“Why would I have news from the human kingdom?” he asks as he begins to play. His long gray fingers glide across the strings with mesmerizing grace.

I consider a lie. But then the earthwender’s face appears in my thoughts. Somewhere in the Dead Wood, she’s suffering. Trapped. My heart twinges at the memory of her eyes, bright with defiance. Anger heats through me. She deserved so much better.

“I had a dream. I saw a girl I knew from the Valley of Cranes. She was taken by the trees.”

“Ah. I suppose between Ronin and me, I was the easier option for seeking out answers.” Theyen doesn’t look up, his hands continuing to move as each note shivers through the air.

Saengo winces, but I only lean my shoulder against the wall and cross my arms. “Does that mean you don’t know anything?”

He glances at me, eyes bright with amusement. “When your queen outlawed shamans, she also restricted the shadowblessed to Evewyn’s port cities. I’ve been informed that Vos Gillis’s notice boards are filled with posters warning of shamanborn hiding in the city. The result of an escape from the prison camp.”

The words lance through me like a bolt of lightning. An escape.

He finishes his song and then shifts in his seat to face us. “Rumor has it, someone within the queen’s circle is helping the shamanborn stow aboard ships to escape the country, but no one’s been able to catch more than a glimpse of a shadow.”

“Sirscha, you can’t do this,” Saengo says once we’re back in our rooms.

I’d have thought by now that she would know better than to tell me I can’t do something. It only makes me want to try harder.

“It’s Kendara,” I say. “It has to be. She’s always hated the prison camp, and who else would have the means to help those shamanborn without getting caught?” Not to mention the word the earthwender healer said in my dream also connects to Kendara. It can’t be a coincidence.

“You can’t leave on little more than a guess. What if the queen catches you? It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s worth the risk,” I insist. “I have to speak to her, and there’s no better opportunity. Vos Gillis is a big port city and as far from the capital and the queen as you can get in Evewyn. If I can find her, I know she’ll help us.”

Kendara is the most intelligent person I know. As the queen’s Shadow, she’s also one of the most informed. She’ll be able to tell me more about Ronin and his familiar, and what might be going on with the Dead Wood.

“But would she really betray the queen by helping the shamanborn? Even if she hates the prison, she’s also a loyal subject.”