Alana’s features collapse, full of hesitance. An unexpected response. Her thoughts are plain as day, strong enough they’ve shattered her placid mask, but she’s hesitant to voice them. Is she scared? Scared of how I’ll react?

It may be terrible but the thought fills my chest with warmth. It means that she’s thinking of me. Something I used to take for granted but has become much more precious to me after the disastrous circumstances surrounding the March. I’m not confident I wouldn’t have been upset if she immediately demanded what she clearly wants. Her hesitation, the fact that she values my feelings at least equally with her brother’s life, is morbidly satisfying.

It eases my mind and allows me to do what comes naturally. “We’re not going to let your brother die.”

Her eyes practically shine with gratitude. She lets out a deep breath and smiles softly. “Thanks, Lou.”

“Thanking me for not abandoning your brother makes me feel like some kind of villain.”

“You’d fit the role.” Her smile fades. “I guess this means we’re staying. I know it doesn’t make sense that I feel guilty to be disappointed but I feel it anyway.”

“Wait a minute. Don’t be hasty.” I am not staying here.

“Yes, little star.” Kierra pulls me closer. “Being close to a good hunting ground has its appeal but…this place has not been good for us.” Hearing the sullen tone that has persisted since yesterday, I lay my hand on the arm holding me captive. “It would be best to distance ourselves and adjust our perspectives.”

“Then we have a problem.”

“Does it have to be? The solution seems simple. We take the boy with us.”

Alana shakes her head. “Khan is a threat to the north. Worse, he holds compromising information. No, his current existence is compromising. My father isn’t going to want him out of Victory unless it’s to scatter his ashes somewhere scenic.”

“I think he wants the information in Khan’s mind more than he wants to control his whereabouts,” I counter. “The only way to get that info is through us so I think he would be willing to entrust your brother with us.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Isn’t it? Khan stays here, he dies uselessly. If he comes with us, he has a chance to live and we may retrieve vital information in the war against the estrazi and an apparent threat against the world. The choice is obvious.”

“It would look bad. Khan’s a traitor. Worse, he’s a James traitor. The fort knows and they want to see him punished. Sending him away with us is too lenient. People will lose faith in my father. They’ve already lost faith in Zach and Yulia inspires awws, not awe. He won’t accept it.”

“Don’t worry, your mother has a plan to safeguard the James’ reputation. Maybe we can ask her for advice on how to approach your father.”

“…what?”

I frown at her confusion. “What? What do you mean what?”

“You’re the one who suddenly mentioned my mother. Her and Father may have been…intimate.” She shudders at the very thought, heh. “But they don’t have a good relationship. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have any relationship. It’s surprising how much he tolerates her.”

“Wait. You honestly don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

Okay, wow. How did she manage to hide this? Ah, wait. It’s her job to control people’s views. I suppose this is a testament of her skill. “Before I delivered the report on Khan to your father, I overheard your mother talking with Bulliard. She’s your family’s gossip monger.”

“A gossip what?”

We stare at each other, both enduring incomprehension for different reasons. “A gossip monger. The person who controls the rumors surrounding your family? Manages your image? Wields the perception of the commoners against your enemies?”

“You’re kidding.” Her tone is thick with disbelief.

“I’m not? Why are you finding this so hard to believe?”

“My mother isn’t…” Alana shakes her head. “She’s not someone like that.”

“Then what do you think she does that can get her a place at the duke’s table when the family discusses war secrets? How has she been supporting herself? From what I’ve seen, the servants here don’t make enough to buy nice dresses and work too hard to have such good skin.”

Her brows furrow. “I thought she was being supported by…friends.”

Ah. She thought her mother had gone back to her old career. “Don’t you see the problem with that? Why would a, um, er, compensated special friend—"

“You can say whore, Lou.” Despite the brave words, her tone is bitter. “That’s what she was. From what I’ve seen, Victory is a lot more accepting of it than other places in the kingdom, but we use the same word.”

I clear my throat strongly. This conversation feels like stepping around a field littered with hunters’ traps. “Ah, well, someone without status wouldn’t be able to sit with your family. You know that better than anyone.”

“My mother isn’t…how would she even do such an important job? Why would my Father trust her to do it? There has to be dozens, no, hundreds of people more qualified.”

“Are there? Your mother has, or had, a strong interest in ensuring the James’ prosperity, she’s a schemer, she has connections all throughout the fort from her work, and no one would ever suspect her. The last one is probably the most important as rumor work needs secrecy. She’s perfect.”

Alana’s frown deepens. Is it so difficult for her to imagine? “The important thing is that her support could be the key to persuading your father.”

“We should also talk to Kalise,” Kierra adds. “No one will fight harder to save Khan than his mother. We are the voice of necessity. Alana’s mother will be the voice of reason. Kalise, the voice of emotion. I do not believe even that cold man will be unmoved under such a barrage.”

“There. We have a solid plan.”

“Hold on. That’s barely a plan. I’m sure Kalise won’t be a problem but we still have to talk to my mother. My father will also want a detailed report on how we plan to detain Khan.”

“We’ll build a dungeon.”

“And when Dunwayne comes knocking on our door to ask why we’re keeping my brother captive against his will?”

“We tell him the truth. He’s been assaulted by a mental caster and cannot be trusted to act under his own will. We’re keeping him and possibly everyone else safe while we try to heal him. Don’t see how he would have a problem with that.”

“The kingdom is very nervous when it comes to the mental affinity. How much do you know about the law? Do you know if anything we’re trying to do is illegal?”

“It is~” Geneva adds. “The use of the mental affinity by unauthorized parties, regardless of intention or circumstances, is against the king’s law. Offenders will be punished by indefinite detention or execution, at the crown’s leisure.” Her tail wags under my heavy gaze. “Don’t look so surprised, my summoner. You have tasked me with accumulating influence in the capital without resorting to violence. The minimum required to play the game is knowing the rules.”

“See?” Alana waves a hand at her. “It’s not that simple.”

It takes effort not to scoff at her excessive worry. “I say you’re overthinking it. Why would Dunwayne be questioning us? He doesn’t need to know about Khan. No one needs to know. We knock him out and sneak him back to the house. Who’s going to come looking for him?”

“I’m not talking about the probable. I’m talking about the worst possibility. Don’t tell me no one is going to be interested in what we’re doing. After the stories the hunters are going to be spreading about the March and its consequences, anyone of any consequence is going to be paying rapt attention to us. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had someone knock on our door daily to make sure we’re not getting into any more trouble.”

That’s ridiculous…except it’s not. Dammit, that sounds like exactly what scared and crafty nobles might do. Saints, that’s a rather tame option. I’m expecting spies and assassins camping in our yard and trying to sneak into our house nightly. Something I’m sure my future saint didn’t think of when she was so absorbed in crushing her brother.

“Then we tell a small lie,” Kierra offers. “The duke will write a letter explaining the circumstances. However, we will not say that the pet is treating him but the moon lily.”

It takes me a moment to understand who she is referring to. When I do, I almost sit up with excitement, but my wife tightens her hold to keep me in place. “Miss Talia! She is a prominent mental caster. As the student of the head interrogator for the crown, I’m sure she has whatever authorization is needed. Northerners are suspicious. If the duke wanted an outside consolation on his son’s condition, the only one he would consider is the woman recommended by his daughter.”

I grin at Alana. “She makes the perfect cover. That gets Khan into the house and protects us from any unwanted suspicion.”

“That…mm, that may work.” She’s warming up to the idea. She nods to herself and her frown relaxes into her usual stern facade. “Let’s talk about the details.”