I smiled then. Slow. Sharp. Dangerous. "Well," I said. "Looks like skipping mage school finally paid off."
Then I crossed my arms and leaned one hip against the desk, studying him.
"You're very comfortable," I said flatly, "for someone who just revealed he knows my name, my secrets, and the contents of my magic pouch."
Alias chuckled. Actually chuckled. A dry, tired sound, like a man who hadn't laughed properly in years and had just remembered how.
"You may relax, Lady Seraphine," he said. "If I wished you harm, you would not have made it past the Tower gates."
"Reassuring," Henry muttered. I ignored him and looked back at Alias. "How do you know about me?"
Alias folded his hands atop the desk. "Prince Segundo."
Of course.
"He hinted," Alias continued, "that you were not the type to retreat simply because the board had turned hostile. He suggested—quite delicately—that if a certain someone were to vanish dramatically, she might instead choose infiltration."
