Inkspice by Kaitlin Bellamy

Author:Kaitlin Bellamy [Bellamy, Kaitlin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Pirates and Spies

Fox stood on the ground floor of the library, clutching a single envelope. In it was a letter from Bartrum, requesting Fox’s entry into the strategy and tactics classes he’d once stumbled into by mistake. Fox also bore a small coin purse with enough gold to cover his class expenses and tuition. His job was to learn, and observe, in a place where the rest of their small order of spies would definitely have stood out. Bartrum was already posing as a teacher, so he could get closer to university research than most of them, but if he started changing his schedule too much it might raise eyebrows. As for Darby and Farran, they were both far too old to be welcome among the students. They were given other tasks. And so, with the thrill of adventure and daring humming in his chest, Fox began to climb the many staircases up to the topmost level.

It was a mark of how truly bad things were that Darby had agreed to let Fox be a part of the espionage. All throughout the secret meetings and planning over the past few days, Darby had never once tried to shut Fox out. No secrets were kept. No objection was made to Fox’s intensified training with Bartrum, or the more constant presence of Farran. Instead, Darby was doing his part, letting himself arrive at the stables when royal hostlers were working, and charming stories out of them. He cozied up to the palace maids, and spent many late nights squiring them around town, learning bits and pieces of their day-to-day lives. Finding out what they knew about Gilvard and his plans. Before long, Darby had collected a dozen different sources, and made contacts within every branch of the palace staff, except for the Iron Order.

And that was where Fox came in.

It hadn’t taken them long to realize that the only people who might have a chance of getting close to the elite group of War Mages either had to enlist, or study under them. And so, Fox now climbed the library stairs up to the map room, where he’d once encountered Lady Virrix, one of the highest ranked among the Order.

The map room was just as he’d remembered it: an elegant blend of living wood and grey-green glass. This room bridged the library with the greenhouse next door, and elements of both were present. Bookshelves and tables were carved out of the living wood itself, and glass panes peeked through the gaps in dark branches, the natural light dappling the floorboards. Above it all, hanging from a combination of natural branches and carved beams, were small lanterns, filled with the now-familiar green light that ran through the entire city.

There was only one other person in the room when he arrived. She was a dark-skinned girl, a bit taller than Fox, and wearing robes of a deep plum. As she turned to smile at him in welcome, Fox realized he’d seen her before, the last time he’d visited the library.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.