Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
W e stumbled back to our room, too drained to bother with conversation at first. The door creaked shut behind us, and everyone moved to their bunks with the sluggishness of exhaustion.
Jax flopped onto his bed, groaning dramatically. “I feel like that mountain sucked the marrow right out of my bones.”
“That’s because it probably did,” Tae muttered, kicking off his boots and falling backward across his mattress. “I don’t know what was worse—the burning muscles or that feeling like someone was peeling the magic right out of my skin.”
Jax snorted. “I thought I was just out of shape. Damn... maybe I’m dying.” He pressed a hand to his chest like he was checking for a pulse.
“Dying?” Tae rolled onto his side, propping his head up on one arm. “Please. If you were dying, you’d be crying loud enough for the whole castle to hear.”
“No doubt,” Jax grinned.
“Right after you stopped for a feast at the dining hall,” Naia added dryly.
“Exactly,” Jax said, pointing at her. “Gotta die with a full belly.”
We all chuckled at that, the weight of the trial easing slightly with the warmth of familiar banter. Even Ferrula, usually so quiet, smiled from her bunk.
Cordelle sat on his bed, quietly writing in his leather-bound journal, his fingers moving steadily across the pages. Whatever thoughts or poetry he was crafting seemed to keep him calm—or at least distracted.
Eilvin, on the other hand, grunted once, rolled over to face the wall, and tugged his blanket over his head. Apparently, he was done with all of us.
I leaned back against my headboard, letting my eyes close for a moment. The comfort of the room, my squadmates’ voices filling the air—it felt good. Safe, almost. Like we were a family in this mess together.
But then my gaze drifted to the end of my bed—and my stomach knotted.
The corner of my blanket was folded in a precise triangle—the way Solei had always taught me. Quiet. Subtle. Easy to miss unless you knew what to look for.
My fingers twitched, and I forced my breathing to stay even. Solei wouldn’t have done this unless she needed me to know something. But what? Had she found something in the castle? Or worse—had she been seen?
“You good?” Naia’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I blinked and nodded, forcing a smile. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“Well,” Jax groaned as he stretched his arms above his head. “You should be grateful. Whatever’s happening with Kaelith... she didn’t let you fry yourself to a crisp out there.”
“Or plummet off a cliff,” Tae added with a grin.
“Yet,” I muttered under my breath.
Jax smirked. “If she ditches you again, just aim for me. I’ll catch you.”
“Please,” Naia cut in. “You couldn’t catch a cold.”
Laughter filled the room again, but my thoughts kept circling back to the blanket—and what message Solei had left behind.
“I’m just going to go for a walk. I’m still a little unsettled.” My squadmates simply nodded as I exited the room.
The air outside was crisp, the ocean mist clinging to the castle walls.
I walked toward the gate, wrapping my arms around myself as the cold nipped at my fingers.
My boots scuffed softly against the stone path.
The guards were at their usual posts, speaking quietly to one another. I kept my head down.
Just as I neared the gate, an arm snaked around my waist, and a hand clamped over my mouth.
Panic hit like a hammer. My pulse roared in my ears, and I twisted violently, reaching for the dagger at my waist.
“Relax,” a familiar voice whispered against my ear. “It’s me.”
I froze, my breath still caught in my throat. Solei.
She released me, and I spun to face her, pushing her shoulder harder than I meant to. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Quiet,” she hissed, tugging me into the shadows. We moved quickly to the corner of the courtyard where the guards couldn’t see us. Only then did she relax.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, voice low but sharp.
“Cyran wants to know what’s happening inside the castle,” she said. “This is a reconnaissance mission. Nobody’s getting hurt.”
I crossed my arms. “Then why send an assassin?”
Solei grinned, cocky and confident. “Because I’m good at everything.” Her expression darkened. “Besides, our father suspects someone in our organization is feeding information to the royals.”
I blinked. “We spy on them, they spy on us. It’s always been that way.”
“Something’s changed,” she said, her tone cold. “People are dying, Ashe. People both the Order and the royals need. I want you to keep an eye on the guilds—let me know if anything seems off.”
“I don’t interact with the other guilds much. Despite being in the same compound, we train at different times and have separate dining slots. It’s pretty well segregated.”
“Yeah,” she muttered. “That’s part of the problem.”
I exhaled slowly, my thoughts still spinning. “Why did you even let me know you were here?”
“I wanted to know if you’ve learned anything about the recent attacks.”
“My squad and I encountered the Blood Fae in Thubia,” I said quietly.
