A flutter of wings and then Prattle hopped through the small, round window, landing on the hay bale with a triumphant clicking sound.

  "Found her?" Seren asked, standing immediately.

  Prattle bobbed his head, then in Dain's voice: "We're waiting near the east wall. Hidden alley behind the grain merchant's shop."

  "Right." Seren grabbed her cloak, pulled the hood up. "Time to go."

  Cocky looked at the handcart they'd positioned near the ladder. At the pile of straw. His feathers ruffled with resignation.

  "In you go," Seren said, not unkindly. If she were honest with herself she was looking forward to leaving the hayloft and being able to stretch her legs again.

  The cockatrice hopped into the cart flapping his wings and settled into the center. Seren began piling straw around him, over him, until he was completely hidden.

  "Can you breathe?"

  A muffled sound from the straw. Probably yes.

  Seren prayed that the straw would stay piled over the bird when the cart moved.

  "Stay still. And don’t sneeze because if you do, we're both caught."

  Seren grabbed the handcart's handles, testing the weight and balance. Not too heavy. Manageable.

  Prattle launched from the hay bale, circling once near the window.

  "Lead the way," Seren said.

  ***

  The jackdaw flew ahead, never more than a street away. He'd land on a shop sign, wait for Seren to catch up, then launch again toward the next landmark.

  Seren pushed the cart through Eldmere's streets, her hood shadowing her face. Just another servant moving supplies. Nothing to see here.

  She prayed with every bump in the flagstones that the straw wouldn’t fall off and reveal Cocky underneath.

  Inside the straw, Cocky tried very hard not to move.

  It itched.

  Gods, it itched everywhere.

  A piece of straw was poking directly into the soft skin under his wing. Another was tickling his nostril. His left foot had gone numb from staying in one position.

  But he didn't move. Didn't sneeze. Didn't make a sound.

  Benjamin needs me. Benjamin needs to know I'm alive.

  The cart bumped over cobblestones. Turned left, then right. The sounds of the city surrounded them—merchants calling, people talking, the everyday noise of Eldmere’s streets.

  No one looked twice at the cloaked woman with the handcart.

  They had a near miss when a woman threw out a bucket of water. Or was that night soil. Seren didn’t want to know.

  Prattle landed on a rain barrel ahead and waited for Seren to catch up. When Seren reached him, he launched again, heading down a narrow alley between two shops.

  The alley opened into a small courtyard—hidden from the main street, surrounded by walls. Perfect.

  Dain, Kith, Ink, and Pip were waiting in the shadows.

  "You made it," Dain said, relief clear in his voice.

  Seren parked the cart. "Still in one piece. Cocky?"

  A rustle from the straw. "Still here. Won’t say it’s comfortable. At all!"

  Pip grinned. "Good. You'll need to stay in there a bit longer. We're close to the east entrance. It’s a hidden servants' door. From there, it's through the kitchens to the passages."

  “Pip, I believe you haven’t met the rightful ruler of Eldmere yet” Dain said.

  Pip’s mouth opened in surprise, but no words could come out.

  “Yup, you’re officially helping his highness, King Cocky to regain his throne.” Seren said with a smile.

  “You, you, you, you mean he’s not dead?”

  “Well, as the evil hyena who supposedly ate the King, I can assure you, I never had a morsel” Kith said sarcastically.

  “Right, Pip, you’re in charge of sneaking King Cocky to Benjamin.” Dain said. “Can you do that?”

  “Yessir.” She said confidently.

  She looked at the pile of straw in the handcart, suddenly serious. "Once we're inside, stay with me. And don’t talk to anyone. That’s how people get into trouble. We have to be quick, I know the palace, I run errands here all the time." She didn’t really know what else to say.

  A muffled sound came from the cart.

  “We’ll wait for you outside the door. It’s easier for two to find Benjamin.” Seren confirmed.

  They moved around the corner into the alley by the door. King Cocky hopped out of the hand cart with straw flying everywhere.

  “Good one,” Kith said, “you know you have to travel back like that, don’t you?”

  Cocky looked at the scattered straw guiltily.

  Seren ripped the hood from her cloak and put it over Cocky’s head. He didn’t have a chance to protest that he couldn’t see.

  "Right." Pip straightened her patched tunic, wiped dirt from her face with her sleeve. "Let's go.”

  Pip pushed the wooden door open like she owned it. Cocky kept his eyes on the heels of her bare feet in front of him. That was all he could see.

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  ***

  The kitchen was chaos.

  Servants rushing everywhere, preparing the evening meal. Steam rising from massive pots. The clash of pans. Shouted orders.

  No one noticed the two small beings slipping through.

  Pip moved with confidence, weaving between workstations like she belonged there. Cocky followed, trying not to look like a Cockatrice that resembled the dead king.

  Everyone seemed too busy to notice. A servant glanced up, then turned back to their work.

  Two servants whispered urgently as they passed.

  “He’ll hear you.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You thought his name.”

  They kept moving. Through the kitchen. Into a narrow corridor beyond. Stone walls, dim lamplight. The temperature dropped—these back passages didn't get the warmth from the kitchen fires.

  "Servants' stairs," Pip whispered, pointing to a narrow staircase. "Benjamin's chambers are on the second floor. East wing."

  They climbed. The stairs were tight.

  Second floor. Another corridor. Pip held up a hand.

  "Wait here," she breathed. "Let me check."

  She crept forward, peered around the corner, then whispered for Cocky to follow.

  The corridor was better lit, long and it echoed. Doors along both sides, evenly spaced. Polished wood, brass handles. Not that Cocky could see much of this but he remembered from his time as king.

  "His chambers are down there," Pip pointed. "Third door on the right. But there's guards at the main intersection. We can't go that way."

  They moved forward carefully. Pressed against the wall. Voices ahead. Boots on stone.

