“Thank you,” Piaras said earnestly.

“Don’t mention it.”

I approved of family-ensured safety. The Guardians would arrest first, ask questions later. Phaelan would kill first, no questions asked.

“I’ve told Piaras what we might have to do tonight,” I said.

Phaelan nodded. “I know you don’t like it, kid. But trust me—the view’s a lot better from outside cell bars. I speak from experience.”

“I don’t want that experience,” Piaras said.

My cousin grinned wolfishly. “That’s why I’m here. And that’s why I’m going to the recital. Aside from my incomparable bodyguard services, there’s the entertainment value of rich people clutching their jewels when I walk through the door. You just can’t buy that kind of fun.”

“We want you there,” I told him. “The question is, will Mychael let you?”

“My presence is paladin approved.”

I snorted. “Since when?”

Phaelan’s grin vanished. “Since I told him there was no way in hell the two of you were going into that hornet’s nest without me.”

“Thank you.” And I meant it.

His dark eyes were as serious as I’d ever seen them. “That’s what family is for.” Then the rogue was back. “That and jailbreaks. Speaking of which, Tanik Ozal is in port.”

I swore silently. Next to our family, the Ozals were the second-most-notorious criminal family in the seven kingdoms. What Tanik Ozal was doing here boded no good for local law enforcement or anyone else. Anything he and Phaelan tried to pull would come back to splatter on me. After today, I wasn’t in the mood to be splattered.

“Phaelan,” I said in warning.

My cousin raised his hands defensively. “We’re not up to anything. Tanik wants to help.”

An Ozal promising help was like a shark promising not to eat you.

“Tanik’s here to bring his son back to school,” Phaelan continued. “I told him about the two of you getting hung out to dry, and he wants to help in any way he can.” Phaelan’s grin was cheerfully evil. “And he said if it involves blowing anything up, all the better. But for starters, I’ve asked him to keep an eye on his neighbors. He’s docked in a prime slip; Mal’Salin and Khrynsani craft on one side, and that elven intelligence agent’s yacht on the other. And if you buy a lot of drinks for some of Balmorlan’s crew, you find out all sorts of fascinating things, like their captain’s told them to be ready to leave fast. They even have a pair of weather wizards on board to help it happen.”

I swore.

“Yeah, I thought it was interesting, too. And the Khrynsani ship has her bow pointed toward open water. Tanik said they had to do a lot of maneuvering to get her that way. Anyway, Tanik says he’ll keep watch for us.”

“Thank him for me,” I said.

“I already have. And if we do this thing, you’ll get a chance to thank him yourself.”

I frowned. “Phaelan, no. Absolutely no.”

“Cousin, if we want to leave this island, it’s not going to be on the Fortune. Stealth is called for, and the paladin has got my lady wrapped in cloaking spells, and a few other things my men discovered when they tried to raise anchor. Key word there is ‘tried.’ ”

I didn’t move. “You couldn’t raise anchor?”

“Not an inch. The paladin has made sure we’re not going anywhere.”

“Mychael wouldn’t do that.” I said it, but I wasn’t so sure.

His duty was to keep the Saghred on the island. Until I was no longer bonded to the Saghred, that same mind-set would have to apply to me. Mychael would do his duty at all costs.

"Damn,” I muttered.

Phaelan nodded slowly. “Now you’re getting the picture. Since he cut off one exit, we’ll just take another. Tanik’s Zephyr is a nimble little craft, no high tides needed for her to leave the harbor. He’ll drop us off at Mermeia. I sent a message to Dad before we left Mermeia last week. By now he’ll be waiting there just in case we need him.”

“Commodore” Ryn Benares was Phaelan’s dad, my uncle, and the main reason the name Benares struck terror everywhere it was mentioned. Beneath his reputation lurked a softy, at least to his children—and Uncle Ryn considered me one of his own. It’d be nice to see him again. From Mermeia we could go anywhere.

“What about your crew?” I asked.

“What about them?”

“When Mychael finds out I’m missing, if he doesn’t put your ship on lockdown, the Twelve will. Your crew will probably be taken into custody.”

