“The docks,” she replied, and deftly slipped around a woman pushing a flower cart.

“Are we meeting others there?”

“I’m certain there will be others there.”

This appeased the scribe who, she guessed, drew the conclusion she wanted him to. Farilane would have plenty of time to go into detail once they were on the ferry. If, after she explained, he wanted out, he could return with no great hardship, but he would need to wait for the next ferry to do so, giving her time to disappear. Since he remained an enigma, Farilane didn’t know which way Kile would go. She hoped he would stick with her. Farilane had been on many adventures in her life, but always with others, always with guides and guards. Even with Kile along, this would be new. A woman alone on the open road—even if she claimed to be the princess—was taking a risk. Anyone daring to hurt her would draw down the wrath of the emperor, but a posthumous revenge did little for the victim. She planned only to visit a nearby monastery, a simple thing, yet for the first time, she was working without a net and in direct defiance of the emperor.

And of course, her birthday was just over a month away. If my family really is planning a party for me—a first—I ought to at least try to attend.

Summer, if it didn’t rain too much or leapfrog too quickly into hot weather, was wonderful in Percepliquis, and that morning was unquestionably beautiful: blue sky, gentle breeze from the south, not too hot or cold. The word perfection was reserved for such days, and it scared Farilane to death. She’d never known an adventure that started wonderfully to end the same way. She had a theory that the start of a journey was inversely proportionate to the outcome. The better it began, the worse it finished. Judging by the sky and the breeze, she could guess that this was going to be a nightmare. Her one hope lay in her failure to obtain an escort. She would have preferred to have Kolby along. Not having the knight at her side made the whole venture seem empty. This disappointment was at least a tiny bit of insurance she could take with her. If everything else failed, one small thing ought to go right.