to Jakka, who bounced to his feet.

With a bow to Annai, Jakka said, “Your Highness, my Lady, I don’t know how much you know of the prophecies concerning the Catalyst.”

“I’m aware I’m the Catalyst and that’s something important,” Quilla said.

Jakka nodded. “Oh, very important, my Lady. A lesser known part of the prophecies says that the Catalyst will be present for the choice of the next Dusk Supreme. I’m not sure even Mister Aderman knows of this part.”

“Then how do you know?” Quilla asked.

Jakka smiled, then bowed.

Quilla stared at him for a moment. “No answer?”

Ulises cleared his throat. “Jakka has shown me the relevant passage. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“That’s just ridiculous,” Annai said. “Jakka, you said you would do anything to make it up to me for mocking me, so now’s the time. Tell me how you know this.”

Jakka placed a hand on his chest, and lowered his head sadly. “Your Highness, I said I would do anything in my power. Alas, this is outside my power.”

“Nonsense. I demand you tell me.”

Jakka shook his head. “There are some oaths that I simply cannot break, your Highness, not even for one as noble as you.” He bowed and sat back down.

“Fine, we’ll go to Collogia,” Annai said, “but surely what you’ve said means we should have more people for our protection.”

“Once you reach Collogia,” Ulises said, “there will be many more there to protect you. You needn’t worry.”

Annai groaned. “Fine.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea,” Tarm said.

“Your objections are noted, Tarm,” Ulises said, “but the decision is made. You have your job. You will perform it.”

“Oh, I’ll perform it,” Tarm grumbled. “Like Vern said earlier, I’ll give my life to keep the Catalyst safe, but you’re stacking the deck against us, making it more likely I do die protecting. And when we’re all dead, she’s fucked.”

Ulises glared at him for a few moments. “Finished?”

Tarm nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m finished.”

“Good. You, Jakka, and I have some work to do gathering provisions for your journey. You leave first thing tomorrow morning. Jakka?”

Jakka bounded to his feat again, and gave a flourishing bow to Annai. “Your Highness, my heart aches to leave you even temporarily, but I will return in the morning. In the meantime, I leave you in Veronique’s capable hands.” He backed away while still bowing, and nearly bumped into Tarm.

Tarm rolled his eyes and followed Ulises out the door. Jakka took a little longer backing through the door, still in his bow. Once he was out the door, he straightened up and walked away.

Quilla got up and closed and locked the door. Gods, she hated all this bullshit. All this secrecy and refusal to answer questions with straight-forward answers. She had a mind to, once they were out of Arnor City, smash Jakka’s head into a rock a few times until he told her what the fuck was going on. Alas, she probably didn’t have the strength to do that. Maybe she could convince Veronique to do it. Veronique didn’t seem to like Jakka much either.

“I still think he’s mocking me,” Annai said.

Veronique barked a laugh. “You think?”

Annai sneered at her.

At least Annai was learning.