A night’s fitful sleep in her clothes hadn’t improved the situation any. She pulled on her boots and coat, checked to make certain she had her gorget, and then tried the door. As she’d thought, it was unlocked. Opening it, she stepped out in the corridor, waiting for some sort of outcry or alarm. When nothing happened she hurried downstairs. The dining room door was open, and the aromas of a hearty breakfast wafted out. She hesitated, anxious to be off, but Rhazat’s warning about going out without food decided the matter, especially since no one seemed to be about. Going to the table, she stood there and ate quickly from the serving dishes, wolfing down all the boiled eggs, bacon, smoked eel, and buttered ash cakes she could hold. It was as if her hostess knew what Klia liked best. It was an unsettling thought: a necromancer who could read minds was doubly dangerous.

Downing a cup of buttermilk, she filled several napkins with food and stuffed them into her pockets, then found her way to the receiving chamber where Rhazat had disarmed her. No torches burned there now. It was dimly lit by daylight through small windows, leaving much of the large room in shadow. She quickly searched the edges of the room looking for her weapons, but found only the long black feather that had been her dagger. She put it into her knife sheath and went to the front doors.

“They’re never locked, Highness.”

Klia whirled around, but it was only Phania, standing near the inner door.

Is it Phania or Rhazat speaking to me? Klia wondered uneasily.

“The queen doesn’t care if we go out, Highness,” she went on, voice low and hopeless. “I tried to escape. There’s nowhere to go.”

“I have to try.” Klia hesitated a moment, then said, “Quick, pack yourself food and come with me.”

“It’s no use—”

“That’s an order, Lieutenant.”

Something seemed to spark to life in the woman’s eyes. She pressed her fist to her heart in a salute, then disappeared in the direction of the dining room.

Klia went to the outer doors. They were unlocked and she pushed one open and took a cautious step outside. There were no guards, and no sign of any other people.

Phania was soon back.

“Which way should we go?” asked Klia.

“It doesn’t much matter, Highness,” Phania replied, but with more spirit now. “I tried going upriver and across country, but I always ended up collapsing from hunger and then Rhazat would come and get me. She always knew where I was.”

“What about townspeople?”

Phania let out a hollow chuckle. “No worries there. They’re just ghosts, as near as I can tell. How would anyone be alive here?”

“There have been reports of people going missing. Have you seen them?”

“There are dungeons below the tower. She keeps them there and—”

“And?”