“Yes,” Karrell said gravely. “I know. But it was a calculated risk. You found a way to root out a mind seed once before; I was confident in your ability to do it again, if need be.” Then her voice lowered. “I just wish you had an equal confidence in me.”
Arvin sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “Were you dreaming just now?”
“Yes.” She frowned. “Why?”
“Was the dream….” He searched for the right word. He had found Zelia’s memories foreign, disturbing—but perhaps Karrell wouldn’t. She was a yuan-ti, after all, and female. “Did it seem to be a memory from someone else’s life?”
“Ah. You are still worried about the mind seed. No, it was not Zelia’s dream. It was one I have been having for many months. A troubling dream, in which I am bound tightly and cannot escape.”
“Your own dream, then,” Arvin said, feeling slightly relieved.
“No, not mine. Not mine alone.”
“What do you mean?” Arvin asked sharply.
Karrell tilted her head and stared at the window. Pale winter sunlight shone through the stained glass, causing the blue-and-gold eye of Helm to glow. “I have talked to other yuan-ti. Many of us have been having troubling dreams. Dreams of someone who is embracing us who will not let go, or of being bound by ropes, or even—most strange, for a yuan-ti—of being a mouse, held tight by a serpent. No one knows what they mean. Not even Zelia.”
Arvin nodded, completely at a loss. Whatever the dreams meant, they had little to do with their immediate problem. “If you start having strange thoughts while you’re awake, tell me,” he said. “Or strange dreams—stranger than the ones you’ve just described, I mean.”
“I will,” Karrell said with a grave nod. Then she said, “Tell me what happened. How did I come to be drugged?”
Arvin told her about the two rogues who hoped to sell “Glisena” to Chondath, about finding her unconscious in the room at the inn, and about trying to carry “Glisena” back to the palace, only to be confronted by Naneth. He also told her about their narrow escape, thanks to the cleric.
She listened, nodding.
Arvin paused. “So what were you doing, disguised as Glisena?”
“It was Zelia’s idea,” Karrell said.
Arvin waited, arms folded across his chest. He could tell, already, that he wasn’t going to like the explanation. “Start from the beginning. Tell me all about your meeting. Don’t leave out any details.”
“I met with Zelia at the ambassador’s residence,” Karrell said. “I told her I was an agent of Yranil Suzur, ssthaar of the Jennestas—a ruler who, like Dediana Extaminos, is wary of Sibyl’s rise to power. Zelia agreed to speak with me.”
“She agreed to meet with a complete stranger?” Karrell’s eyes lighted mischievously. “I think she found me charming.”
Arvin’s eyebrows rose. “You charmed Zelia? I’m impressed.”
“We spoke about Sibyl—about how dangerous she is. And yes, Zelia does know where Sibyl is hiding,” Karrell continued. “As you guessed, she in Hlondeth. Sibyl has denned in an ancient temple beneath the city—a temple that was erected at the peak of the Serpentes Empire to honor the beast lord Varae, an aspect of Sseth. The temple was abandoned and forgotten long before Hlondeth was even built, but nobles of House Extaminos rediscovered it two years after Lord Shevron’s death. They briefly worshiped there, and it was abandoned again. Sibyl, together with her followers, has turned it into a fully fledged temple once more.”
“How did Zelia discover this?” Arvin asked. Karrell gave a graceful shrug. “One of House Extaminos’s spies learned it.”
Arvin wondered if it had been another of Zelia’s mind seeds. “Zelia might have been lying to you.”
“She might have,” Karrell agreed. “But to what end? She would have been foolish to throw away the opportunity I offered—an alliance with a group that is also working against Sibyl.”
“Zelia breaks alliances as quickly as she makes them,” Arvin countered. “Still, go on. You haven’t explained why you were impersonating Glisena.”
“To lure Naneth to me,” Karrell said. “Zelia gave me the powder, and suggested I play the part of Glisena. She said she would contact Naneth and promise to deliver ‘Glisena’ to her—and ensure that Naneth teleported me to the Extaminos palace in Hlondeth. There, House Extaminos’s spellcasters would subdue Naneth. And I would use a second pinch of the powder to change my appearance to match Naneth’s. Then I would infiltrate the temple where Sibyl lairs, and—”
“Did Zelia give you a second pinch of powder?” Arvin asked.
“No.”
“You trusted her? After what she did to me?” Karrell winced. “I had to take the chance. The lives of thousands of people—”
“What about this person?” Arvin asked, thumping a hand against his chest. It felt hollow. “You were going to leave without even saying good-bye.”
“There was no time,” Karrell said, her dark eyes flashing. “And I would have returned. Once I had secured the Circled Serpent and carried it to a place of safety, I would have come back to you.”
