Ann was glad to finally get home. She thought she’d never be so happy to see the palace. She’d hated it growing up. Between the abuse and being looked down on by almost everyone, she’d been miserable. When she’d been forced to return home after running away, the abuse had lessened but the stares and whispers increased. She’d done her best to avoid being there as much as possible. It wasn’t until she’d finally met Andy that thing started to improve for her. She also missed Cari. They’d been apart too much lately. She wanted better for the girl than what she’d had. Cari had a lot more family looking out for her. She apparently had adopted John as another uncle, and decided Rejenn and Cesni were another pair of grandparents since they were her uncle’s sister’s parents. But it wasn’t so much the palace or Cari that made her anxious but to get back to Menthanla, or more importantly get Jo and Cari back to their bonded. And to get away from the feds that had been watching them the whole time. She was losing her patience with a lot of people these days. She often struggled to keep her temper that she had never really learned to control. As Drepal, she’d often taken it out on trolls. The bond she had with Kith and the one she now had with Andy helped. She would draw on their calm. But, if Andy got upset, she would feed off it. She was wondering if she should talk with Jo when she heard voices. *** John followed Nim and Pt’this to Nim’s study and Pt’this shut the door, activating the protections on the room. “Shades of night, what is that?” John asked, feeling the shields. “Spells to protect against any and all forms of eavesdropping,” Nim explained. “Who did these?” “Mishtali, Ann, and I did,” Pt’this said. “I think if Nim hadn’t been laid up at the time, Ann would’ve had him augmenting all the spells on top of it.” “She said she was shielding it like a lab. No magic gets in or out, nor can telepathy. Morina and Chapado can’t even get past them,” Nim added. “Or so they claim. I’m more inclined to trust Tercala. He thinks he can do it, but doesn’t want to mess up any of the spells,” Pt’this countered. “Ann’s lab and study and the potion room all have these protections. They’re the safest places to talk.” “So what are we meeting for?” John asked. He clearly didn’t like the room. Pt’this couldn’t blame him. He didn’t like it either. “Nim, did the council give you your assignment yet?” Nim shook his head. “I was told that, for now, just to keep watching for violations, but they would give me something soon. I told them the wedding was a month and a half ago. If they don’t give me something soon, I’ll get a place in town, near the school.” “You told the council that?” John looked shocked. “My assignment was supposed to be for a month, seven years ago. The council and I have never gotten along. They know I won’t be the sycophant you were.” John frowned. “Sycophant?” “What else would you call it? You did anything and everything they said. Withdrawing from the war is the only thing you ever disobeyed them on.” John nodded. It was true. “That doesn’t matter,” Pt’this pointed out. “The reason I asked you two to meet me here is my concern about the council. As Nim said, he doesn’t get along with them. Neither do I. Yet here we both are as their representatives. I started thinking about this a number of years ago, when we found Thailyn. We were talking about how he’d been hiding from the council and they wouldn’t let him heal or even visit Mirimar.” “What?” John frowned. “That’s a violation of several treaty laws.” Pt’this nodded. “But Thailyn didn’t know that. They’d also told him I blamed him for the accident, since he was the one who’d delayed you getting back so he wouldn’t go to me for help. And they told him Mirimar would be banished if he had any contact with her. “I believe they would’ve tried. They were upset that I brought her for healing. They almost wouldn’t let the healers work on her, so I told them she was my mate.” “You weren’t?” Nim asked, surprised. Pt’this shook his head. “Not for almost another year, when she was done with the healers.” “No wonder she couldn’t help you, no bond.” “No bond,” Pt’this agreed. “They also told Thailyn that any children he had would be banished when they came of age.” “Is that why Emeton adopted Ann?” John guessed. Pt’this nodded. “Ann was twenty-four before it came out. By then, she’d already killed Lyra and saved the elven children, and she was a princess. If they tried to banish her for something her father had done, there would’ve been a revolt.” “But this is about Thailyn,” John said. “It is,” Pt’this agreed. “And I didn’t know the extent they had gone. But while we were talking, I made the offhand comment about me, always being in trouble with the council. Thing is, it’s true. There always mad at me for one thing or another, usually minor things like a report being late. It’s why I lived in Sen-gan rather than Baj-tisk with Mirimar and Kith.” “They’ve disliked you right along. When your magic was out of control, they ordered you killed. Kar begged them to let him try to train you first. I was surprised to learn they’d made you an ambassador.” Pt’this frowned and looked at Nim. “You said they gave him a choice, and they wouldn’t have actually done it.” “You would go mad-dragon if someone looked at you wrong,” Nim explained. “I wasn’t going to tell you that someone wanted you killed.” “So who actually asked Mishtali to mentor me?” “I did. I was the only one who could talk with him. It was my idea. Kar didn’t like it, but he accepted it because he knew he was getting nowhere.” “So the council doesn’t like me. So they sent me here. “Nim became a hermit. He wouldn’t go to Baj-tisk for anything, except the intruder alarms. Ann had been branded by Lyra. So when I brought her to the council for training, the alarms went off. No one thought to contact him so he came to investigate and volunteered to mentor her. “The more he worked with her, and the other kids, the more it became apparent he