“Sure.” Cal clicked into professional mode as she pointed across the lawn towards a smaller door on the side of the castle. “That’s a servant-only entrance but they won’t mind you using it, and it’s the quickest way to the kitchens. Through there, down the corridor and turn left at the end.”

The rest of her shift passed without incident. She and Buddy were playing a telepathic game of I Spy when their replacements showed up to take over. Cal slapped the guard on the back, promised to meet up with Buddy in about twenty minutes, and peeled off on her own back towards the barracks. She’d had a shower that morning, so all she needed to do was change out of her work uniform.

Buddy was waiting for her outside as she descended the steps from the barrack doors, dressed casually in jeans and a black tank top. Denim was something she’d only discovered since being on Shaman; the material was much comfier than anything she’d worn on Xara. The air was warm so she didn’t bother with her jacket, and she kept her hair up in its standard ponytail. Buddy had washed his legs off (or more likely, had had his legs washed off by some adoring stable boy) but hadn’t needed to do anything else, since he was pretty much always well-groomed. They strolled along in companionable silence as they headed towards the mess hall.

Ithiel wasn’t there yet, so Cal left Buddy outside and ducked in through the low door. She wrestled her way to the front of the bar, exchanging grins and back-slaps with a few of the other off-duty guards along the way.

“Hey, Kip!” She shouted down the bar. “You got a beer for my fancy horse?”

“You want that in a bucket?” Kip shouted back down, shaking his head in amusement.

“Nah, bottle’s good.”

She paid for two bottles of beer, headed back outside and sat down on the low wall. Snapping the lids off the beer with her keyring, she stuck one down on the wall next to her and took a swig of the other one. Almost an hour had passed since her conversation with Ithiel; he should be here soon.


CALDERA