Klia explored the room, seeking potential weapons. A chair might be easily smashed to get a leg free to break the windows, or preferably her hostess’s pretty head. The sheets or drapes could serve as a rope, if she could find a way to cut or tear them up. The gilded wood curtain rod was too high to reach without climbing on something, perhaps the wardrobe. She tried pushing it, but it proved far too heavy. Going to the window, she tugged on one of the heavy drapes to see if the rod would pull free, but it was solidly fixed to the wall. She tried the latch on the window, and it swung out on the dead night air. Leaning out, she gauged the distance to the ground. The stonework was quite smooth, with no apparent handholds for climbing down, and the drop was at least thirty feet. Even if she managed it without breaking a leg, there was her daughter to think of. The impact might be enough to bring on a miscarriage. She’d been lucky when Moonshine went down; she wasn’t going to take any unnecessary chances now.

Closing the window, she sat on the bed and took stock of what she knew. Rhazat was a necromancer who fancied herself a queen in this strange place. What had she meant when she’d said Klia hadn’t guessed what it was?

She looked around again. No apparent metal, just like downstairs. Her sword and dagger had been taken from her, but she still had the buckles on her sword belt and uniform. The only other thing was—She raised her right hand to her throat, feeling for her golden gorget and hoping it hadn’t turned into anything unpleasant. It was still there, the smooth metal warm under her fingertips.

“Very strange,” she murmured, unhooking the chain that held it around her neck and laying the heavy crescent of precious metal on the bed in front of her. It was a bit worn at the edges, and had a few scrapes and scratches gained in combat, but the elaborate carving and silver chasing of horses and the crest of the Queen’s Horse Guard on the outer side were still intact. She reached into her tunic and pulled out the golden coin amulet Thero had given her. Even Rhazat, for all her pretensions of royalty, wore no gold, nor any other jewelry. No metal in the house, but Klia had been allowed to keep these. Why? She dropped the amulet back inside her shirt, then looked around for a hiding spot for the gorget, in case her hostess changed her mind. Under the mattress or in the clothes chest would be the first place anyone would look. Instead, she stood on the mattress, pulled herself up by one of the bedposts, and put the gorget on top of the tapestry canopy over the bed.