Helmar knew the letter was missing before the breakfast dishes were cleared.
Midnight watched his confidant enter the dining hall through a side door. He crossed behind the household steward, placed one hand against the back of Helmar's chair, and bent as though answering a quiet question.
Helmar continued cutting the mushrooms on his plate.
The guards outside the hall changed three minutes later.
Lana felt Midnight's attention follow the first pair away. Four replacements took their positions at the doors. Two wore the stronghold's ordinary family colors. The other two wore undecorated armor and carried the same hooked blades used by the assassins on the road.
She lowered her cup without drinking.
Rod saw the movement and looked toward Tharic. No one needed to explain what it meant. Helmar had discovered the empty place in his correspondence case, and the time they purchased by pretending to trust him had ended.
Tharic finished the last bite on his plate.
