I stood in the middle of the bedroom, frozen, gathering my thoughts. The contents of my pack were all I had to prove to Luther that I wasn’t a spy. Worse, with them, I had hoped to prevent a war between both of my countries… to prevent more deaths.

What if Luther decides to send me back to Thornland?

I pushed down tears of dread and marched back into the common area. Gallen and Gaia were sitting close to each other on an emerald blue daybed. 

“Gallen,” I trembled, hating to interrupt their tender moment with bad news. 

Gallen’s expression darkened. 

“It’s my pack. I can’t find it anywhere,” I informed him. “It was next to my bed when I left the room this morning, but now it’s gone.”

Gaia stood up next to Gallen. “What was in it?”

“All the documents Tatiana took from Duke Franco,” Gallen shook his head. “Valuable information that proves that Thornland is plotting to attack Voke.”

I drew a deep breath. “The cost of my stay in Ligones.” 

“The cost of your stay? Hold on,” Gaia looked at her husband. “She’s half-demon. You said that she was taken from Voke after the Eleven Years’ War! She isn’t the only demon to have been taken by Thornland,” she paused, her voice thick with grief. “We should be grateful to have her back.”

“It’s not that simple, my love. Luther fears… well...” Gallen glanced at me, uncomfortable.

“What?!” Gaia snapped. 

“That she could be a spy.”

Gaia’s tinkling laugh resounded in the room, forcing Gallen to shrink ever so slightly. 

“Gallen Leno, Dryn of Faraway Lands. You deal with spies everyday. Do you truly believe that she could be one?”

I frowned, unsure whether I was meant to take this as a compliment. 

“I don’t,” Gallen started, “But decades of conflict with Thornland has made demons distrustful of humans… and of anyone who has dealt with them for so long. Luther simply can’t take any chances.”

“I understand,” I interrupted their argument. “I’ve convinced Luther to help me flee Thornland. Let me convince him to let me stay in Voke. I believe I can offer something other than the documents.”

I knew that the demons didn’t have anyone who was able to speak both Shadowtongue and Commontongue. The demons always travelled to us. Perhaps Luther would see value in having his own court interpreter. 

“Luther is a good man. I trust he will do what’s right,” Gaia backed down. “I’ll search for your missing pack while you’re gone. Ligones can be treacherous, although I have a hard time believing anyone would steal from us.”

Gallen led me through a series of passageways concealed between the pleats of the tents and the width of the fortified walls snaking around them. The citadel twisted through the pine trees like a maze of colorful fabric and sand-colored stones. 

By the time Gallen lifted up a tan panel of leather, I had no idea where I was. We both stepped inside an airy, circular room. Ivy curled up the poles along the sides of the tent and weaved above us like a green net. 

A pool of light illuminated a desk at the center of the room. Luther looked up at us from his work. My breath snagged when our eyes met, and, remembering myself, I immediately sank into a low bow. 

“My king,” I started. 

Luther circled his desk and took my hand, gently encouraging me to raise back up. 

“Welcome to Ligones,” he said. “Please, demons don’t have to bow before their king. I am at their service.”

His answer surprised me. A human man with his looks and power would never pass up an opportunity to have a woman bow to him.

Luther examined me with sharp, purple eyes. “May I review the documents?” 

I braced myself, heart hammering. “I’m afraid… I…” My face turned crimson red under King Luther’s piercing gaze. He had a disarming way of observing me, as if he was trying to read my thoughts. 

“We don’t have them anymore, Luth,” Gallen intervened. 

Luther cocked an eyebrow. “Where did they go?”

“That we don’t know yet,” Gallen informed him. “The documents were in her leather pack, as you saw in Thornland, but now, we can’t find it.”

“A thief?” Luther asked. 

“I don’t know,” Gallen replied. “But I reviewed some of the documents in Thornland. She didn’t lie about their contents.”

Luther leaned back in his green leather chair, sighing deeply. My breath was too shallow, too fast, and I worried that Luther could sense how afraid I was. Duke Franco had taught me that if people could smell my fear, I would lose the battle. Men of power didn’t respect weakness. 

So I sat up straight, raising my chin. 

“Luther,” I started, using the informal way demons addressed their king. “I may have lost the documents, but I can offer you knowledge from a decade of sitting in strategic meetings in Thornland.” 

Luther remained impassive as I plunged my gaze into his. “Also… I am a trained court interpreter. Voke doesn’t have anyone who can speak both Shadowntongue and Commontongue. Let me make myself useful here. Let me be your interpreter,” I pleaded. 

“Tell me, Tatiana,” Luther replied. “If you have indeed fled Thornland, wouldn’t I create more conflict between our countries if Duke Franco realized that I had taken you in?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. He was right. In my haste to come up with a solution, I had drummed up a terrible one, one that made me look even more like a spy! I twisted my hands together so Luther wouldn’t see them tremble.

“I have in-depth knowledge of Thornland’s military strategies. I can offer you what I know!” I continued, trying to control the desperation in my voice. “The Eastern River is Voke’s weak point. The humans want to prevent you from repairing the dam, because they know that if it breaks, the river will flood Voke and paralyze your armies stationed near the border! They are plotting a war.”

Luther’s silence spurred me to continue even more frantically. 

“All I want is to make myself useful. To help prevent another war!” 

Gallen placed a calming hand on my arm. I paused to catch my breath.

“She’s right, Luth. If she’s a spy, Thornland really went out of their way to make her look suspicious. We’ve unmasked spies before...did they ever come to us chased by a dozen horsemen?”

Luther considered both of us for an eternity. 

“You can stay in Voke,” he finally decided. “No demon should have to suffer what you went through, and you will always have your place here, as long as you keep your true identity hidden. Thornland can't know you're here, and Voke can't know who you are. But that is it. The political affairs of our kingdom are off limits.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Luther stood up. 

“My decision is final, Tatiana,” he said before showing us out.