Chapter 16

Sun slanting through a window onto her bed made Zenia open her eyes. She

squinted and turned her head, promptly aware of a dull ache from her temple.

As her eyes focused on a blue gi in front of her, she grew aware of her

surroundings—a hospital bay full of beds with Rhi standing next to hers, one

sleeve rolled up to reveal a bandage wrapping her arm.

“What happened?” Zenia croaked.

“An elf beat us up.”

Zenia grimaced. Unfortunately, she remembered that part well. The elf’s

unexpected power and preternatural speed. More than that, he’d had mental

defenses that she hadn’t been able to get through. Though their fight had been

depressingly brief, she’d had time to try a couple of mind attacks. He’d

shrugged them off as if they had no more power to disturb him than raindrops.

“Then what happened?”

Rhi shrugged but cut the movement short and winced, touching her

shoulder.

“I woke up in the bed next to you there.” Rhi pointed at wrinkled sheets.

“A nurse informed me that Zyndar Dharrow and his unlikely friends brought

us here and paid for our treatment. And then a very furry doctor spoke into

my mind, and I got distracted.”

“Furry?”

“A unicorn.”

“Oh.” Zenia had heard of the hospital in town where a black-and-gold

unicorn from Izstara used his magic to heal patients and teach doctors. That

meant they were less than eight blocks from the temple where she had been

taking Dharrow. But she had failed, and now he walked free.

She groaned, imagining how disappointed Archmage Sazshen would be

when her star inquisitor came home empty-handed.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Rhi said, mistaking the reason for the groan. “He said

I would live and that I can use my shoulder a little bit now but that it will require three days to fully regenerate. I think he treated you too. Your face

was a lot bloodier when I first woke up. The nurse sponging away the blood

was cute. You should thank him for his efforts by taking him out to dinner.”

Zenia groaned again, this time for a different reason. She’d gotten used to

her monk colleague trying to set her up with men, but this wasn’t the time for

it.

“I’m not looking for men, especially when I’m on a mission,” Zenia said.

“You’ll have to thank him for me.”

“You know that the Codices of the Monk dictate that I be chaste, unwed,

and fully devoted to the Order, heart, soul, and loins.”

“I know that you and your loins frequently practice chastity with

company.”

Rhi smiled. “I’m positive I don’t know what you’re talking about. If I

bring a pretty man to my room to entertain me by reading plays until the wee

hours of the morning, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I’ve heard from your neighbors that the readings get noisy.”

“Since they’re plays, the various parts have to be acted out.”

“Vigorously, no doubt.”

Rhi grinned.

Zenia pushed herself gingerly up on one elbow, fearing the pain at her

temple would intensify, but the dull ache remained at a constant level, one she

could deal with. Good. She had a mission to complete. She had no intention

of returning to the temple until she recaptured her man.

“I’m surprised the zyndar paid for our treatment,” Rhi said. “Though his

pointy-eared demon of a friend was the one responsible for our injuries, so

maybe it’s fair.”

“I’m certain he was hoping to win leniency from the Order.” Zenia pushed

herself into a sitting position and looked for her robe. Someone had removed

it, leaving her in her linen chemise. She grimaced when she spotted it hanging

from the bed knob, damp and wrinkled. Had someone attempted to wash out

her blood? Apparently, unicorn magic wasn’t used for laundering.

“Will it work?”

“Winning our leniency? No.”

“Are we going after them again?” Rhi looked to where her bo stood

propped against the stone wall. Her words came out neutrally, without any of

her typical enthusiasm for a mission.

“Don’t want to face the elf again?”

Rhi took a deep breath and let it out. “If that’s what we have to do, I’m

with you, of course. But I do recommend taking reinforcements. This zyndar

didn’t seem to realize your fearsome reputation was supposed to cow him into

coming along quietly.”

“He came along. It was the elf who was problematic.”