"Lady Rachael!" the crown prince called out. Rachael appeared in the alley and ran over to his side. "What do you see there?"

Rachael turned and looked up, the hood of her cloak falling back. "Aly!" she called out. "Come down!"

I shifted on the roof, loosening a few more tiles. They broke free and slipped down the curved roof to smash upon the ground. No, there were bad people down there; I didn't think I'd join them any time soon.

"Aly!" Rachael shouted more forcefully, dodging the tiles. "C'mon! Snap out of it!"

"Do you want one of us to get her, sir?" Arun asked, sheathing his sword.

"Wouldn't that be something?" Kesio mused, shaking his head. "No, I think that it is best if we let her come down on her own."

"Aly! Get your ass down here!"

Slowly, my heart rate returned to normal and sense began to worm its way back to the forefront of my mind. How the hell was I going to get down?

I stood up and peered around the rooftops. Well, there'd be no saving these folks' tiles, that was for certain. I padded along the first roof, then jumped down to a balcony that was higher than the one I'd climbed up. From there, it was a simple leap to the ground. My limbs bent accordingly, absorbing the impact.

As I walked towards our group, the Tsolas stiffened. Garin shifted in his stance, one hand going to a short dagger hanging from his wide belt. Shifting, I stood up and wrapped my arms around myself—not because I was cold, but because all the adrenaline had left my body. I began to shake, small tremors that got everyone's notice.

"Give the lady your cloak," Kesio ordered the elven woman on the ground.

With trembling fingers, she unfastened the pins that held the cloak closed and handed it to Kesio. He stalked around the woman and draped the cloak around my shoulders.

"Did they harm you, lady?" he asked gently, setting the pins when my own fingers could not. "Where are your clothes?"

I stared at him, confused.

"Here," Rachael said, pointing to the spot where I'd shifted. Shreds of vines and ragged patches of cloth and blue jeans lay scattered in a wide circle. "They exploded."

I hugged the cloak, which still retained much of the elven woman's warmth, tightly around my body.

"What do you mean they exploded?"

Rachael shrugged. "That's what happens when we shift with clothes on. Anything not made from natural fibers goes boom." She pantomimed an explosion with her hands.

Kesio nodded thoughtfully. Then he turned to Arun. "Go and inform my sister of what happened. Then fetch the guard. I want all of these people confined to the penitentiary." He gestured vaguely around the street.

"Aye, sir." He gave a sharp bow and swiftly walked back down the alley.

Rachael was at my side, hand on my shoulder. "Hey—are you okay?"

Was I okay? How does one recover from an attempted kidnapping, anyway? I threw a wordless glance in Rachael's direction and pulled the cloak more tightly around my body. Worry creased my cousin's face; she opened her mouth, then closed it. Instead, she awkwardly alternated between patting and rubbing my back.

God. I shouldn't have let Rachael stay. I should have insisted that she go right back through the portal. She was too young to be subjected to this sort of scenario. Hell, was I even old enough for this?

At my feet, the woman whimpered. The sound reached out and brought me firmly back to earth. "Who are you?" I asked her, staring at her bowed head.

Kesio tightened his grip on her shoulder. The woman tilted her chin up, green-streaked black hair spilling back. Dark brown elven eyes met mine. The memory of her holding out the scrap of cloth to wind around my eyes appeared in a flash. She had no sympathy for me then, so why should I?

Clutching the cloak, I forced myself to stare back. There was fear, true, but beyond the fear was a bold and determined personality.

She didn't care—she simply didn't care. I took a step back and watched as she favored me a small smile. I glanced at Kesio, but the crown prince wasn't paying attention. Had I made a wrong move? Was this some sort of power play that I was unaware of?

The woman's unwavering gaze unnerved me, so much that I slid behind Rachael. Thankfully, I was saved from doing or saying anything else because six elves in dark grey uniforms suddenly flooded the alley. As a unit, they bowed to Kesio.

"We'll take them for you, Your Royal Highness," a man with gold epaulets on his shoulders stated respectfully.

"I want to know who they are and why they tried to abduct a guest of the Crown," Kesio told him as one of the guards approached. He fairly shoved the woman into the guard's waiting hands. As her hands were wrenched behind her back, she looked over at me. I flinched, but then she turned her attention to Rachael.

"Either one of you would have done," she called out as the guardsman shoved her into a walk.

My protective instincts kicked in and I threw my arm around Rachael's shoulders. The woman yelped as the guard twisted her arm. All the bravado in her eyes faded as she watched as more guards poured into the alley. A single tear leaked down her cheek as she was led away.

Kesio folded his arms, lips drawn in a tight line. "Let's get something to eat, hm? And a change of clothes."

The Tsolas found a tavern not too far from the alleyway. The tavern keeper, the first non-angular elven woman I'd yet to see in Valderon, allowed me the use of her upstairs apartment to change. Thankfully, I had an extra pair of jeans in my backpack, but the ones that I'd shredded had been my favorites.

"You poor dear," the tavern keeper, whose name was Rinya, murmured as she poured a basin of water to wash my face in. If she was surprised to find the crown prince, his sister, two bodyguards and two humans in her establishment, she didn't show it. She was different from the typical Summer elf mold; pale brown skin with golden—almost metallic—hair, silver eyes, and white, scrolling tattoos that flowed across her brow and the backs of her hands. An immigrant from yet another kingdom? I wondered.

