I took a breath and stood straighter. “Fine. Then I need to get a message to Sedge Rinker—directly to him, no one else. Can you arrange that for me?”

“I can,” Vegard said.

“Good. I’ll just need a pen and some paper. And have the messenger wait for a response. I need to know if Rinker has the name of the boy who was taken yesterday. I also need to know if he’s a spellsinger. The two kidnapped girls are spellsingers.”

Vegard stood motionless. “Are you certain?”

“Positive.” I smiled in grim satisfaction. “But if your chief watcher knows this island as well as he should, he could be on the verge of finding them all.”

Vegard left to deliver my note to a Guardian courier; he came back accompanied by a swaggering vision in scarlet.

Phaelan was wearing his on-shore-leave-and-getting-laid clothes. His doublet was scarlet buckskin with matching breeches topped with high, black leather boots. At his side was his favorite swept-hilt rapier, and a single ruby earring gleamed in the lobe of one elegantly pointed ear.

I looked him up and down. “Going out this evening?”

“Absolutely. With you and Piaras.”

“You’re going to the recital.” Piaras’s relieved smile was like the sun coming out.

Phaelan nodded. “I thought I’d sample Mid’s cultural riches.”

I raised a brow. “And?”

“And what?”

“You hate mages, you barely tolerate academics, and you told me once that highborn elves give you a rash.”

“I’m prepared to deal with the discomfort to ensure the safety of my family. That includes you, too,” he told Piaras.

“Thank you,” Piaras said earnestly.

“Don’t mention it.”

I approved of family-ensured safety. The Guardians would arrest first, ask questions later. Phaelan would kill first, no questions asked.

“I’ve told Piaras what we might have to do tonight,” I said.

Phaelan nodded. “I know you don’t like it, kid. But trust me—the view’s a lot better from outside cell bars. I speak from experience.”

“I don’t want that experience,” Piaras said.

My cousin grinned wolfishly. “That’s why I’m here. And that’s why I’m going to the recital. Aside from my incomparable bodyguard services, there’s the entertainment value of rich people clutching their jewels when I walk through the door. You just can’t buy that kind of fun.”

“We want you there,” I told him. “The question is, will Mychael let you?”

“My presence is paladin approved.”

I snorted. “Since when?”

Phaelan’s grin vanished. “Since I told him there was no way in hell the two of you were going into that hornet’s nest without me.”

“Thank you.” And I meant it.

His dark eyes were as serious as I’d ever seen them. “That’s what family is for.” Then the rogue was back. “That and jailbreaks. Speaking of which, Tanik Ozal is in port.”

I swore silently. Next to our family, the Ozals were the second-most-notorious criminal family in the seven kingdoms. What Tanik Ozal was doing here boded no good for local law enforcement or anyone else. Anything he and Phaelan tried to pull would come back to splatter on me. After today, I wasn’t in the mood to be splattered.

“Phaelan,” I said in warning.

My cousin raised his hands defensively. “We’re not up to anything. Tanik wants to help.”

An Ozal promising help was like a shark promising not to eat you.

“Tanik’s here to bring his son back to school,” Phaelan continued. “I told him about the two of you getting hung out to dry, and he wants to help in any way he can.” Phaelan’s grin was cheerfully evil. “And he said if it involves blowing anything up, all the better. But for starters, I’ve asked him to keep an eye on his neighbors. He’s docked in a prime slip; Mal’Salin and Khrynsani craft on one side, and that elven intelligence agent’s yacht on the other. And if you buy a lot of drinks for some of Balmorlan’s crew, you find out all sorts of fascinating things, like their captain’s told them to be ready to leave fast. They even have a pair of weather wizards on board to help it happen.”

I swore.

“Yeah, I thought it was interesting, too. And the Khrynsani ship has her bow pointed toward open water. Tanik said they had to do a lot of maneuvering to get her that way. Anyway, Tanik says he’ll keep watch for us.”

“Thank him for me,” I said.

“I already have. And if we do this thing, you’ll get a chance to thank him yourself.”

I frowned. “Phaelan, no. Absolutely no.”

“Cousin, if we want to leave this island, it’s not going to be on the Fortune. Stealth is called for, and the paladin has got my lady wrapped in cloaking spells, and a few other things my men discovered when they tried to raise anchor. Key word there is ‘tried.’ ”

I didn’t move. “You couldn’t raise anchor?”

“Not an inch. The paladin has made sure we’re not going anywhere.”

“Mychael wouldn’t do that.” I said it, but I wasn’t so sure.

His duty was to keep the Saghred on the island. Until I was no longer bonded to the Saghred, that same mind-set would have to apply to me. Mychael would do his duty at all costs.

"Damn,” I muttered.

Phaelan nodded slowly. “Now you’re getting the picture. Since he cut off one exit, we’ll just take another. Tanik’s Zephyr is a nimble little craft, no high tides needed for her to leave the harbor. He’ll drop us off at Mermeia. I sent a message to Dad before we left Mermeia last week. By now he’ll be waiting there just in case we need him.”

“Commodore” Ryn Benares was Phaelan’s dad, my uncle, and the main reason the name Benares struck terror everywhere it was mentioned. Beneath his reputation lurked a softy, at least to his children—and Uncle Ryn considered me one of his own. It’d be nice to see him again. From Mermeia we could go anywhere.

“What about your crew?” I asked.

“What about them?”

“When Mychael finds out I’m missing, if he doesn’t put your ship on lockdown, the Twelve will. Your crew will probably be taken into custody.”

Phaelan shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time. And they’ll probably be confined to the ship, not taken into the citadel. No lawman I’ve ever run afoul of wants to take a pirate crew off their ship and through town. Too many chances for bad things to happen. And my crew’s known for bad things. Mychael, or whoever, will leave my men right where they are. They’ll just post more guards. My men know what to do. Lay low, keep quiet, and sit tight until I get back. It’s not like they haven’t done it before. They know the drill.”

I exhaled. “I don’t like it, but it’s like you said—we’re not exactly flush with options here. Okay, listen up. One block down from Sirens is a row of town houses. There’s a street that runs behind them. That time of night that street should be nice and dark, and from there it’s a straight shot to the harbor. We’ll meet there if we get separated.”

I looked questioningly at Piaras. He nodded grimly.

Phaelan clapped and rubbed his hands together. “Good, that’s settled.” He took a small velvet pouch out of his doublet. “You said your gown’s black, right?”

I nodded. Riston’s wife had gone shopping for me this morning. The fruit of her labor hung in my closet. Normally I didn’t care for gowns, but I had to admit I liked this one. It was the softest black velvet I’d ever felt, its long sleeves were tight, and the gown itself was perfectly cut, sleekly styled, with a short train. With my pale skin and red gold hair, black had always been my best friend. If I had to walk into a hornet’s nest tonight—or make a quick getaway—at least I’d look good doing it.

“Here.” Phaelan tossed a drawstring bag to me. I opened it and a choker of creamy gray pearls spilled out into my hand. The clasp was an ornate, diamond bow. Very nice.

I gave him my best fess-up look. “How hot is it?”

Phaelan’s dark eyes went wide and innocent. “Pardon?”

“Hot, stolen, missing, no longer where it’s supposed to be—”