CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Is there anything in the letters?” I ask Thalia, pacing the back room of the inn in frustration.
“Be patient,” Thalia says.
“That’s easy for you to say. It’s been days now.”
A part of me wants to be out in the city doing something, trying to actively undermine Selene, or just hunting for her. If we knew exactly where she was in the city, we might be able to finish this once and for all.
But Alaric insists I can’t go out right now, not after what happened following my meeting with Marcus.
I lost control, and that could have gotten people hurt.
It could have left me as a twisted beast, unable to return to a fully human form.
Alaric thinks it’s safer if I stay in the safehouse for now.
I care about him enough to accede on this point, but it's been days of waiting now, and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to go along with it while he goes out into the city to act alone.
Alaric's taking risks with his own safety, while all there is to do here is help Thalia go through reports and papers, letters and fragments of information, trying to piece together anything that might help our cause.
And she does that so efficiently that I feel as though I'm getting in the way just by trying to help.
Currently, Thalia's in the back room of the inn, going over the letters we took during our raid on the meeting, methodically reading every scrap and fragment to try to find something there to destroy Selene.
Maybe she can. That's my hope. Maybe there will be something in there so incriminating that even the Senate will be forced to act against her, finally condemning her for her efforts to overthrow the Republic.
Or maybe it won't make a difference. Maybe Selene has such good control over the Senate by now that it will never denounce her, regardless of what she does. That's a frightening thought.
“They talk about other meetings, in other places,” Thalia says.
“Other places around the city?” I ask.
Thalia shakes her head. “Other places within the Republic.”
Those words make a knot of fear tighten in my chest, and I have to fight to push it down.
After what happened in the wake of my meeting with Marcus, I know I need to be much more cautious when it comes to my feelings.
I can't let them control me, because there's a risk of them spreading to everyone around me, thanks to my powers.
But it’s hard not to feel fear when I hear this news.
I had thought Selene’s efforts were limited to what she was doing here, in the capital.
Now, it seems she’s trying to gain influence throughout the Republic.
It means that, even if we somehow hold her back here, she might be able to leave the city of Aetheria isolated, an island in a broader sea of support for her.
“Where’s Alaric?” I ask Thalia. “He needs to know about this.”
Thalia gestures vaguely, as if to indicate the world beyond these walls. “He’s gone to meet with a couple of our people in the slums, near the bone statue.”
“I know the spot,” I say, heading for the tunnels leading out.
“I thought you were planning to stay here,” Thalia says.
I shake my head. “That was before this. It feels like news Alaric needs to hear.”
“And you aren’t waiting for him to get back because…”
I don’t reply. We both know the answer. I’m too frustrated here to stay.
I need to be out there, doing something.
At least finding Alaric to give him this fragment of information feels like I’m helping, and it’s a chance to prove to myself that I’m in complete control again, my powers doing what I want of them and no more.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Thalia asks.
I curse as I remember I should be wearing a disguise, and hurry through the safehouse to find something suitable.
I choose the outfit of a noblewoman, along with a cloak and mask.
Such a woman would have every reason to go masked if she went into the slums, wanting to protect her identity as she sought something illicit or illegal from the gangs there.
I’ll stand out compared to the normal citizens, but I doubt anyone will bother me.
Even most of the gangs don’t want the retribution that comes from attacking a noble.
I slip through the tunnels beneath the city, heading for one of the hidden exits. I come out into the sunlight, breathing in the fresh air of the city and wondering how much has changed in the days I’ve spent in the resistance safehouse.
Thankfully, my disguise means I can look around wide-eyed at the slums without it appearing suspicious.
Of course, a noble visiting some common lover or going to one of the drug dens on the fringes of the city will look around as if expecting trouble at any moment.
Of course, she would want to take in every detail of a place so different from her usual villas and grand houses.
I’m careful about how I watch what’s going on around me, restricting myself to the sight of a single bird, hovering above.
I don’t want to take too much for too long.
I don’t even reach out to feel the emotions of those around me.
My powers can give me great strength, but I’ve been reminded firmly that they have dangers, too.
I use the bird above me to seek out the space with the bone statue.
I can see it, gleaming white against the dirt of the slums, not that far away.
It's a grim sight. There's a row of butchers and tanners in front of it, filling the air with the stink of their craft.
Someone has taken the leftover bones, using some hint of magic to blend them together, turning them into a coherent whole that towers over the space in the form of a rearing bull.
