Chapter 31 Lyra
Lyra
Imove swiftly, though I try not to run. I don’t want to attract attention. The few faces I see watch me warily as they pass by. But none challenge me, and I slip through the double doors without incident.
Elspeth and Valcor are both seated beside a sleeping Sera, and the door clicks behind me before I can stop it.
They both look up.
I don’t have time. I don’t, but I can’t look away without causing suspicion. I cross the room to them, my hands curling around the post. “How is she?”
“Healed.” Elspeth looks tired, but her smile is real. “Thanks to you.”
Valcor sniffs, and Elspeth looks at him, her eyes cool. “I'm grateful to you, Lyra. She would like to see you, but she was very tired.”
Nodding, I run my eyes over her face. “I understand. I’ll leave you be.”
I back away and turn, my eyes already searching the room. At the very end, the bed on the right has a curtain pulled across. A silhouette is visible inside, illuminated by the glow of a lantern.
“Ahem.” When I turn, Valcor is standing there. We both stare at each other, and he clears his throat again. “Are you recovered?”
“From today?” Anger prickles my skin. “Or from last night?”
“I deserved that.” He looks away from me. “But I am… very grateful for what you did today.”
“It wasn’t for you.” I fold my arms. “I didn’t do it for any recognition from your council.”
“I thought you would refuse.” He swallows. “Or that you might use the opportunity to do her harm. I’m sorry for it. For both times.”
I nod at him. “I have an errand to complete for Eres.”
Relief crosses his face, as if he’d expected some sort of battle when all I need is for him to leave me be. His head is already turning back to Sera, and I make my way down to the end curtain before slipping inside.
The male on the bed is familiar. He jerks, as surprised to see me as I am to see him. “Lyra?”
I frown, studying him. “Beckett.”
He doesn’t look seriously injured. His arm is in a sling, but the rest of him looks unscathed. “What happened?”
His eyes shift past me, to the closed curtain. “Ah. Is this information you’re allowed to know?”
“It’s information that I strongly suggest you give me.” But my eyes are traveling over him now, looking more closely. “I’m glad to see you’re uninjured.”
“Relatively speaking.” He lifts his arm, giving me a small smile. It slips from his face as quickly as it appears, his shoulders slumping. “There’s not a lot I can tell you, unfortunately. I told Eres the same.”
“You don’t remember?”
His eyes shift to the side, shoulders curving inward. “Well, it was all very fast.”
Eres is far more trusting than I am. He struggles upright. “What’s this about? I’m feeling rather tired.”
Three came out, and one came back. “Describe the ambush to me.”
He swallows, eyeing me nervously. “We rode through a clearing. Carmen must have missed the signs—”
“Not you?”
He shakes his head. “I was behind them. Darian and Carmen were ahead of me. The unit… it came from nowhere. Carmen fell from her horse in the skirmish, and Darian stopped to help her. One of them threw a light dagger at me, and it hit my arm. I was able to get away to bring a warning back.”
Plausible, although I wouldn’t want to be his scouting partner if he’s that much of a coward. “There’s nothing else you can think of?”
He shakes his head. “If I could, I would.”
“I see.” I take a step back, twisting my mouth into a grimace. “A shame, really. I was hoping to hear about his death in detail.”
Stunned silence. Beckett gawps at me. “What?”
Shrugging, I scratch at my neck, feigning something close to boredom. “Kaelen Duskbane was my target. And the dreamwalker. But since a unit has apparently taken care of that for me, Duskbane will have to do. He’s already dead.”
I smile at him. “I’m leaving now.” My hand raises. “And I don’t leave witnesses.”
He pales, holding up his hand. “Wait—,”
My dagger slides from my palm, and he chokes. “I have a message for you.”
I stop. Panting, he digs into the pocket of his leathers, rummaging until he pulls something free. “I was to find a way to slip it to you without notice. He didn’t want me to lose my cover.”
I hold out my hand, my dagger still up. “Give it to me.”
The ring is small. Carved in gold, with the three lines of the Solvandyr crest etched into it. I turn it over. This is Cindral’s ring. A reminder, and a promise. My fingers close around it as my chest threatens to cave in. “Who gave this to you?”
“The lieutenant.” He’s watching my dagger, his face pale. “He’s in the Veilspire. He was very interested to learn that you’re alive, and here. Seemed pleased.”
