Compared to the fear he’d seen in their eyes when he’d disarmed them, this fear was ten times more potent. Probably because they’d heard the stories of the king taking the hands of those who dared to steal his coin. “It’s your lucky day. I don’t give a lick about your thievery. But I will speak to your daughter about what she saw in the woods.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Your daughter. Is she home?”

“No,” Crando said, far too quickly. “She’s at her mother’s in, er, Hern. Aye. We split a few months back. The bitch took my coin and my daughter. Went to her family home in—”

“Hern?” Ludo tried.

“Exactly.”

“That’s a hard ten-day ride from here if the weather is favorable.”

“Aye. You’d best get a move on.”

“Or I could walk upstairs and question her right now.”

“I told you, she’s not—” The sentence was never meant to be finished, as the man exploded from his stance, clearly hoping to get to the door before Ludo.

He didn’t.

Ludo’s swung one of the sword hilts like a metal gauntlet, crashing it into Crandon’s head. His body went limp and he collapsed in a heap. Ludo turned, ready to do the same to the final guard, but the man was already halfway down the Row. Probably going for reinforcements, Ludo thought, giving him a measure of credit for the wise decision.

He headed for the door, but just then a gust of enemy wind swept down the lane. It was as though the door had been given a firm shove, swinging closed even as Ludo dove for it.

SLAM!

He tried the knob but it didn’t budge, only rattling on its hinges. Despite its neglected state, it was a solid piece of wood, its metal hinges hidden inside and thus, impossible to access. That left brute force as his only option, which wasn’t really an option at all; by the time he forced his way through, those reinforcements would be upon him, and he didn’t think the king would be too pleased if he incapacitated a city’s entire guard force, even as greedy and corrupt as he knew this group to be.

While he was contemplating his next move, the door opened.

Bryony’s head popped out. “If you’re done showing off…,” she said.

“How did you…?”

“Climbed a trellis. Found an open window. Thanks for the distraction.”

“Is she inside? Crandon’s daughter?”

“No one is. The place is empty.”

Ludo blinked his only remaining eye, surprised. “Crandon said her mother took her to Hern. I thought he was lying.”

“You could’ve told me he and the other guards have been skimming from the king’s taxes.”

“I could have.”

“If this is going to work, we’re going to have to be honest with each other.”