Her parents were gone at dinner, at another meeting with Queen Sien, so Kira grabbed some leftovers and then as night fell gave up trying to work. She went to bed earlier than usual. hoping that the next day would feel less frustrating.

It felt like it was only a few hours later when Kira started awake, knowing from the silence of the world outside that it must be well after midnight. What had woken her?

A bump at her window. Kira sat up in bed, pulling her sheet around her.

It was Jason. He was standing outside her open second-floor window as if the empty air was supporting him. "Kira? I need you!" he said in a whisper.

She glared at him, barely remembering to keep her own voice down so her parents wouldn't hear anything. "Are you kidding me? You show up at my bedroom window in the middle of the night and announce that you need me? Just how desperate do you think I am?"

"Huh? What are you—?" Jason's panicked look appeared. "No! That's not what this is about!"

"Really? You visit girls' bedrooms at night for other reasons?"

"Yeah!" Jason looked around, his expression growing frantic. "Kira, please. I need help."

Either he had become an extremely good actor since the night before, or Jason really was scared. "Turn around." Kira ordered.

"What?"

"Turn. Around. I need to get dressed. And if I catch you looking I will break parts of you that will never heal right."

"Okay."

Kira, thinking that her rebellious habit of sleeping naked didn't feel particularly clever at the moment, waited until Jason had pivoted so his back was to her window. She kept the sheet around her as best she could as she struggled quickly into clothes. "All right. What is this about?" she demanded as she finished buttoning her shirt, leaving it hanging outside her jeans.

Jason turned to look at her again. She noticed he was sweating despite the coolness of the night, and was gripping a triangular object a bit larger than his palm tightly in one hand. "Can I come in?"

She almost said no, then thought about the security patrols around the house and the possibility that they might spot Jason at any moment. "Yes. As long as you stay right next to the window."

He climbed inside, gasping with relief. "Do you remember what I told you last night? About the thing I wanted to find out about? I planted some bugs."

Kira gave him another glare. "You planted insects?"

"No! Bugs! That's what we call really small things that allow us to listen in to people."

"You spied on them?" Kira said. "Using a far-listener device?"

"Yeah. Exactly," Jason said. "I was able to see and hear their conversations through most of the day. Do you remember your dad doing some Mage stuff for them?"