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She left the roo the door behind her Her tread silent upon the stairs, she descended to the first floor In the foyer, the s it filled her with renewed vigor

But there was another scent there, one that she recognized

Wayland Smith had said he would be there to see theered He had already arrived Kitsune sniffed again, nostrils flaring, to be certain she was not mistaken No, he was here Had passed by only moments before

Breakfast was served in a sonally opposite the tavern where they hadThe tavern would be closed now, the stink of stale ale re no matter how many times the tables had been scrubbed It would be dark, and e, the tavern was not entirely unoccupied

This early in the , she saw only the innkeeper as she walked noiselessly toward the tavern Soon the few other guests at the inn would begin to rise to make their way down for breakfast, at least if the aroma of food was any indication It occurred to her that the innkeeper and his wifetheuests when they rose That was sensible

But even as such thoughts crossed herto the low drone of voices co from the tavern Kitsune narrowed her eyes and raised her hood, resisting the urge to transform She did not need to be in the for Even before she reached the open arched entrance to the tavern, she could ed

Wayland Smith and Frost

At first this set her at ease She had been growing in with He had been there at Aht they were betrayed, after all But if he ith Frost, that was to be expected They would be discussing the Borderkind, what , and which of their kin Frost and his coterie ht be likely to encounter on their way to Yucatazca

But that was not the subject of their conversation

"You’re taking a great risk with the Bascombes," Smith said

Kitsune froze, then slipped into the shadows just outside the entrance to the roo like a fox They would not notice her as long as she did nothing foolish

"It cannot be helped," Frost replied "Whoever is behind the Hunters--whether it be Ty’Lis or some unknown enemy--they must be destroyed I do not wish Oliver and his sister ill, but the needs of the Borderkind take precedence"

Wayland Shed softly, bitterly "When it comes to the Bascombes, how can you knohat the Borderkind need?"

"I do not clai our enemies directly will at least doms are too busy to chase theibberish to her It did not seem that they meant Oliver harm, but there were secrets here, most certainly

"You hope," Smith replied "Why not just trumpet his presence, then? The Lost Ones would rush to his aid if they understood who he was He and his sister"

"Oh, yes, excellent plan," Frost said "At the moment, only a very feho the Bascombes are, and what their presence could mean If everyone knew, there would be far more ould try to kill theer as an Intruder, but he has a s a reprieve if he is clever Why have every legend in the Two Kingdo more that can be done I must see to my kin first His fate is in his own hands And Kitsune’s Much as we could use her, I’ with him He stands a chance, with her"

Fro lit, and then the smell of Smith’s pipe, the tobacco rich and earthy He spoke between puffs

"You’ve really rimly

There was asound of ice crystals as Frost moved

"You’d do well to watch your tone with me, sir"

"Of course," Wayland Smith replied

The fear in his voice an to hear of Hunters preying upon Borderkind,had to be done, that some dark power saw us as a threat and wanted to eradicate us But when I heard whispers that they had been sent after the Bascombes, I knew I had to protect theht others It would have been so much simpler But the Falconer surprised me He was faster than I expected I ounded"

Sain, his voice was rough from smoke "You had no choice"

"None I was too weak to spirit theet to a place where I could cross through the Veil The only way to save hi a death warrant on his head for trespassing?"

"It couldn’t be helped," Frost said, his tone as crisp and cold as his skin "Just as I had no choice but to leave Collette behind I couldn’t take them both--"

"But you only needed one to survive So you sacrificed the sister"