The Rogue

them privacy. Then the items on the table caught his eye.

“You’re expecting guests,” he observed. “I had best not linger.” He straightened and met her gaze. “I’m here to tell you that a family matter has arisen that is going to take up much of my time and attention, and since I will not be able to reliably offer you my help in hunting and – more import antly – capturing the Thief Skellin then I feel you will be better served by another assistant.”

Sonea stared at him in dismay. “Oh,” she said. “That’s …” She felt briefly disorientated. What was she going to do without Regin to help her catch Skellin? I thought our search couldn’t be going any worse. She shook her head. I can’t believe this, but I’m going to sorely regret losing Regin’s help. “That’s a great shame,” she said. “I’ve appreciated your help and wish you were able to continue assisting me. But your family should have first claim on your attention,” she added quickly.

His smile was rather grimace-like. He almost seemed to wince. “They always do.”

“I hope this matter resolves itself quickly and painlessly.”

“I dou— …” Regin’s voice faded to silence as another knock came from the door. He glanced at it, then turned back to her and inclined his head. “It was a pleasure working with you, Black Magician Sonea. I had best be leaving you to your guests.”

Sonea opened the door again. In the corridor outside, Rothen and Dorrien waited. They saw Regin and curiosity sparked in their gazes as they nodded to him politely.

“Lord Regin,” they murmured.

“Lord Rothen, Lord Dorrien. I am just leaving. Enjoy your meal.” As they stepped back, Regin moved past them. Sonea heard his footsteps in the corridor as he walked away, then her guests came inside and closed the door.

“Any news?” Rothen asked.

Sonea shook her head. “Not of the kind we want. On the contrary, Regin can’t help us any more. A family matter, he says.”

“Oh.” Rothen frowned in dismay.

“That’s what I said. Though in a more formal and verbose manner that included my gratitude and regret, of course.”

“Of course.” Rothen chuckled, but his frown quickly returned. “What will we do without him?”

Dorrien looked from his father to Sonea. “You needed his help that badly?”

“Not so much for the searching,” Rothen replied. “Cery is in a better position to do that. For the actual capture of Skellin.”

Sonea waved them to their seats. Jonna reappeared from the bedroom and raised an eyebrow at Sonea. At Sonea’s nod she left to get the meal that was being prepared for them.

“So it doesn’t have to be Regin. Could I take his place?” Dorrien asked, looking from Rothen to Sonea.

Sonea frowned. “You have to get back to your village.”

“Yes, but I could make arrangements and return.” He smiled at her. “There’s a Healer living in another village about half a day’s ride away. We have an agreement that we’ll look after the other’s patients whenever we go to the city.”

“But this could take a lot longer than a few weeks,” Sonea warned.

“You should not leave Alina and the girls for too long either,” Rothen agreed. He turned to Sonea. “I can help when the time comes.”

“No—” Sonea began.

“You don’t know how powerful Skellin is,” Dorrien interrupted, frowning at his father in disapproval. “What if he is stronger than you? You’re not as powerful as Lord Regin. You said so yourself.”

“I’ll be with Sonea.”

“What if you’re not? What if you two are separated?” Dorrien shook his head. “It’s too risky for you, Father.”

Sonea nodded. She didn’t agree with Dorrien’s reasoning, since Rothen wasn’t any less powerful than the average magician, but Rothen was getting old and physically slower, which might be a problem if they had to chase someone.

“You’re not much stronger than me,” Rothen pointed out.

“But I am stronger,” Dorrien said. He looked at Sonea, his gaze bright. “Alina and I have been thinking we should move to the city for a while so that Tylia can get used to life here before she joins the University. We intended to at least stay here for the first few months after Tylia starts lessons.” He turned to his father. “I’ve already told Lady Vinara of my plans, though no specific dates as yet. It would not be difficult to move here earlier.”

Rothen regarded his son without speaking, obviously caught up in conflicting emotions. He would love to see more of his grandchildren, Sonea guessed, but doesn’t want to agree to something that could put his son’s life at risk.

Her own heart had lifted at the thought. It would be nice to have Dorrien around for longer than his usual visits to the Guild. She could do with his help, too. Though she, too, would rather not put him at risk, she’d also rather not put anybody at risk. At least he was willing to work with her and sensible enough to know when to keep secrets.

The tense silence was broken by yet another knock at the door. As it opened, three servants, led by Jonna, filed in carrying platters of food. Jonna’s eyebrows rose when none of them spoke. She gave Sonea a look that said “I’ll be back to find out what all this is about”, before she left, taking her assistants with her.

When the door had closed, Sonea leaned forward and began serving.

“I wonder what family matters we have to blame for taking Regin away from us,” she said.

Rothen looked thoughtful. “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t stopped going to the Night Room to listen to the gossip.”

“I’ll see what I can find out,” Dorrien said, shrugging.

“In one night?” Sonea scoffed.

Dorrien’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “When you only visit the Guild for a few weeks a year, everyone falls over themselves to fill you in on the latest scandals. I’ll have to leave you both a little earlier tonight to be there at the right time, but if there’s an answer to be had I’ll have it for you tomorrow morning.”

Soft, slippery cloth cascaded over Lilia’s head and tumbled toward the floor, but at the last moment it was pulled tight at her waist and swung into artful folds. Naki stepped back.

“It fits perfectly.” There was amusement and annoyance in her voice, and she crossed her arms and affected a pout. “It’s not fair. I’ve grown out of everything, and there’s no point giving it to you because we’ll never get to wear gowns again.” Then she smiled. “You look great. Go take a peek in the mirror.”

Lilia approached the mirror hesitantly and stared at herself. She didn’t quite fill out the chest of the dress, but that could be fixed with some padding. Though she had often seen her former employer’s wife and daughters dressed so fancily, she would have never dared try on their clothing.

“You look beautiful,” Naki said, coming up behind Lilia. She placed her hands on Lilia’s shoulders. Her fingers were cold, and sent a shiver down Lilia’s spine. She remembered what Madie and Froje had said about her new friend, then quickly pushed the thought away.

Naki frowned. “You’re all tense. What’s wrong? Is it uncomfortable?”

Lilia shook her head. “I feel … well … we’re doing something forbidden. Magicians are supposed to always wear robes.”

Naki’s lips curled into a mischievous grin. “I know. It’s kind of fun, isn’t it?”

Looking at her friend’s grin, Lilia could not help smiling. “Yes, but that’s only because nobody else can see us.”

“It’s our naughty secret,” Naki said, turning away. She stooped to grab the hem of her dress and hauled it up and over her head in one movement. Underneath she was wearing only an undershift, and Lilia quickly averted her