wasn’t the dangerous madman the rumors all claimed. Then, they made him an emissary and sent him here and they found excuse after excuse for keeping him here. “Thailyn, they tried to arrest but Ann and Mishtali defended him. He’s still not welcome in Baj-tisk and couldn’t stay there if he wanted to. “Mishtali and Shay aren’t particularly welcome either. They help with the kids, because the college sent them, but they can never take up permanent residence there.” “None of this makes any sense,” John said. “No, it doesn’t. It makes about as much sense as that trial of yours.” “That wasn’t a formality?” The color drained from John’s face. “No. They wanted you arrested. I convinced them to let us talk with you and bring you in. I didn’t want to scare Carry.” “So you did say she was my mate.” “No. I really did say bonded. They just see them as the same. Comparing you to Nim and Jo encouraged that thought. “They did want to banish you. We insisted Ann needed to be present since she was an ambassador to make sure treaty laws were being followed. They allowed it because that’s what Nim’s been doing here for several years. They still don’t realize how manipulative she can be.” “But they still backed down awfully quickly,” Nim pointed out. “That’s why I thought it was more of a formality, especially when they turned around and asked me to be an aide,” John agreed. “That surprised us too,” Nim agreed. “A few months ago, I noticed that all of those involved with the incident during the war were in Sen-gan. I was overly tired at the time and thought I was imagining things. Then, Ruzi started having eye problems, and I forgot about it. Shortly before you came, the council was talking about moving the Augmenters to the college.” John glanced at Nim. “Augmenters?” “Not me. I teach at the college. They mean the young ones.” “They’d let kids leave Baj-tisk?” “It would put Mishtali at the college rather than in Baj-tisk. Shay’s only there because he is.” “Something strange is going on,” John said. “My thoughts exactly,” Pt’this agreed. “We need to be alert. I’m debating on talking with Rejenn.” “Who?” John asked. “Rejenn, one of the prince-general’s men.” “Or, perhaps Pt’bur might need to come for a visit. You haven’t seen him for a while,” Nim suggested. “Pt’bur?” John looked at Nim like he’d gone crazy. Pt’bur was Pt’this’s dead twin brother. Pt’this shifted to human form. “I’m not as effective a spy as I used to be, and it never worked well in Baj-tisk, where I died.” “That is wrong,” John insisted. “It may not matter,” Nim said, getting up. “There may be someone else we can talk to.” *** Ann had listened to the conversation while she worked, but Nim’s tone caught her attention. It had been over a decade since he’d last put her on the ceiling. The tone still made her brace herself. “What is that?” Pt’this asked. “Not something that belongs here,” Nim’s voice came through the scrying charm she’d left in his study. “It’s a recording charm, probably left by Ann.” Ann frowned. Nim’s voice didn’t sound like it was coming from the right spot to be near her recording charm that she’d also left. “If it’s a recording charm, she hasn’t heard the conversation,” John reasoned. “No, but…” Nim’s voice trailed off. “But what?” John insisted. “You don’t know. Ann,” Nim finished. “Narticani, you get your scaly white tail in my study now,” Nim ordered right into the scrying charm. Ann frowned, irritated at him using her apprentice name, but also because he was ordering her around as though she were still his apprentice. Still, she went up to Nim’s study. She might prevent him from telling her father, either father. If it was known how many spying charms she had around the palace, she’d be in trouble. Nim had the door open for her, so she could enter. “Do you want to explain these?” Nim held out the charms. Ann frowned. “That’s not mine.” “John, leave,” Nim commanded. “No,” Ann said. “Don’t. I know what you’ll ask if he does. You can’t ask that. That’s not mine.” “Ann,” Pt’this started. “How did you know to come?” Nim asked. “That’s mine.” Ann pointed to the scrying charm. “That’s not.” She indicated the recording one. “You always used two charms.” “Yes, but that’s not one of them.” She went to the desk and grabbed a pen. “This is my other one.” “How long have you been spying on me?” “Since the wedding. I have the same concerns you do about the council.” “What were you told about spying on people?” Pt’this asked. “Not to.” “But you did. What would your sister say?” “My sister doesn’t control me. She has her concerns too. Right now, if she was here, she’d want to know who that charm belongs to.” She pointed to the recording charm. “She would also wonder about the possibility of other charms.” Pt’this and Nim looked at each other. Neither had thought of that. Nim looked around for other things out of place. “Can you see anything?” Pt’this asked. Nim shook his head. “They could’ve done what I did, and replaced something you already had in here. Or hid it,” Ann suggested. “There are too many shields for me to see charmed objects,” Nim admitted. “There’s a spell for that,” John suggested. “We can’t cast that here,” Pt’this told him. “If we open the door to allow us to cast, the charms will send their messages.” “I can cast it,” Ann offered. “If you don’t trust me, Tercala can do it also.” “Go ahead,” Nim said. Ann did and three other things glowed red, one was Pt’this’s signet ring. “This one’s Rejenn’s,” Ann said, pointing to a candle snuffer. “He had me charm several. It’s a recording charm. I saw some of these in Morina’s room. It could belong to her. I don’t know whose this one is.” She indicated the signet ring. “Or the first when Nim found. Ti can tell you more about who cast it.” “So can I once we leave here,” John said. “You have hypersight too?” John nodded. “Now, if you’d three will excuse me, I have a citizenship ceremony to get ready for,” Ann said and left. Pt’this nodded. “We’ll be there,” he called after her. “I’d like John to witness it.”