  "Back!" Pip hissed.

  They flattened against the wall. Two guards walked past the intersection ahead, talking casually. Pip and Cocky heard the words “Jorvan” and “dogs”. The guards didn't look their direction.

  They exhaled.

  "There!" Pip pointed, voice barely audible.

  Down the corridor, a door was opening. Benjamin stepped out—or started to.

  Even from this distance, they could see him. Tall, dignified bearing, but something was wrong. His shoulders were slumped. He looked... diminished. Exhausted.

  The aide appeared behind him in the doorway, gesturing sharply—pointing back into the room. Benjamin's posture straightened slightly—not naturally, but like someone being corrected. Like a puppet jerked upright.

  He turned, heading back into his chambers.

  The door closed.

  Cocky's heart clenched. Benjamin. Oh gods, Benjamin—

  "That's him," Pip confirmed quietly. "That's Benjamin."

  Cocky wanted to call out. Wanted to burst from the straw, run down that corridor, tell Benjamin he was here, he was alive, they were coming—

  But before anyone could move, a voice rang out from behind them:

  "You there! What are you doing in this wing?"

  A guard. Coming from the opposite end of the corridor. Eyes sharp. Hand moving to his sword.

  They'd been so focused on Benjamin, they hadn't heard him coming.

  "RUN!" Pip said to Cocky.

  "STOP! IN THE NAME OF KING JORVAN!"

  Boots pounding. More shouts—guards from the main intersection heard the commotion.

  They ran back toward the servants' stairs. Down—taking steps three at a time. Pip nearly fell, caught herself on the wall.

  Through a doorway—wrong turn, this wasn't the way they came—

  Into a storage room. Sacks of grain, barrels stacked high.

  "Here!" Pip pointed to another door. "Service corridor!"

  Out into another passage. Narrower. Darker.

  The guards were right behind them. "STOP!"

  Through the kitchens—servants scattering, someone dropping a pot with a tremendous crash.

  Out the side door.

  Into the alley where Seren, Dain, Kith, Ink and Prattle were waiting, looking bored.

  “Run!” Cocky’s voice came out strangled.

  It took Dain and Kith a second to register the sudden chaos. But Seren and Ink were always ready. Prattle took off into the sky.

  Pip darted left, disappearing into the maze of alleys. There was no time to get Cocky back in the cart.

  Seren pulled her hood lower and walked—forced herself to walk calmly, not run—down a different alley. Just another cloaked figure. One of hundreds in Eldmere.

  Behind them, guards poured into the courtyard. Looking everywhere. Shouting orders.

  "Which way?"

  "I saw something—there!"

  "No, THERE!"

  But the group had already disappeared into the city.

  ***

  Twenty minutes later they had managed to find a spot away from the keep under a wagon.

  They sat in silence, catching their breath. Hearts still pounding.

  Cocky was still picking bits of straw from his feathers.

  "Well," Kith whispered finally. "That went brilliantly."

  "We didn't get to him," Cocky said quietly. His voice was hollow. "We were so close. He was RIGHT THERE. And we didn't—"

  “No one ever succeeds on their first attempt.” Seren tried to comfort Pip and Cocky.

  "We need someone on the inside," Pip said softly. "Someone who could get a message to him directly. Someone the guards wouldn't question."

  They all looked at her.

  "Your mam," Seren asked.

  Pip nodded. "If I could talk to her. If I could tell her King Cocky's alive. She could tell Benjamin. Quietly. When the aide's not looking."

  “What aide?” Dain whispered.

  “Oh there was one who ordered Benjamin back into his chambers. It wasn’t a guard. He was dressed like a clerk but could order Benjamin.” Pip said. Cocky hadn’t seen this, the hood had covered his eyes.

  "Can you reach her?" Cocky asked, hope creeping into his voice.

  "I don't know," Pip admitted. "She didn’t come home last night. But maybe—maybe I could get a message to her through someone else."

  "It's risky," Kith said.

  "Everything's risky," Dain shot back. "But Benjamin needs to know.”

  “I, I can do it. I know I can." Pip said uncertainly.

  Silence.

  Prattle clicked softly from on top of the cart. He started pecking at bags stuffed with produce on top of the wagon.

  They heard footfalls.

  “Get off there you stupid bird!”

  “Kyaaa” Prattle replied.

  Dain and Seren looked at each other.

  Then they heard “Come here you stupid bird!” and “Give that back!”

  They knew Prattle was creating a distraction so they could leave. They all moved through the alley that stunk of night soil. It wasn’t ideal but they weren’t likely to get spotted there.

  The man’s feet were dancing while he was yelling “Get off my head you stupid bird!”

  Once Prattle was happy that his friends had managed to escape, he rejoined the group.

  After another 20 minutes of trying to return to the hayloft they walked past a house, a frayed rope lay abandoned by the door. A bone on a straw bed next to a bucket of water. No dog. Just the mark where something had been tied — and wasn’t anymore.

  Just as they were about to turn a corner they heard raised voices. They stopped and peered around the corner. A woman was sobbing.

  They all went still, listening.

  “All dogs,” the guard said, sounding sick. “He wants them all.”

  "Please!" a woman's voice, raw with desperation. "Not my dog! He's old, he can barely walk! He couldn't have—"

  "King's orders, ma'am. All dogs. No exceptions."

  Seren and Ink exchanged a look.

  Ink's ears went flat.

  "What's going on?" Dain whispered

  Three guards were leading a dog away from a house. An old black dog, graying muzzle, moving stiffly on old legs.

  The woman was on her knees, pleading. Two young children clung to her, crying.

  The guards' faces were carefully blank. “Following orders.”

  "They're taking dogs?" Kith whispered, confused. "Why would they—"

  Another shout from the other side of the street. More crying.