Solei’s face twisted in shock. “You fought them?” she hissed. “Are you insane?”
“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” I muttered. “They’re powerful, and if it wasn’t for Zander…” I swallowed hard. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have survived.”
Her sharp eyes narrowed. “What’s his power?”
My body went rigid. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Excuse me?” Her voice dropped lower, colder. “Cyran needs all the information he can get if?—”
“Not on my squad,” I snapped. “I won’t betray them.”
“Ashe,” she growled. “Cyran is our father.”
I barked a bitter laugh. “The man who sold me the first chance he got? He lost my loyalty years ago. I’ll help you find a traitor, Solei, but it’s not in my squad.”
“Zander Rayne isn’t a Thrall,” she shot back. “He’s Crownwatch.”
“He’s the closest thing to a squad leader we’ve got,” I said. “He trains us when no one else will. He’s risking his reputation just by working with us.”
Solei’s face darkened. “Cyran won’t like your sudden rebellion.”
“He doesn’t have a choice,” I shot back, meeting her gaze.
Her expression flickered, a rare hint of concern, before her face turned cold again. “Don’t push him too far,” she warned.
“I won’t betray my squad. That’s final.”
Solei’s gaze lingered on me for a moment before her shoulders relaxed. “Loyalty’s important,” she said ominously. “But don’t forget that it can get you killed just as fast.”
For a moment, we just stood there in silence. The distant clang of metal from the training grounds echoed in the cold air.
“I have to go,” Solei said finally.
I grabbed her arm before she could turn away and pulled her into a quick hug. “I love you,” I whispered.
She sighed against my shoulder. “You know what I say about that.”
I smiled faintly. “ Never tell someone you love them unless you plan to kill them. ” I shook my head. “I would never fight you.”
She kissed my cheek, then disappeared into the night like a shadow.
I stood there for a moment longer, the cold biting deeper than before.
I remembered slipping into bed, my mind still tangled with thoughts of Solei’s visit and her ominous warning. I heard Eilvin move quietly to the washroom, but exhaustion pulled me under before he returned to his bunk.
The sound of the bells ripped me from sleep.
I bolted upright, my heart hammering. Metal clanged in the courtyard below, shouts echoing through the halls.
“Get up!” Tae barked, his voice as sharp as a whip. “That’s an all-guild alert!”
I scrambled to my feet, grabbing my clothes. Around me, my squad was doing the same—boots thudding against the floor, belts snapping into place, weapons being checked.
“What does it mean?” I asked, yanking my flight armor over my head.
“It means move your ass,” Tae said, fastening his chest plate. “And we’re heading into battle.”
“Were we attacked?” Jax asked, sliding his daggers into his belt.
I swallowed hard and reached out mentally. Kaelith? Are you alright?
I’m not impressed, she snapped, irritation crackling through her voice like distant thunder. The horns are loud enough to wake the dead.
There’s an alert… I paused. I was worried.
You should be worried about putting your boots on faster.
I dragged my boots on before grabbing my daggers from the table.
“Let’s go,” Tae ordered, and we rushed out into the corridor.
By the time we reached the Ascension Grounds, most of the guilds were already assembled, standing in precise rows behind their banners. Crownwatch, Iron Fang, Stormforge… even the healers and infantry had been summoned.
We moved quickly to our place. Rain spattered against my face as we formed up, the cold seeping through my armor. Jax shifted restlessly beside me, his hand never straying far from his blade.
The podium creaked as Major Ledor stepped forward, his face grim.
“Early this morning,” he announced, “one of the warders was assassinated.”
My blood turned to ice.
A hush spread through the ranks, heavy and suffocating. No one spoke, but every soldier stood a little straighter, hands flexing near weapons. Murder within castle walls… that wasn’t just an attack—it was a declaration of war.
My gaze flicked to Zander, who stood rigid near his Crownwatch squad. His face was like a statue, but his eyes... his eyes were burning.
“Damn,” Jax muttered beside me. “Looks like we’re heading for a fight after all.”
Major Ledor’s voice cut through the cold morning air. “A warder was stabbed in his bed a few hours ago,” he said, his gaze sweeping the assembled ranks. “A noble-born soldier.”
His pause was deliberate—calculated. The tension tightened like a noose.
“We’ve had new additions to our ranks,” he added, his eyes flicking over the crowd before lingering far too long, on us. “This is a reminder that trust is earned, and blood ties run deeper than oaths.”
Was he insinuating that one of us had done this?