CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE ISI #2
“We must act before the Day of Mercy,” Coralee said, taking charge. “Five days remain. If we could leave today, two days’ flight to Caldrith by dragon will leave us three days to infiltrate, execute the rescue, and escape. The window is tight but achievable.”
“Who do you suggest for the mission?” Trew asked. “Other than me and Isi, of course. I don’t think we should bring a large team. Enough to complete the task but too many will only increase the risk.”
“I suggest five or six members,” Grayson said.
“My knowledge of the castle is crucial,” I said. “I know the dungeon layout and weak points in their defenses.”
“Did you locate Kira?” Trew asked Grayson. “She should be a part of the team.”
Grayson’s face tightened. “I haven’t been able to find her, Your Majesty. I’ve sent scouts, but…” The implication hung heavy in the air. “She…wasn’t in Silverstream and the villagers said she’d left not long after you did.”
She was dead, or the second controller. Both possibilities chilled me.
“We have a new warrior who’s shown considerable progress,” Coralee said. “He’s nasty enough to contribute well to this mission. He shows solid strategic thinking, he’s adaptable, and he’s quite skilled in combat.”
“Who?” Trew asked.
“Maddox.”
I barely held in my flinch. Trew’s low growl rang out in the room.
Coralee’s eyes widened, her gaze darting between us. “He’s shown strength and leadership since the Rite. His mind is sharp, and he’s proven himself in all his classes. I’m not sure why you—”
“I’ll think about it,” Trew said, his voice flat. “Compile a list of our best candidates and have it ready for me first thing tomorrow. I’ll go through it and make my selection.”
“Very well,” Coralee said.
Trew laid out a full plan for the extraction.
The meeting continued as we discussed contingencies and backup plans. What happened if guards detected our infiltration early or if prisoner transport was compromised? We discussed multiple extraction points and signal systems for abort or proceed decisions.
Naveah outlined equipment needs, including lightweight armor that wouldn’t impede stealth, specialized lock picks for dungeon cells, quick-deploy weapons for guards, and provisions for prisoners who might be starving.
She’d anticipated our needs already and had been working straight out since we left, but stated she’d need until tomorrow to be ready.
“The armory break-in didn’t help,” she said with a sad note in her voice.
“Have the guards discovered who did it?” Trew asked.
“Unfortunately no.”
“Tell me the moment you have things ready,” Trew said. “And we’ll leave.”
She gave him a sharp nod. “Alright.”
Grayson discussed Caldrith’s defenses, his comments were insightful. Caldrith might have a spy at Syllavar, but I suspected Grayson had his own spies at my home court, and I wasn’t sure what I thought about that.
He also discussed border patrol patterns that might interfere, and methods for dampening the team’s magical signatures to avoid detection.
His knowledge was comprehensive, detailed, and disturbingly thorough.
More evidence of his competence or was he using this to cover up his involvement with the Skathes?
I felt each person evaluating the others. Coralee studied Trew with maternal concern. Grayson’s hands continued their slight tremor. Naveah remained quiet unless directly spoken to, her face unreadable.
Finally, the meeting ended. Before she left, Coralee placed her hand on Trew’s shoulder in a gesture that could be genuine affection or perfect manipulation. Grayson gave us both a formal bow. Naveah caught my gaze, searching my face with a look I couldn’t interpret, before turning to leave.
The door closed behind them with a click.
Trew eased my chair back and tugged me up onto his lap.
While traveling, I’d struggled to keep everything inside. Now I shattered.
I kept seeing Thorne’s face. His scarred hands correcting my sword grip when I was fourteen.
Teaching me to fight when my father wanted me decorative and obedient.
Showing me I could be more than an ornament in a bone-white mask.
All those years of protection and training, of being the father mine never was.
I kept seeing his final sacrifice, shoving Addie to safety while Skathe claws tore into him.
I’d never told him how much he meant to me. Warriors didn’t need such words, I’d thought. They knew. But now he was dead, and I’d never have the chance.
Except he’d seen me in the parlor, my blades at my hips and my weight balanced on the balls of my feet, and he’d said I built something remarkable. Maybe that was enough. Maybe that was the only way either of us knew how to say it.
Trew didn’t offer empty platitudes or meaningless comfort. He held me, stroking my hair, while I broke apart and shared stories from the man I’d loved like a father.
“I think he knew this would happen,” Trew said, his voice rough. “Warriors like Thorne always know.”
The words cracked my chest open. “He saved Addie, and I couldn’t help him.”
“We honor him by completing what he died protecting.” Trew’s arms tightened around me. “Twenty-three innocent lives. Your sister’s life. The truth he helped you uncover. That’s how we can pay the debt.”
I nodded against his chest, my tears soaking his tunic. We shared this grief, his partly mutual respect between two warriors, both of us feeling the guilt of surviving when Thorne didn’t.
Eventually my tears slowed. My body felt limp, exhaustion catching up now that I’d finally let grief have its way.
He rose with me in his arms and started toward the door.
“I can walk.”
“I want to carry you.” His golden eyes met mine, fierce and tender. “Let me?”
I snuggled deeper into his embrace.
Inside his chambers, the familiar space became a refuge. He helped me out of travel-stained clothes with tender hands, washing away grime with warm water and a soft cloth. The intimacy was comfort rather than desire, though awareness lingered in each touch.
He helped me dress in another of his tunics, the soft fabric carrying his scent. Claiming and comfort woven together.
When he finally took me to bed, I curled into his chest while he settled the blankets around us. Pherin and Gavelle huddled together on a perch near the wall, equally exhausted, grieving in their own way.
Trew’s arms formed a protective circle around me, and for the first time in days, I felt safe enough to truly rest.
“Sleep, Minx,” Trew said, stroking his hand up and down my spine. “Tomorrow we’ll head to Caldrith to break out those prisoners.”
My lips curved. “Just another day in our lives.”
His quiet huff of laughter soothed my soul. “Precisely why we’ll never be bored.”
“Five days to rescue twenty-three people without dying during the effort,” I whispered into the darkness.
“We’ll save them.” His voice rumbled through his chest beneath my ear. “Then we’ll destroy whoever’s controlling the Skathes.”
“And find our friends.”
“And find our friends.”
We were making promises in the dark we might not survive to keep. But the alternative was despair.
I refused to surrender to that.