Vrasha is finished questioning them for now.

After she was done talking to the slaves, Vrasha gestured to Elody and the two returned to the bedroom to speak. As the door closed behind them with a solid sounding click, Vrasha turned to her partner.

"What do you think?"

"Everything that they said was the truth," Elody told her. "Or at least they believed it to be so. There was no doubt or hesitation."

"So they were not lying?"

"Not unless they can fool even me."

"Hmmm." Vrasha turned again, pacing back and forth as she thought. "You know what I think when I hear those stories? At least two out of three of those women should have been unhappy with how they ended up. But they weren't. They didn't even seem to be able to consider that they should be. Could this be magic, Elody?"

"There is no spell on them," Elody said. "I would be able to sense it and counter it. Even if I could not break it, I would know it was there. As far as I can tell, they are really willing."

"No." Vrasha frowned. "I refuse to believe that. Culture can account for a lot, but not that much. There must be some other **** at work here. We need to uncover it."

"How do you suggest we do that?"

"That I do not know," Vrasha admitted. "We're few in number and certainly being watched. Even if I could do it myself, the princess of another kingdom would not exactly be able to get straight answers about such a delicate thing. They want present their city in the best way possible. Karden will be chaperoning us wherever we go, and I don't doubt that he will carefully conceal anything we are not supposed to know."

"You could press him directly. See if he cracks. Even if he lies to you, the specific lies can be as important as the truth in the right situation."

"That's true," Vrasha said. "And I am going to do that but I cannot rely on just that alone. I am going to need someone else to look into this. Specifically you."

"Me?"

"Yes." Vrasha nodded. "You've kept your hood up for most of the time you've been here so Karden does not know what you actually look like. A real sorceress would never abandon her robe to blend in with the rest of the city. It would be a matter of pride. However as you yourself have noted, you're not actually a sorceress. You just play one. So you can absolutely do that. Which means that if I tell Karden tomorrow that you are not feeling well or that you're doing some magical ritual, he'll probably be suspicious. But he'll tell his men to look out for a blue-robed sorceress. Which you will not be."

"I see." Elody said. "And what will I do once I have slipped away from the palace?"

"I can't say," Vrasha frowned. "It depends on what you find. I am sure there is something to be uncovered and I want you to find it. I trust you in this, and trust your instincts. My best advice is to look to where the slaves are gathered. Find out what happens to them, Follow them and see if anything is being done to them magically. Return at sundown and report your findings. Meanwhile I will be pressing Karden and seeing if he lets anything slip. We'll compare notes and see if we have uncovered anything by then. Then we'll act on that."

Elody nodded.

"That seems like a good plan, but I do not like letting you out of my sight."

Vrasha smiled and shook her head.

"Don't forget who I am, Elody. I am not some princess that needs to be guarded. I am Vrasha the Windblade, and if Karden tries anything I am more than able to defend myself."