“How many children does the king have?” I asked. I knew that King Leonel had been married a few times and was once again widowed.
“Twelve.”
“And how many are sons?”
The driver rubbed his hand across his forehead and looked uncomfortable. “Uh none, much to the dismay of His Royal Highness.”
I smirked. I had no doubt that his quest for sons may have been hampered by a curse from my mother. But that also meant the streak of her daughters marrying a prince or royal would be broken. There was no foothold to be gained in Sion from a daughter of Eville.
The driver pressed on quickly. “With what you have paid me, I can guarantee you lodging at the Silk Slipper, and I know the owner. She’ll make sure you have everything you need. If you give me a few candle marks, I’ll return with Sion credits for you as change for the comb you paid for your passage.”
“How many credits will I have left over?” I asked.
“About thirty.”
“Can you deduct the travel for two passengers?”
“Two?” I had stumped the driver with my question. I looked back at the bench seat and saw the slight wrinkle in the padding of where the gnome was sitting and had hidden himself once the driver came up again.
“Yes, two.”
“Are you sure? I mean, it was only a day’s journey and—”
“I’m sure.”
He nodded, and headed into the inn to speak with the owner. I waited around till we were alone and spoke to the gnome. “Thank you for your company. I hope to see you around again.”
A faint shimmer followed, and he was gone.
“Saphira will see to your needs.” The driver inclined his head toward the inn, signaling for me to enter. “Go on in.”
I entered the Silk Slipper and saw a woman who I at first thought was speaking quietly to herself. She was staring intently into a bowl of water. I saw a faint flicker within the reflection and knew she was communicating with someone through a pool of water.
“Yes, more have disappeared without a trace. The family members are worried, but the palace is covering it up, but I don’t know why?” she whispered.
I assumed the woman speaking was Saphira. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I waited silently by the door.
The woman turned and looked down at the floor as if something disturbed her, and then her head snapped up at me, seeing me for the first time. Her bright eyes widened; her red lips pulled back into a knowing smile. She nodded as if listening to the other speaker. “I will look into it. It seems that help has arrived in the most unlikely fashion, and you don’t have to worry about the other issue. All is safe.”
She dipped her hand in the bowl of water and the image flickered out.
“Sorry for the delay. I didn’t hear you come in, which is odd, because I have the most excellent hearing.” She extended her hand. “I’m Saphira.” An elegant scarf covered her head and ears. Despite the intense sun this far south, she had perfect skin, keen eyes, and a simple beauty mark on her upper cheek.
“My driver sent me inside. He said he would return to settle up and bring me change.”
“Yes, Amar has been a faithful driver for us for years. Come, come, let’s get you taken care of, and he’ll return shortly.”
I let the hospitable Saphira lead me down a hall to a private bathing room with a large built-in bathing tub below the floor. She pulled a lever on the wall and hot water poured into the tub filling it full.
Saphira kneeled, adding various oils and petals to the water. Immediately I could feel myself begin to relax as the scents of spearmint and lavender filled the air.
She laid out a robe, and more jars of oils and soaps.
“This is for your skin; the other your hair.” Saphira pointed to the scrapers, ladles, and combs left out for me as well. “I will see to your nourishment.”
She backed out of the room and closed the door after me.
I stared at the pool of water filling and wanted to dive headfirst into it, but forced myself to take my time. I used the copper ladle and took care of washing the dust and dirt from my feet and body and added bathing salts before entering the bathing pool.
Exhausted, I sighed and leaned my head against the rim of the tub and waited, letting my muscles soak in the heat and relax.
I could feel my eyes growing heavy, and I slowly dipped below the water to wake myself up. I counted to ten and listened to the beating of my heart as I tried to sort out my thoughts. As I came up for air, I brushed my hair out of my face and saw a tray of food had been brought while I was underwater.
There was something odd about the setup, and I noticed that one of the biscuits had a bite taken out of it. My eyes narrowed, and I looked among the steam and saw the culprit hiding in the corner.
It seemed that the gnome had an affinity for the sweet treats and had taken a nip of one. I carefully sorted them out and placed the sweet biscuit on a plate and pushed it toward him.
A whoosh of steam rose as the invisible gnome moved toward me, then the biscuit was gone in a flash. I smiled and sank below the water, somewhat grateful for the quiet company of the elemental fae.
CHAPTER NINE
More importantly, my room had an angled view of the front door to the Silk Slipper, and I was taking note of the coming and going of the patrons. As I watched, a gold-trimmed carriage pulled up. A footman appeared, opening the door for the extravagantly dressed young man. He stepped out of the carriage and looked around at the street filled with unwashed children with disdain. A wagon pulled up behind him, and I heard him give orders for all of his trunks to be unloaded in his room.
He pushed a servant that wasn’t moving fast enough, and I instinctively reached for my dagger that wasn’t there anymore. It wouldn’t do me any good to interfere in matters that didn’t concern me.
Instead, my hands found the pouch of gold that Amar had left me. The driver kept his word, sold the comb, paid for the room for the night, and left me with the change—minus fare for two passengers. From the weight of the coins, I knew it would be enough to get me supplies. The dress I had was torn and stained, and it would only cause me to stand out. I needed to blend in.
A loud crash drew my attention back to the street where an elderly servant had lost his hold on the trunk and it crashed to the ground, spilling the wealthy man’s clothes onto the street.
“By the stars, Bredlin! You dropped my trunk. You no good rotten!” He turned and grabbed a whip laying across the driver’s bench.
I didn’t think before I reacted, moving on instinct and leaping out the window, onto the canopy, and dropping to the street in front of the terrified servant. My forearm came up to block the downward strike of the whip.
The leather struck me painfully, wrapping around my arm. I felt the sting as the tail nicked my neck, leaving a burning sensation.
I gritted my teeth, snarled, and wrenched the whip out of the rich man’s hands. He was taken aback at my sudden appearance out of thin air.
“You have no right to interfere. This is between a master and servant,” he said.
I slowly unwound the whip from my forearm, an angry red welt already forming. I ran my palms along the braided leather and grasped the heavy handle, testing the weight of the whip. I took a step forward.
“Master and servant?” I said, flipping the whip out to the side, letting it snap in the air. “All I see is someone who abuses their power too easily.”