Seregil’s face was a mask of terror as he repeated “Aura Elustri!” over and over again.

“I—I’m all right,” Alec croaked, finding his voice at last. “Was that a dra’gorgos?”

Seregil let out an unsteady laugh. “It certainly was. We’ll have to thank Thero and Mika for these amulets. It appears they work, after all.”

“What was it doing here?”

“Waiting for someone to come poking around, most likely,” Micum suggested.

“More likely it was hunting, looking for more people to steal,” Seregil said, holding Alec’s hand in a hard grip a moment longer than he needed to.

Alec picked up his fallen sword and slid it into its sheath, more shaken than he wanted to admit. “Well, we came to look around, so let’s look around.”

Seregil and Micum took out lightstones and the combined glow lit the room bright as day. Someone had removed the dead owl, but otherwise the room looked just as it had. The dried blood spattered and smeared over every surface showed black in this light. The carpet was crusty with it.

They were still examining the ruined furnishings when a soft voice from the direction of the doorway said “How dare you!”

A beautiful woman in a richly embroidered Skalan nightgown stood there, staring at them with a haughty disdain. Her face was pale, her dark hair tumbled in disarray around her shoulders. “What are you three doing in here?”

“My lady, what are you doing here?” Micum asked, hurrying over to her. “Please, come away from—” He went to take her hand but his passed through hers easy as air. He pulled back a step, but remained gallant. “Who are you, my lady?”

She looked down in confusion at the hand he’d tried to touch. “What is happening?”

Seregil stepped in beside Micum and bowed. “Duchess Seria? I am Baron Seregil of Mirror Moon, at your service.”

A chill climbed Alec’s spine, stirring the short hairs on his neck. Duchess Seria had died with Toneus in this chamber.

“I have no need of your service, sir. Why are you in my chamber and where is—?” She broke off, looking momentarily confused.

“Who were you with?” asked Seregil.

She looked baffled. “He was here a moment ago.”

“Archduke Toneus, my lady?”

“Yes, that’s right.” She looked around the room, then brushed by the three of them and went to the bed. The condition of the room did not seem to appall her; she just looked pensive and lost and not in the least frightened.

“My lady, when did you last see the archduke?” he asked.

“I left him here when—” She looked around the room, increasingly distraught. “We were here, in bed. Then I met you three.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “What is happening? What have you done with him?”