Beq nodded. “I just need a few hours to gather my gear. And I’m nearly finished decoding Nicomidi’s messages to Raskos. It’s going a lot faster now that I don’t have to worry about him spotting me in the archives.”

“Is there anything useful there? Basel agrees he must have been involved with whatever happened to Jaedia, but we still don’t know why.”

“I’m not certain,” Beq said. “Nicomidi and Raskos were definitely working together. He’s coy about it in the messages, but I think Nicomidi had Raskos on the lookout for particular pieces of arcana.”

“That makes sense,” Maya said. She remembered the horde in Raskos’ warehouse. “Raskos certainly seemed to have his fingers in everything. But what was Nicomidi getting out of it? Money? What would that get him that he couldn’t already have?”

“Nicomidi was insistent that some finds be kept secret from the Council.”

Maya nodded slowly. “That seems … more plausible, at least. You said the Core Analytica was probably ghoul arcana—I can’t imagine the Council would let him keep that around. But I don’t understand what he was going to do with it. And I still don’t see a connection with Jaedia.”

“Maybe there isn’t one?” Beq suggested. “Maybe that part is just ordinary Order politics.”

“It seems unlikely. Even Basel was surprised at how far Nicomidi was willing to go. It’s beyond the usual Council sniping.” Maya shook her head. “It doesn’t matter for now. We have to find Jaedia. Everything else comes after.”

“Right.” Beq gave a firm nod. “Do we know where we’re going to start?”

“Grace,” Maya said. “Basel promised to send the files with details on where Jaedia was last seen.”

“Grace?” Beq’s voice was a squeak. “Really?”

“Is that a problem?” Maya said. She didn’t know much about the notorious Splinter Kingdom city, other than that it was famous as a smugglers’ market.

“Oh no.” Beq grinned. “I’ve just always wanted to see it for myself.”

“It’s a long way from the nearest Gate, unfortunately,” Maya said. “A couple of weeks or more by wagon. We’ll have to join up with a caravan at Uqaris, near the border.”

Beq nodded and got to her feet. “I should start getting ready. I’ll need to make a list for the quartermasters.”

“Me too.” But …

Maya swallowed the last of her water and set the mug aside. As Beq turned to the door, Maya rose abruptly. Her heart thumped loud enough that she was sure Beq could hear it.

“Wait a minute.”

Beq hesitated, then half turned. “Is something wrong?”

“I just …” Maya swallowed. Forcing the next few words out was nearly as hard as charging Tanax head-on without a panoply. “I want us to be clear on something.”