Following the attention from the grounds, the patrols roving slowly along the peak of the wall abandoned their tracks, refocusing their efforts on the grove. Risens cursed his luck. The lovers giggled as their escapades continued, ecstasy overtaking their worry about the alarm.

  His position was tenuous. From both directions along the wall, guards combed the grounds, pinching down on his position within the safety of the small glade. Well-manicured as it was, there was little undergrowth in which to hide. With the size of the approaching patrol, he expected every meter under the shadows of the trees would soon be illuminated by mageLight.

  Groaning at his options, he had no choice. Risens hastened to the water’s edge, lowering himself silently into the pond. Fed by a natural spring below, the chill was intense. The slope being nearly vertical, within a meter, he found himself treading water, with just his head above water. Moving as slowly as possible to prevent the spread of larger ripples, he tucked himself behind a large protruding rock closer to the wall.

  Through the quiet of the night, the panicked curses and impassioned complaints of the lovers were clear as they realized their plight and misfortune. The young lady slipped off the man, straightening her dress. He fumbled to pull up his trousers, managing to do so just as the guards crashed into the grove. The pair was quickly surrounded, the cones of light flooding the grove as if it were daylight. The disappointment was evident across their faces, though he could see the flush of red as embarrassment settled in.

  “Young Lord, I’m regretful to find you here so entwined.” The soldier’s words were terse, though Risens could hear the lingering note of humor that colored the message. “The grounds are long closed. Curfew is well past. The honorable heads of your houses will be most disappointed to learn of this.”

  The message sent a shiver through both young nobles. The young lady’s hands went to her mouth, while the young Lord looked sheepishly at the ground. Risens understood their predicament all too well. Beyond the embarrassment of young lovers caught in the act, there were far more profound political implications. The houses of their parents shared anything but friendly relations. Unless he was mistaken, the young Lady whom he now recognized as Lady Philmont was already promised to the son of another Duke, growing their family’s hold on trading rights along the shores of the Sea Solace.

  “There is no need for them to know anything, good sirs,” the young Lord puffed up his chest as he faced the head of the guards. “Silence always comes with a price.”

  “Lord Tremonti—”

  The young Lord held up a hand, silencing the guard as he reached into his pants pockets, taking the opportunity to fix the belt around his waist. He removed a coin pouch and tossed the heavily laden purse to the guard.

  Testing the weight of it in his hand a few times, the guard grinned. “I’ll expect a similar sum from Last Philmont at first light. There are quite a few lips that need to be sealed by gold here this night.”

  At the young Lady’s nod, he tucked the purse into his coat, stepping to the side and gesturing toward the main building.“We’ll see you to Excelsior. Next time, keep your… negotiations inside. Now, I expect you to clean up this mess.”

  Lord Tremonti waved him off. “I’m sure you’ve been paid handsomely enough to do so yourself.”

  The young pair headed back toward the estate, unfulfilled and slightly poorer for the advent. A few soldiers followed while the rest remained in the trees. From where Risens was concealed along the edge of the pond, he had a view of all that had transpired.

  As the head of the guards dispersed without raising an alarm, so too did the patrols on the walls. He watched the retreating play of their lights through the foliage on one side, while the reflections dancing across the pond signaled the similar withdrawal of those he could not see.

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  Risens considered withdrawing from the chilly waters, but the guards’ light still lingering in the forest stayed his hand. Ribald comments, jeers, and laughter followed in the wake of the noble youths, and he understood that no matter what fees they extracted, the news of their philandering would soon echo in the ears of every noble in the kingdom. His current position was safe from those on the walls and the grounds beyond, but would likely fail under direct inspection. He tipped his head back, leaving as little as possible out of the water as a pair of guards broke from the group, shifting their focus—and more distressingly their cone of light—in his direction.

  The glow from the mageLight distorted as it washed back and forth over the water. Clothed in all black, he knew that there would be little chance that anyone could see his figure beneath the surface. The gleaming silver of the mask was the greater concern, yet for now, it was still hidden behind the cloth collar around his neck. Risens may have been slow to learn as of late, but not this time. He’d experienced the benefits of the Shadows Shroud enough to know that he could withstand time completely submerged without the need for air. He lowered himself beneath the surface and took a deep breath.

  Where water should have poured into his lungs, drowning him in the depths of the pool, only crisp, clean oxygen filled his lungs. Rejuvenated and safe from prying eyes, he dug his hands into he silty bottom of the pond, clawing for purchase of anything solid hidden within the muck. While he could breathe just fine, the water was far too dirty to allow clear vision beyond a few inches. His fingers clamped onto what he assumed to be the smooth surface of a log, squeezing as if it were his lifeline.

  The moments stretched into what felt like a lifetime as he waited beneath the placid waters. Risens was loath to test how long he could remain underwater. It could have been minutes or days—perhaps even until he starved to death. However, he would not have the opportunity to discover the answer to that critical question. The moment the illumination from the mageLights shifted from the water, he poked his head above the surface, greedily sucking in the cool night air out of sheer habit.

  Rising slowly from among a small bed of lily pads, Risens watched as the guards arranged themselves into a crude order before marching back through the glade toward the main structure of Excelsior in the distance. From where he floated in the pond, he could see the small, retreating silhouettes of the chastened Lord and Lady following their escorts back to the confines of their academy. Perhaps, the duty of guarding the nobility was far more lucrative than he had imagined, though it only added emphasis to the inherent danger. He had no doubt that the guards who accepted the bribe of their silence would disappear, conspicuously relocated soon after tonight’s events reached the ears of those who could stand to lose, or perhaps gain the most from the news. Whether death or promotion, they would soon find themselves in vastly different standing.

  Easing out of the water, Risens took careful stock of his situation. The night was cool, though neither the chill nor the wet clothing would deter him from completing his mission. Careful to place his sodden feet on the grass, not the stones, he crept into the cover of the now vacant grove. This time, it was only the insects that joined him as he quickly rang as much of the water out of his clothing as time would allow. A quick investigation of his cloak as he slipped his arms back through the damp fabric confirmed that the pocket was indeed waterproof, as the ill-fated merchant had described. The Raven’s Guide, his cipher, the pages taken from the Dreamcatchers’ tome, and his healing salve all remained safe and dry.

  Above all, his boots were the most bothersome item now that they had been submerged in the water. They were thin and flexible, designed for stealth with an added layer of protection for his soles. While they protected him from the elementsand muffled the sound of his movements, the unfortunate downside was that they retained the liquid that had overflown their top. The delay in pouring out the excess and wringing out his socks was annoying, though he settled his frustration by reminding himself that time was still on his side.

  The guards escorting the vagrant youths inside Excelsior had just disappeared into the opulent building. The remainder of the patrol angled to the eastern side of the building to his left, soon to be out of sight around the corner. On the wall, both groups of elevated watch tracked away from his position.

  It looked like the time to move was now. Slipping back into his damp boots, he stalked through the grove toward the academy beyond.