Phaelan shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time. And they’ll probably be confined to the ship, not taken into the citadel. No lawman I’ve ever run afoul of wants to take a pirate crew off their ship and through town. Too many chances for bad things to happen. And my crew’s known for bad things. Mychael, or whoever, will leave my men right where they are. They’ll just post more guards. My men know what to do. Lay low, keep quiet, and sit tight until I get back. It’s not like they haven’t done it before. They know the drill.”

I exhaled. “I don’t like it, but it’s like you said—we’re not exactly flush with options here. Okay, listen up. One block down from Sirens is a row of town houses. There’s a street that runs behind them. That time of night that street should be nice and dark, and from there it’s a straight shot to the harbor. We’ll meet there if we get separated.”

I looked questioningly at Piaras. He nodded grimly.

Phaelan clapped and rubbed his hands together. “Good, that’s settled.” He took a small velvet pouch out of his doublet. “You said your gown’s black, right?”

I nodded. Riston’s wife had gone shopping for me this morning. The fruit of her labor hung in my closet. Normally I didn’t care for gowns, but I had to admit I liked this one. It was the softest black velvet I’d ever felt, its long sleeves were tight, and the gown itself was perfectly cut, sleekly styled, with a short train. With my pale skin and red gold hair, black had always been my best friend. If I had to walk into a hornet’s nest tonight—or make a quick getaway—at least I’d look good doing it.

“Here.” Phaelan tossed a drawstring bag to me. I opened it and a choker of creamy gray pearls spilled out into my hand. The clasp was an ornate, diamond bow. Very nice.

I gave him my best fess-up look. “How hot is it?”

Phaelan’s dark eyes went wide and innocent. “Pardon?”

“Hot, stolen, missing, no longer where it’s supposed to be—”

He grinned crookedly. “They’ve cooled down.”

“Is there any chance the former owner will be at Sirens tonight?”

“That would depend on who’s invited.”

“Maybe a better question would be, ‘Who should I avoid?’ ”

He shrugged. “I took it off a ship going to Nebia.”

“Are there any Nebian royals or merchants among Ronan’s students?” I asked Piaras.

“Not that I’m aware of.” The kid was fighting a grin and losing. I should have known better than to think anyone in my family could set a good moral example. Though it was nice to see Piaras smile.

I sighed. “They are beautiful. I’ll chance it.”

“There’s a matching bracelet and earrings in the bag, too,” Phaelan said brightly.

Of course there were. Never let it be said my cousin stole anything halfway.

Chapter 17

I was bejeweled, my hair was up, and I was dressed—at least from the front.

Riston’s wife had bought a gown for me, but what she didn’t get was an extra pair of hands to lace the thing up. The gown laced up the back, starting near the base of my spine and ending just below my shoulder blades. All I saw when I looked over my shoulder were open silk laces and a lot of exposed skin.

Crap.

Vegard’s duties were about to expand to include dresser.

I went to the door and yanked it open. Mychael was standing there in his steel gray formal uniform, his fist raised to knock.

I loved a man in uniform. I especially loved seeing this particular man in that uniform. Mychael’s auburn hair was damp from a recent bath—and those sea blue eyes were tracing every velvety curve of my gown. I smiled at him. A girl does like to feel appreciated.

“You were actually going to knock this time,” I said. “No kicking or blasting.”

Mychael met my eyes. “I knocked last time. When you didn’t answer, then I kicked and blasted. May I come in?”

I stepped aside so he could.

Mychael closed the door behind him. “Riston’s wife wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I—”

“Told her what you would like?” I finished suggestively.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I thought you would agree with my choice.”

“I do. Do you like it?”

“Very much so,” he murmured. “And the pearls match your eyes.”

My hand went to the choker at my throat. “Phaelan brought them to me.”

“Legal purchase or illegal acquisition?”

I let out a short laugh. “Guess. However, he did say they’ve cooled off enough to wear in public.”

The gown slipped off my shoulder. I quickly pulled it back up, and clutched the front of my bodice with the other hand.

Mychael stepped back toward the door. “I can see you’re not finished dressing. I’ll wait in—”

“No, no. I need your hands.”

“My what?”

I half turned so Mychael could see my predicament. “I can’t go like this.”

I heard a muffled noise and looked over my shoulder at him. He was laughing silently.

“No, you definitely shouldn’t go anywhere like that.” Mychael’s smile had reached his eyes. He was looking at my bare back, but making no move to do anything about making it less bare.