Free Wedding Bells, Magic Spells by Lisa Shearin

close and good friend. Whoever was responsible for the attack was going to pay dearly.
    “Have you taken any steps to suspend mirror travel to the island?” Imala continued.
    “Only in the citadel,” Mychael replied. “We haven’t heard of any other incidences. Our expert is working on a way to safely test the mirror the two of you were going to use to see if it’s infested.”
    “Infested is a good description,” Tam said. “To produce a web of the thickness Raine described would make that Rak’kari, from the tip of a front leg to the tip of a back one…about as long as Raine is tall.”
    I shivered from head to toe and didn’t even try to stop it. I knew what kind of nightmare I’d be having tonight. That is, if I managed to get to sleep.
    Mychael didn’t bat an eye. “All the more reason to keep this quiet until we know whether there’s a danger outside the citadel. I don’t want to incite a panic, especially when there might not be grounds for it. There was only one attack. I have people listening for news of any other incidents. If there’s another one, then I’ll have to act, but the quieter we can keep this for now, the better.”
    “Then all of the delegates are here.”
    “All that made it here alive,” I said. “Markus wasn’t the only target. The ship carrying the elven ambassador and his staff were attacked by a Caesolian-registered ship last night. A pirate. The kind of vermin that gives my family a bad name. The ambassador, his two guards, the ship’s telepath, and the crew were killed. His staff was taken captive. Phaelan happened to be in the area and rescued them.”
    “I take it the ambassador’s second will be stepping in to fill the position.”
    “She will.”
    Imala smiled and arched a brow. “She? How delightful.”
    “Mychael’s not thrilled.”
    Delighted turned to confused. “And why would that be?”
    “The acting elven ambassador is my sister, Isibel.”
    “And you’re having protective feelings.” Imala didn’t ask that as a question. Mychael’s feelings—and the nature of those feelings—were obvious.
    “I quite understand your concern,” Imala continued, “but at the same time, you must be very proud that she has risen so high in the foreign service.”
    “I am, though the timing could have been better.”
    “In any government service, be it foreign or secret, good timing is a luxury we seldom receive.”
    “According to Phaelan,” I said, “the pirates that attacked the ambassador’s ship were paid in goblin gold in bags carrying the royal Mal’Salin seal.”
    Tam hissed a few choice words under his breath. In Goblin. When any quality swearing needed to be done, Goblin was the way to go.
    “Has there been a theft of an army outpost payroll or unauthorized transfer of funds from the royal treasury to a foreign bank?” Mychael asked him.
    Tam leaned back in his chair, suddenly looking about ten years older. “Yes and yes. The transition from Sathrik’s rule to Sarad’s regency to Chigaru’s reign has been far from smooth. Apparently Sathrik’s royal treasurer kept himself in much better condition than he did the account books. There isn’t any place royal treasury gold could be found that would surprise me. The elves have nothing to worry about from any goblin for at least the next ten years—with or without a treaty. Our courtiers and bureaucrats are going to be too busy trying to kill each other to even notice what’s happening outside of Regor. We’re doing everything we can to get the government under our control. One of the biggest problems we’re facing now is that our people are sharply divided—the haves and the have-nots. And I’m not referring to simply money. It’s about title and rank, family and purity of bloodline, social influence, political affiliations, and magical talent. The people are tired of waiting for their voices to be heard and their rights recognized. Many goblins—those in power and those without—have