"Thank you," I replied quietly, turning my arms over to inspect them. Thick red welts marred them from wrist to shoulder. I knew from removing the cloak that there were similar welts up and down my torso and legs.

Damn, and the ones Leihalani gave me had just healed.

"I've never seen anything like that in all my years," Rinya continued, breezily chattering away as I washed up.

I looked up, water dripping down my face. "Do you know who they are?"

Rinya shook her head, the thin silver rings in her hair chiming. "Not in the least. All sorts of people pass through Valderon on their way north. But they wouldn't be allowed in here, I can tell you that much. I run a respectable establishment."

I'm sure that she did. Drying my face, I picked up my backpack and slid behind the screen Rinya had erected in her parlor. A thought occurred to me as I let that horrid blue cloak fall to the floor and pulled on my second-favorite pair of jeans.

"Have you seen any humans?" I asked. "That is, before me and my cousin."

She shook her head. "Not personally, but my father did meet one when he was a young boy in the Light Kingdom."

Well, that explained the glowing complexion.

Biting my lip against a twinge of pain, I tugged a shirt over my head. "Oh?"

"He said that a woman appeared in their village and strolled through it as if she was meant to be there."

"She arrived by herself? No one brought her?"

"I believe so."

So some humans had managed to figure out how the Gates worked in the past. Interesting. "And what happened? Did she stay or did she return?"

Rinya paused. "I believe she stayed," she said after a beat.

I popped around the other side of the screen, thoughts circling in my head as I zipped up the backpack. How much should I reveal to her? God, I wasn't cut out for these types of games. Throwing caution to the wind, I said, "The reason why I ask is because we're trying to find a young boy who was taken from our city."

Rinya shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear, I wish I could help you."

I sighed. What was one more dead end? Thanking the tavern keeper for her generosity, I went back downstairs to join the others.

Down in the tavern, Leihalani, Rachael and Kesio were seated at a table in the middle of the room; plates of food were already in front of them. Garin and Arun, the two Tsolas, stood opposite each other with their arms folded. They altered their stances as I walked around the corner, but returned to normal once they saw it was me.

As I reached to pull out a chair, a loud shout echoed from a secondary room partially screened off from the main dining area.

"Feckin' idjit!"

Rinya meandered up behind me, wiping her hands on a well-worn apron. "Don't mind them, Your Royal Highnesses. Just five men from Vos District; they come here once a week to play games away from the missuses." She paused as a different male voice rose in protest. "Although," she added, wincing in embarrassment, "I could ask them to leave ...?"

Kesio leaned forward, seemingly interested. "What sort of games?" he asked as Leihalani rolled her eyes.

"Oh, card games, board games."

"Hmm," the crown prince murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. "Do they wager?"

"Sometimes."

"I just might join them later."

Leihalani outright glared at her brother. "We have more important things to do than play board games, Kesio kir Belanos!" Planting her hands on the table, she shoved herself to her feet.  "I'm going to go to the guard station."

Kesio signaled one of the Tsolas. "Garin, follow my sister. Make sure she doesn't get assaulted on the way."

"Yes, sir." Garin bowed and turned to follow the princess.

I looked at the crown prince. "Shouldn't we go, too?"

Kesio took a sip of wine and carefully put down the glass. "Why? What purpose would your presence serve?"

I stared at him in disbelief. "Because they tried to kidnap me?" What sort of prince was this man, anyway? A dashing warrior one minute, an indolent fop the next. I honestly had no idea what facet of his personality would take center stage.

"Sit, my lady," Kesio said, gesturing to the chair gripped in my hands. When I hesitated, he repeated the request, a little more forcefully this time. Mindful of the remaining Tsola bodyguard, I did as he asked.

The crown prince cut a slice of meat and raised it to his mouth. A thick purple sauce dripped from the morsel and onto the plate. "All will be revealed in time."

"But that lady said 'either one of them would do'," Rachael pointed out.

Had she said that? I couldn't recall. Nearly everything from the moment I'd been pulled from the horse was one big kaleidoscope of a blur.

My cousin's expression turned contemplative and she tapped her fork against her palm. "How did she know that we were human?" Suddenly, she gasped, a hand flying to her throat. "What if they're the ones who took Jimmy?"

Kesio rested his fork on the plate and folded his hands. "That is quite the stretch, Lady Rachael. For all that we know, it was just a random gang looking to rob us."

"That makes me feel so much better," I retorted with heavy sarcasm, rolling my eyes. Rachael stared at the prince in disbelief.

A man appeared over my shoulder, lowering a plate to the table. It had the same cut of meat, seasoned potatoes, and a mix of green vegetables covered in a yellow dressing. I studied it morosely, not exactly in the mood for food.

That was a first.

"Eat," the crown prince said, indicating the plate. "After this, we will go to the guard station."

"C'mon, Aly," Rachael said, pushing a fork towards me. "You know what Nana says about food."

My lips twitched as the memory surfaced. "Anything can be cured with a good meal," I quoted. Although, I doubted Nana meant surviving a kidnapping attempt. I sighed, but took up knife and fork. "Your Royal Highness," I grumbled, saluting the crown prince with a slice of what I thought was some kind of beef.

Kesio merely nodded and returned to eating.