The workers had repaired all the cracking plaster, replaced any broken roof tiles. The palace had looked the worse for wear when I’d arrived, but had recently begun to look new again. It might not have been my boat, or the Endless Sea, but it soothed me.

Until I noticed the broken ironwork.

It was tucked up beneath the roof, a decorative piece not meant to hold any weight or perform any function. Beneath it was an open window. Or at least, what looked like a window. There were no shutters, nothing stopping the rain except the roof.

Why, when making the repairs, had Lin not directed this piece to be repaired or removed? It could have been an oversight, but she was meticulous. I didn’t think this was something she would have missed. If the oversight was purposeful, then she was hiding something.

The opening looked to be above the second floor, but I’d not seen stairs for a third floor or even the outline of a trap door on the ceiling. This place seemed unconnected.

I should go back to sleep. I should get ready for the journey ahead.

But I never could let a mystery just lie like that. To my mother’s consternation, I’d climbed – and fallen from – many trees as a child just to find out if the bundle of twigs I’d seen was actually a nest. The palace was asleep and the guards at the walls faced the city. If I was quiet, I could be in and out of that opening before anyone could find out.

Before I could convince myself otherwise, I found myself back inside the palace, climbing the stairs of the entrance hall, making my way to a window close to the opening.

This was a terrible idea, it really was. But then I was climbing out the window and onto the roof. Rain had slicked the tiles and I had to struggle to maintain my balance. I crouched, crawling up the roof to the apex, making sure each hand and foothold was secure. I peered over the edge, not sure what I would find.

The opening was tucked below the roof, and from my vantage point I could see it was lined with hay. It reminded me of the nests I used to find. Was this the lair of one of the Emperor’s old constructs? It didn’t look to still be in use.