Chapter 9 Interrupted
I hate how much of our home I can see from up here.
Suki leads me up the hill while Cali picks her way through the underbrush behind us. The pressed grass is obvious now, a clear circle where someone stood long enough to flatten everything beneath their feet.
"They were here for hours." Suki crouches at the edge of the flattened area, her fox ears swiveling toward sounds I can't hear. "Look how flat it is. Someone settled in."
I scan the treeline below, mapping sightlines in my head. From this spot, you can see the workshop windows, the kitchen door, the garden where Luca and Nella have started clearing their plot. A perfect view of everyone who comes and goes.
Cali sniffs at a rock near the center of the circle, her whiskers twitching forward. "Something was here."
I kneel beside her and examine the rock more closely. It's been moved recently, the dirt beneath it still dark and damp. When I lift it, a folded piece of paper sits in a shallow hollow.
"They left something?" Suki's voice sharpens as she moves to my side. "On purpose?"
I unfold the paper carefully, smoothing the creases against my knee. The writing is small and precise, only a few words: Healer. Two new arrivals.
"Field notes." I show the paper to Suki, watching her expression harden. "Someone's keeping track."
She reads it twice, her tail going still. "They know about Luca and Nella."
[Evidence recovered.One note. Two arrivals counted.Someone is counting heads at Royal Health.]
Cali puts her paw on my knee, her claws pricking through my trousers. "What do we tell them?"
I fold the note and tuck it into my belt, thinking about Luca's face when he talks about the waystation, about Nella's careful silence whenever the past comes up. They deserve to know someone's watching. They also deserve to decide what to do about it.
"The truth." I stand and brush dirt from my knees. "They're part of this whether we like it or not."
We search the rest of the area but find nothing else. The watcher was careful, leaving only what they wanted found, or what they didn't think would matter.
The kitchen is warm when we return, the smell of Mira's bread still lingering from this morning. Luca and Nella sit at the table with cups of tea, their seed packets spread between them in careful rows.
"We found something." I pull out a chair and sit across from them, setting the note on the table where they can both see it. "At the observation point."
Luca picks up the paper with steady hands. His expression doesn't change as he reads, but his thumb presses hard against the edge of the fold.
"Healer." He sets the note down and pushes it toward Nella. "They mean you."
"They mean Royal Health." I watch Nella's face as she reads. "Someone's been watching long enough to know what happens here. And now they know about both of you."
Nella's jaw tightens, but her voice stays flat. "What do you want us to do about it?"
"Nothing, for now." I lean back in my chair, giving them space. "Suki's varying her patrol times. The Wall knows to watch for strangers. Mira's agreed to stay close today while Lyra and I handle something in town."
"Handle what?" Luca's hand has drifted toward his shield, fingers brushing the worn edge.
Lyra appears in the doorway, her pack already on her shoulder. "I've been asking Gregori to take me to the Wandering Cup for weeks. He keeps finding excuses."
I turn to look at her, caught off guard. "I don't keep finding excuses."
"You found three yesterday." She crosses to the table and sets her hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. "The herbs needed checking, the Wall wanted attention, and you had to reorganize your entire workshop."
I turn my hand beneath hers. "The organization was important."
"The organization took four hours." Her fingers move to the back of my neck, warm and familiar. "Cali told me you put everything back where it started."
Cali examines her paw with elaborate innocence. "I said no such thing."
"You absolutely did." Lyra pulls out the chair beside me and sits. "Tonight. The Wandering Cup. You and me. Mira and Cali can watch the house."
I look at the note on the table, at Luca and Nella's careful faces, at the evidence of everything still unresolved. Part of me wants to refuse, to stay here and plan and worry.
But Lyra's hand is still on my neck, and she's looking at me with that expression she gets when she's decided something important.
"Fine." I cover her hand with mine. "Tonight."
Her smile makes the word worth it.
[Date confirmed.Location: The Wandering Cup.Excuses remaining: Zero.She won the negotiation before it started.]
The Wandering Cup sits at the edge of Cranstonia, a small building with warm light spilling from its windows. We find a table in the corner, away from the handful of other customers, and Lyra orders for both of us before I can reach for the menu.
"Trust me." She settles back in her chair, watching my face with quiet amusement. "You'll like it."
The ale arrives first, dark and smooth with a hint of something nutty underneath. I take a long drink and feel some of the tension in my shoulders ease.
