I had been given rooms at an inn, paid for each day by the royal coffers. Vach certainly didn’t expect me to stay long in the city, thinking I would search for Saffira elsewhere. Therefore he would not be surprised that I told the innkeeper I was leaving for other accommodations. After all, I needed a quiet place to work.
That place was an unused storeroom beneath a blacksmith’s workshop. The noise of the furnace and clanging hammers would cover what sounds escaped from the underground stone room. The smith did not ask me my purpose, but took my coin and shook my hand with a tight-lipped smile. I did not waste time, and quickly began to prowl the streets looking for my target. I allowed a few hours to berate myself for not grabbing the prince when I’d seen him earlier, but regret is a gam
