Page 66 of Revealing Fate

Mender Alcuin placed a hand on the attendant’s arm. “This, my dear elder, is Cinah Creed.”

Imogen steadied herself with a hand on the counter. She suddenly needed another shot. “King Domitan’s favored attendant?” She’d heard rumors of the men who maintained the king’s favor. They didn’t tend to last long. Word was that Cinah Creed had held the position far longer than any of his predecessors. Why, she did not know. And he was here?

Cinah nodded his head. Imogen noticed a tightness to his brow at his introduction.

“What do you want with me?” she asked, finally relinquishing the bottle to the bar top.

Cinah Creed’s posture relaxed, but only just. “The mender and I met through a shared acquaintance. He asked me to come.”

“He is an ally, my dear. A most unexpected, most welcome ally,” Mender Alcuin assured. “He has news of the Prima.”

Imogen forced herself to sit and fisted the sides of the barstool to keep from grabbing the attendant’s shirtfront. “What news? Where is she?”

“I believe she was taken out of the city.”

Imogen looked between the two men. “But why? By whom?”

Mender Alcuin spoke. “The why, I can understand. But I should also like to know who.”

Cinah sighed. Weary was not a strong enough word to describe the man’s appearance. He looked bone-tired in a way that Imogen could empathize with.

“Despite the good mender’s insistence, I will not disclose my associate’s identity. I can only assure you he will not harm her,” Cinah said.

Alcuin’s lips stretched into a thin line.

“But why was she taken?” Imogen pressed. “And how?”

Cinah regarded her. “It was a mistake. We thought she was a Fate. One we intended to rescue. King Domitan found the remnants of a Fate’s cloak in the barn that burned in the eastern district. I believe the Prima was wearing it when she was taken.”

Imogen froze. Holy gods. Her cloak. Impossible…She turned to Mender Alcuin. “I was at Light House visiting my mother the night Felíne disappeared. When I returned to the royal villa, the king and queen told me she’d been escorted to my rooms while I was away. My cloak was missing.”

Cinah’s brow pinched. “She took it?”

“But why? How would she have gotten into my room?” Imogen produced her key, which she still kept on her person at all times. “I always lock my door.”

Mender Alcuin pulled up a stool and massaged his temple. “Oh dear,” he said, lines of concern etched into his well-wrinkled face. “I believe that is my fault.”

Imogen listened as the mender explained the universal key he’d gifted the Prima years ago. Her heart sank.

“Where did you come across such a thing?” Cinah asked.

The mender sighed. “I am very old and have traveled very far. I’ve collected a great many things of value.”

“And you trusted this priceless treasure to a young girl?”

“Never mind the key,” Imogen interjected. “Where is Felíne?”

Cinah rubbed the back of his neck, a strangely casual gesture that seemed incongruous with the man’s initial decorum. “It doesn’t matter. She is beyond our immediate reach.”

Imogen shot incredulous eyes at the mender before returning her accusatory glare to Cinah. “What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? Of course it does. It’s all that matters. Her presentation is just over a month away!”

“Tell me, Cinah,” Mender Alcuin insisted. “Tell me where she has been taken, and I will retrieve her myself.”

“Even if you managed to find them, you’d be hard-pressed to extract her. If my associate does not yet know her true identity, he soon will. He has already slain the king’s most proficient hunters. Domitan’s prime huntress returned to the city barely alive.”

Imogen’s eyes narrowed. “So, Felíne is in danger.”

“Not from him,” Cinah assured. “But I cannot speak for others. He’s taking her to Meress. Or, at least, that was the plan for the Fate. I cannot say how those intentions might shift if he realizes he’s got the Prima in his clutches instead.”