Kyra shook her head, indignation rising in her chest. “It’s not his fault the caravan didn’t make it in. Is his landlord so strapped for coin he can’t wait a few months?”

“What will you do about it?”

Kyra stopped and stared. “What?”

“Will you let the landlord keep his rent, or return it to the shopkeeper?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re one of few folk who can do anything about it.” When she continued to stare at him in confusion, James laid two fingers on her jaw and guided her gaze back toward the herbal shop. “Who’s emptying the shop?”

She pulled back from his fingers. “Shieldmen.”

“Just any shieldmen? What are they wearing? Who’s commanding them?”

“They’re Red Shields. There’s a knight leading them.”

“And what kind of nobleman can request the service of the Palace guards?”

“He’d be high ranking. In with the Palace somehow.”

“Not just that,” said James. “He’d have to live in the Palace. And where do you think they’re taking his wares?”

Kyra’s mouth dropped open as she understood his meaning. She laid her palms on the table, staring at its surface as her mind raced. “There’s several storehouses in the outer compound. They’re too big and cluttered for me to flip through myself. I’d have to know which ones hold the herbs.”

She paused, stymied for a moment. James watched patiently.

“But there’d be records,” Kyra blurted, answering her own question. She suddenly remembered that there were others in the room and hastily lowered her voice. “They keep the inventory list somewhere. I could easily fetch it.”

“Very good.”

Kyra closed her eyes, mentally tallying the rooms she needed to search. James was right. She could do something about this, and the rush of power was exhilarating.

“But once I find the herbs, I’ll need help raiding the storehouse. I can’t do it alone.”

“We can help. Just find out where they are, and we’ll make it happen.”

Eleven

E L E V E N

Over the next few days, Kyra worked harder than she’d ever worked before. She entered the Palace early and stayed dangerously late, going from chamber to chamber, digging through piles of records. The warehouse inventory wasn’t kept with the trade schedules, so Kyra broke into neighboring rooms. She was determined, and it paid off. One week later, Kyra dropped a stack of parchments on James’s desk.

“The herbs are all kept together, in a building on the eastern side of the outer compound. It looks like the landlord in’t even using them.”

James scanned the list. “There’s too many here for us to carry out without a wagon. We’ll have to decide which ones are the most valuable.”