“What do you do for them?” I lower the blade until it rests against his neck. “Speak quickly, and move less.”
“Information.” He swallows, and his skin grazes the blade, opening up a thin line of scarlet as he flinches. “Just small pieces, here and there.”
“For how long, and in exchange for what?” I lower the blade, pushing it against his stomach.
He chokes. “Years. I was captured, but they let me go. They promised me a place in Solvandyr when Umbraxis falls. I couldn’t afford to turn it down.”
Years. I stiffen. But I don’t have time to pull the information out of him now.
My hand slams over his mouth as I slide the blade in. His scream is muffled. The dagger vanishes, and my fingers dig into the wound as I lean over him, any subtlety swallowed by desperation. “Scream, and I’ll cut your throat. Tell me where Darian Veyr is.”
Sweat darkens the shadowscout’s shirt as his back arches, mouth opening with a silent cry before he sinks back down with a gasp.
“Traitorous bitch,” Beckett rasps on a stolen breath. “The dreamwalker is beyond saving. Your Commander will spike you on the Dunes for this—"
My voice hums in tune with the scream that echoes out as my hand twists again, ignoring the panicked sounds from behind me. I have seconds, if that. “I’ll take my chances. Where is he? What direction?”
He heaves as my fingers dig through flesh. “Northwest passage on entrance. Take the…. left path at the crossroads. I left them around an hour from there.”
Good enough. I step away from him and rip the curtain open, wiping my hand on my trousers.
Valcor and Elspeth are on their feet, and I hold up my bloodstained hands. “Your scout is a spy. He led Darian into a trap, and I’m going to get him.”
They gape at me. Elspeth has her hands lifted and ready. Valcor steps forward, his eyes like flint. “You expect us to just let you leave?”
“Yes.” I glance at the door, expecting Kaelen or Eres to burst through at any moment. “Consider it repayment of a debt owed. And I would secure your shadowscout. He’s been passing information for years.”
Mouth still open, Valcor shifts around me, still wary as I face Elspeth. “I’ll send someone to help when I reach the stable.”
Elspeth shifts, blocking Sera’s bed. “You’re going into the Veilspire?”
When I nod, she lowers her hands. “May Erevan’s blessing be on you, then.”
My heart stays in my throat as I race through Umbraxis.
There’s no time for subtlety. When I reach the main doors, I slip into the courtyard and look to the stable.
Eldritch isn’t there. Nobody is, and I help myself to an already saddled gelding, pulling myself up and easing his skittering hooves with a pat.
“There, now. Not forever. I just need to borrow you.”
“Seems to be a lot of that going around.”
When I twist in the saddle, my hands already glowing, Eldritch holds up his hand. His other holds a pipe, and white vapour hangs in the air. “For Erevan’s sake, girl, don’t throw anything at me. I don’t move fast enough to duck anymore.”
I fortify myself with a breath. “Darian—,”
“I know.” His eyes narrow. “I expected Darian, or Eres. Not you.”
I suck in my cheeks. “I…restrained them. In Kaelen’s bedroom.”
When his brows raise, I quietly try to nudge the horse forward. “I really need to go.”
“And how will you get through the gates?” He gets to his feet as I stare out, to where the gates stand, closed and barred.
Fuck. “Open them. Please.”
He surveys me from under overgrown brows. “And why would I do that?”
My heart thuds faster. “I don’t have time for this. I can get him back, Eldritch. Please.”
His eyes narrow into a squint. “And what if you don’t come back? Kaelen will kill me before the Lightbringers get close.”
“Better me than them.” I look at the gates again. “I have a better chance of getting to him than they do. But I’ve lost enough time.”
He swears beneath his breath. I follow as he stomps out of the stable and into the icy air, toward the gates.
He twists and pulls in a complicated-looking sequence before he grips the handle on one half and drags it back with surprising strength.
“If he asks me, I’m telling him you forced me to do this. ”
I doubt Kaelen would believe this male could be forced into anything. “Thank you. And there’s a spy in the healing quarters. Valcor is watching him, but he might need help.”
I don’t wait. Kicking my heels into the horse, I lean forward as he springs into action, his hooves pounding against the floor as we fly from the gate of Umbraxix.
Let me be in time.