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“Don’t be so sure,” Set replied, holding up what appeared to be a small blue button.

“Where did you find that?”

“Wedged into the wreckage of what used to be a couch over there in the corner,” he replied, tossing it to her.

She reached out with one hand, easily snatching it from the air. A splash of dried blood was smeared across the surface, partially obscuring the gold insignia.

“That’s the symbol of the Doan Royal House,” Set told her as she studied the button.

“Doan?” Zannah was more confused than ever. “Why would someone from Doan come here? How would they even find us?”

Set shrugged. “You’re the Master. You tell me.”

Zannah didn’t answer right away. Chewing on her lower lip, she analyzed the situation carefully, examining it from every angle. There were still too many unknowns for her to come up with a perfect plan, but she knew what had to be done.

“We need to go to Doan.”

“Hold on a second,” Set protested, holding up his hands. “Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, even if your Master’s still alive it looks to me like he’s probably a prisoner.”

“Yes … a prisoner on Doan.”

“So, what? We’re going to rescue him just so you can try and kill him yourself?”

That would be in accordance with the Rule of Two, Zannah thought. But there were other, more practical, reasons to go.

“My Master is smart, powerful, and cunning. He’s too dangerous to ignore. If they’re holding him prisoner, he might find a way to escape. If he does, he will come after me … but it will be at a time and place of his choosing, not mine.

“Even if he never escapes, it’s likely whoever took him will interrogate him for information. He may reveal something that exposes my existence to the Jedi … or some other enemy. I’m not willing to take that chance.

“Plus, I want to know who attacked him, and why. And if they did capture him, I want to know how they did it. What tactics did they use to bring down such a formidable opponent, and how can I make sure it never happens to me?”

“So this is all about you tying up loose ends?”

She heard reluctance in his voice—the same reluctance she’d sensed when she’d first offered to take him on as her apprentice. Set had spent much of his life running from problems rather than solving them. She knew he’d rather avoid his enemies than seek a way to destroy them. In time, she would cure him of this. As his Master, she would teach him the ways of the Sith.

For now, however, she simply needed his help.

“I have to go meet with someone,” she said, remembering that Chet had told her Bane had met with Argel Tenn only a few days before all this had begun. It was possible the collector had found some interesting Sith manuscript that had prompted Bane to leave Ciutric.

“Am I coming with you?”

Zannah shook her head. “You need to find out everything you can about Doan. If the royal family was involved, where would they take my Master? And how can we find him?”

Set gave a dissatisfied snort. “So now I’m a glorified librarian?”

“Meet me back here in two days,” Zannah said, ignoring his complaint. “By then I’ll have figured out what to do next.”

When Zannah returned to the mansion after meeting with Argel Tenn, she was mildly surprised to find Set there waiting for her. She had half expected him not to show up. The mission she had sent him on had been important, but it had also been a test of his commitment. If he was having second thoughts about becoming her apprentice, sending him away would have given him the perfect opportunity to try to disappear. The fact that he had come back was a sign that maybe he was a suitable choice after all.

She was relieved to see that things seemed to be improving with Set, because her meeting with Argel Tenn had not gone well. At first he had refused to discuss his business with Bane, claiming discretion was the cornerstone of his business. Zannah had done her best to persuade him to make an exception through nonviolent means; she knew Argel had access to rare Sith manuscripts, and she didn’t want to throw away a potentially valuable resource.

However,