Page 228 of Salt Between the Wolves

A faint smile touched his mouth.

"The sort of place people usually visit when they're looking for answers."

Before she could ask another question, he nodded once toward her untouched dessert.

"Try the honey cake."

Then he walked out of the room, leaving Eira staring after him and wondering whether she was more irritated by his refusal to answer questions or by the growing suspicion that he already knew the answer to the one she had not dared ask aloud.

What happened to Soren?

The following morning arrived beneath a blanket of pale fog, and Silverwake seemed quieter than usual as the harbor bells sounded distant and the sea vanished almost entirely behind drifting white mist.

When Eira stepped into the courtyard, she immediately spotted Leander waiting beside two saddled horses. That alone told her more than any explanation could have, because Leander was not a man who waited for people unless something truly mattered.

He glanced up as she approached.

"Good. You're punctual."

Eira narrowed her eyes.

"You sound disappointed."

A smile flickered briefly across his face.

"Only because I prepared several remarks about lateness."

"I'm sorry to deprive you."

"Tragic."

The exchange felt familiar enough to ease some of the tension she had carried since the previous evening, though not nearly all of it. Leander noticed that as well, which came as no surprise.

Without another word, he handed her the reins of the second horse.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll survive a little mystery."

Eira sighed.

"I've noticed everyone in Silverwake enjoys withholding information."

"That isn't true."

Leander mounted smoothly before continuing.

"We share information constantly, just rarely in the order people prefer."

Before Eira could answer, he guided his horse toward the gate, and she followed.

The city slowly fell behind them as the roads became narrower and the houses fewer, until only cliffs remained. Sea grass bent beneath the wind, the distant crash of waves echoed against the dark stone below, and fog drifted across the coastline like slow-moving ghosts.

For a long time neither of them spoke. The silence felt surprisingly comfortable, not awkward or forced, but simply present in a way that required no effort from either of them.

Eventually Leander broke it.

"What did you think of him?"