Katsa felt along the wall. Her fingers touched a key. “Doesn’t it make you nervous to holler like that? Anyone could hear you. You could be revealing your precious Grace to a whole legion of my lovers.”

His laughter came muffled through the door. “I would know if anyone heard my voice. And I’d also know if you were in there with a legion of lovers. Katsa—have you cut your hair?”

She snorted. “Wonderful. That’s just wonderful. I’ve no privacy, and you sense even my hair.” She turned the key in the lock and swung the door open. Po straightened, a candle in his hand.

“Great seas,” he said.

“What do you want?”

He held his candle up to her face.

“Po, what do you want?”

“She did a far better job than I would have done.”

“I’m going back to bed,” Katsa said, and she reached for the door.

“All right, all right. The men, the merchants. The Sunderan men who were bothering that girl. I think they intend to come to us this night and speak to us.”

“How do you know?”

“Their rooms are below us.”

She shook her head, disbelieving. “No one in this inn has privacy.”

“My sense of them is faint, Katsa. I cannot sense everyone down to the ends of their hair, as I do you.”

She sighed. “What an honor, then, to be me. They’re coming in the middle of the night?”

“Yes.”

“Do they have information?”

“I believe they do.”

“Do you trust them?”

“Not particularly. I think they’ll come soon, Katsa. When they do I’ll knock on your outer door.”

Katsa nodded. “Very well. I’ll be ready.”

She stepped back into her room and pulled the door behind her. She lit a candle, splashed water on her face, and prepared herself for the arrival of the late-night merchants.

SIX MERCHANTS had sat around the table in the eating room and laughed at the serving girl. When Po’s knock brought her to the door, she found him standing in the hallway with all six, each carrying a candle that cast a dark light over a bearded face. They were tall, and broad-backed, all six of them, enormous next to her, and even the smallest taller and broader than Po. Quite a band of bullies. She followed them back to Po’s room.

“You’re awake and dressed, My Lord Prince, My Lady,” the biggest of the merchants said as they filed into Po’s chamber. It was the man who’d first tried to grab the girl’s arm, the one who’d first teased her. Katsa registered the mockery as he spoke their titles. He had no more respect for them than they had for him. The one who’d taken the girl’s wrist stood beside him, and those two seemed to be the leaders of the group. They stood together, in the middle of the room, facing Po, while the other four faded into the background.

They were well spread out, these merchants. Katsa moved to the side door, the door that led to her room, and leaned against it with her arms crossed. She was steps from Po and the two leaders, and she could see the other four. It was more precaution than was necessary. But it didn’t hurt for any of them to know she was watching.