"Better?" Lyra reaches across the table and takes my hand, her callused fingers warm against my palm.
"Getting there." I trace the familiar lines of her hand, the places where her bow has worn her skin rough. "I keep thinking about that note."
"I know you do." She leans forward, her brown eyes catching the lamplight. "That's why we're here. To think about something else for one evening."
I lean closer, keeping her hand. "Something else like what?"
"Like the fact that you haven't told me what you actually want to eat." She nudges the untouched menu toward me with her free hand. "I ordered ale. Dinner is your responsibility."
I pick up the menu and pretend to study it. "What if I wanted the ale to be dinner?"
"Then I'd remind you that you promised Cali something from the kitchen, and ale doesn't travel well in your pocket." She steals my cup and takes a sip, making a face at the bitterness. "How do you drink this?"
"Practice." I take the cup back and drain the last of it. "Years of dedicated practice."
She slides the water jug toward me. "Try practicing with this one too."
I signal for another round and finally look at the food options. The menu is simple, three main dishes and whatever the kitchen feels like making, which tonight appears to be lamb stew.
"Two stews." I hand the menu back to the server. "And bread if you have it."
Lyra's foot finds mine under the table, her boot pressing against my ankle. "See? That wasn't difficult."
I press my boot back against hers. "I live to exceed your expectations."
"Your expectations for yourself are too low." She leans her chin on her hand, studying my face with the focused attention she usually saves for tracking. "You always do more than you think you will. You just spend a lot of time first convincing yourself you can't."
I don't have a clever response to that. She's not wrong, which makes it harder to deflect.
I catch her hand before she can steal more bread. "When did you get so observant?"
"I've always been observant." Her foot presses harder against mine. "You just don't notice because you're too busy being modest about things that deserve pride."
The stew arrives, saving me from having to answer. It's good, rich with herbs and tender meat that falls apart on my tongue. Lyra watches me eat with obvious satisfaction.
She breaks a piece of bread into my bowl. "Told you the Wandering Cup was worth the walk."
I take another bite instead of arguing. She laughs, and I pull my chair beside hers. Why am I wasting the width of a table? I kiss her cheek, then her mouth when she turns toward me. Her fingers catch my collar and keep me close until I forget the next thing I meant to say.
We're finishing the bread when movement at the door catches my attention.
Suki stands in the entrance, scanning the room until she spots us. She weaves between tables with quick, deliberate steps, her expression urgent.
"The watcher came back." She reaches our table and drops her voice low. "I chased them through the woods past the south boundary. They got away, but they dropped something."
I'm already pushing back my chair. "Dropped what?"
"A document case." Her ears flatten with frustration. "I brought it back to Royal Health. There's a mark on it, small, in the corner. The same hooked pattern."
Lyra's hand closes around my wrist before I can stand. "The same mark? From the certifications?"
"I saw it clearly when I set it on the kitchen table." Suki's tail lashes behind her. "Luca and Nella are watching it. Cali won't let anyone open it until you get back."
[Date interrupted.Evidence secured.At least you finished the stew.]
I meet Lyra's eyes across the table. She's already reaching for coins to settle the tab.
"Go." She presses payment into the server's hand without counting. "I'm right behind you."
The case sits on the kitchen table when we arrive, leather worn at the corners, a brass clasp holding it closed. Luca and Nella stand near the stove, watching it like it might move on its own.
Cali has positioned herself directly on top of the case, all four paws planted firmly on the leather.
"Finally." She doesn't move from her spot. "I guarded it. Someone owes me fish."
I approach the table and examine the mark she mentioned. There, stamped into the leather near the clasp, the same small hooked pattern that appears on Luca's certification and mine.
Lyra pulls the legal copy from her bag and holds it beside the case, comparing the marks with careful attention.
"Identical." Her voice is steady, but I can see the tension in her shoulders. "The certifications, the watcher, whoever owns this case. It's all connected."
I flip the clasp and look at Cali. "I need to open it."
She considers this for a long moment, then steps aside with dignity. "You're welcome for my vigilance."
The lid opens to reveal papers, dozens of them, folded and organized with meticulous care. The watcher's dropped evidence. Whatever they didn't want us to find.
Luca moves closer to look, his hand gripping the edge of the table.
The first real proof that we're not imagining the pattern.