I head towards it quickly, moving through the slums while watching for signs of danger.
I can’t find any signs of Alaric yet, but if he’s using illusion to disguise himself, I wouldn’t expect to be able to spot him, even from the air.
There are plenty of people around, people going to dirty jobs on the fringes of the city that Aetheria won’t permit within the walls, gang members watching over the streets they claim, people heading into gambling dens or brothels despite it being the middle of the day.
I’m about halfway to the statue when I spot someone I don’t expect to see in the city, a familiar woman with pale skin, deep red hair, and striking green eyes with a spear across her back and clothes in greens and browns that reflect the colors of the forests beyond Aetheria's borders.
Surprise hits me as I see Lady Cassandra Welsted, previously an ambassador from the neighboring kingdom of Arboria.
Surprise hits me as I see her. She shouldn’t be here in Aetheria. She went home to Arboria after her visit, taking with her the Senate's reassurances that we were willing to work with her kingdom and that we were strong enough to defend our territory against anyone who might seek to attack it.
If she’s back, it must be because her queen has sent her on some mission.
I need to find out what. There are many ways I could try to do that, but Lady Cassandra is someone who believes in directness.
Which means that, as she walks across to the spot where a chariot is waiting for her, I hurry over and step out in front of her.
There’s a knife in her hand instantly, as if she suspects I’m about to attack her.
“If you’re another idiot who thinks they’re going to rob me,” she warns, “the last one who tried it is currently bleeding in a gutter.”
I raise my hands, then carefully pull aside my mask. Cassandra raises one perfect eyebrow.
“Lyra? What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question,” I say. “Have you come to Aetheria to address the senate?”
Cassandra cocks her head to one side. “Not the senate, no.”
“Then who?” I ask.
Cassandra turns, and I know I can’t just let her go without an answer. I reach to catch her arm, turning her back to me.
“Careful, beast whisperer,” she says, a fierce look in her eyes.
“Just tell me what’s going on, Cassandra,” I insist. “Is this…”
A horrible possibility comes to me.
“You came to see Selene Ravenscroft, didn’t you?”
Cassandra doesn’t answer for a moment, but then nods.
“Why?” I ask. “She killed beast whisperers within Arboria. I thought your people hated her for that. You told me that anyone who can’t defend their people doesn’t deserve to have them as subjects.”
“All of that is true,” Cassandra says. “But I go where my queen sends me.”
“And she sent you to talk to Selene?” I say, still not quite able to believe it. “Why, Cassandra?”
Cassandra shrugs. "Arboria seeks good relations with Aetheria.
We also have an interest in a stable, strong neighbor.
My queen sent me to talk with the former arch-magistrate because she seems like a greater source of stability than the Senate, at the moment.
And because it seems likely she will rule here in due course. "
That admission hits me like a punch to the guts. Aetheria’s neighbors are preparing for the possibility of Selene becoming empress, as if it’s already inevitable.
“You can’t side with her,” I say.
"Can't, Lyra?" Cassandra counters. She sighs. "Your Senate is fractured and weak. You have little control over the territories beyond your city. From what I hear, you're now a wanted fugitive. Frankly, you should be grateful that our queen isn't taking the opportunity to invade."
“Why isn’t she?” I ask. From what I understand, the Arborians value strength, and they’ll happily take over anywhere they view as weak.
“Perhaps she’s waiting to see how this all turns out,” Cassandra says.
“Now, Lyra, I think I’ve been very patient with you, and I need to return to my home.
Please take your hand from my arm, or I’ll start to think about whether anyone would miss a fugitive if I simply carry you back to my home to serve me. ”
She’s probably serious. I take my hand from her arm, not wanting to fight.
“Can you at least tell me where you met Selene?” I say.
Cassandra smiles. “In the home of a noble. But she’s already gone. You won’t find her that way, Lyra.”
“I’ll stop her,” I promise, determination filling my voice.
Cassandra nods. “I would wish you good luck, but I’m not sure what to wish for now.
Is Aetheria a better neighbor to us now, or with Selene in charge?
Would it be better to have it weak and fractured, easy to take?
Would Selene give you to me if she won? There are so many things to consider.
But don’t die, beast whisperer. The world is rather more fun with you alive. ”
She offers me a warrior’s salute with her dagger, then hurries to her waiting chariot and speeds away, leaving me with the sense that doom is rapidly approaching Aetheria, that everyone else, even in other kingdoms, can see it, and that I don’t know what to do to stop it.