by K. A. Linde
“He told me his name,” she breathed.
Dean raised his eyebrows. “Why?”
“To prove that we could trust him.” Her eyes were wide. Tristen.
“So…he’s not in love with you?” Dean asked.
Cyrene snorted unexpectedly and then broke off into laughter. “Please tell me that you’re joking.”
“Hey! The way he looked at you…”
“He’s an arrogant ass, who is clearly in love with Haeven. Use your eyes.”
“I mean…a guy can love two women.”
She took his hand in hers. “Can you?”
He shook his head. “Never. It has only ever been you.”
“I want you to meet someone,” she said softly, glowing with his words.
“Another past boyfriend?”
She swatted at him. “He was not my boyfriend. And, no…it’s my older sister.”
“She lives in Kell?”
She nodded. “Come with me?”
“To the ends of the earth.”
36
The Trap
“You want to scale the building and sneak into your own sister’s house?” Dean asked.
“Well, last time, I brought a whole lot of problems down on her head. I don’t particularly want other people to see us,” she hissed. “Plus, they knew we stayed here last time. It’s where they would look again even if the Commander has kept her safe.”
“Okay,” Dean said with a sigh. “Climbing it is.”
“Get moving,” she told him.
Despite his protests, Dean scaled the side of the building with ease. Much of the buildings in the Triangle had been built with handholds for Guild use. She still thought it such a strange world that assassins were sanctioned. And not just that…but also helped along by the populace. Even the buildings were made easier for them to kill people.
But Cyrene could hardly talk. The royal family of Byern had been mass murderers for two millennia. Hardly normal.
And so she started to climb after Dean. She was glad that she had changed back into her fighting leathers. Her dress would have only hindered her progress. Dean grasped her wrist and helped her over the ledge and onto the balcony.
Cyrene was pretty sure that this was the room that she had stayed in last time. And that it should be unoccupied. She pressed the door inward and found that the entire thing had been redecorated.
“Creator,” she breathed softly as she realized she had entered a nursery.
And Aralyn’s new baby lay asleep in a crib against the wall. Aralyn herself was asleep in a rocking chair beside him.
Cyrene opened the door a little wider to allow Dean access as well. But, as she slid it open, the hinges creaked. Cyrene winced at the small noise. And Aralyn jolted awake. Fear crossed her features as she saw the two black-cloaked figures in the doorway. She looked like she was going to scream.
“It’s me. It’s me,” Cyrene said, rushing into the room. “It’s Cyrene.”
All the tension released from Aralyn’s frame. “Cyrene!” she cried, jumping to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
They embraced, bodies knocking together with abandon.
“I came to see you,” Cyrene said. “The Commander said that he had helped keep you safe. And I couldn’t come to Kell without stopping in.”
“I thought you were a Guild member come to kill me,” she gasped.
“I know. I’m sorry. We didn’t want anyone to know that we were here. I know that we brought trouble onto you last time.”
“Yes, but it’s fine now. Larsen has it all worked out. And your Commander did help where he could. It’s been kind of nice, having a Guild member on our side, actually.”
“I’m glad.”
“And who is this?” Aralyn asked, releasing Cyrene and looking to Dean, who had just closed the door and stepped back into the room.
“This is Dean,” Cyrene said.
“Your Eleysian prince?” Aralyn asked with a small, secret smile.
Cyrene laughed. “Indeed he is.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve reconciled.” Aralyn held out her hand, and Dean shook it.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“And you, too. Are you taking care of my sister? Trouble follows in her wake.”
“I do my best,” he said with a grin. “And has trouble always followed her? Because she is really, really good at finding it.”
“Hey!” Cyrene said, swatting at him.
Aralyn just laughed. “Indeed. It always has.”
“I suspected as much.”
“You two!” Cyrene rolled her eyes.
Aralyn smiled at them both and then drew Cyrene toward the crib. “Come along then. Meet your newest nephew.”
“Another baby boy? What’s his name?”
“This is Logain de Boer Berg.”
“Logain and Laine. Precious,” Cyrene whispered. “Can I hold him?”
“Of course.” Aralyn reached for her baby boy and helped position him in Cyrene’s arms.
“Gah, he’s so cute and squishy.”
Aralyn chuckled. “He is. He’s big. Bigger than his brother. He’d love to know you. I know he would.”
Cyrene nodded and stared down at the future of their family. The little baby boy who had been born into this cruel, unforgiving world. A world of darkness and death. One that she so desperately wanted to save. Not just for herself, but for all her people. For this little boy to grow up without knowing that an assassin could come into his room at any point and kill him. Without Malysa looming overhead. Cyrene wanted to win for him.
“A darkness is smothering Emporia,” she whispered, looking up at her sister. “It’s coming, and it’s coming fast.”
Aralyn swallowed. “We heard rumors.”
“Whatever you heard is true, I’m afraid. And probably worse. I would ask you to come with me. To get you out.” Cyrene’s eyes swept back down to the baby. “But I know that you won’t come.”
“My place is with my family.”
“At least tell me that you have a place to escape to if it gets bad.”
Aralyn nodded. “Larsen has such a place.”
“Good.”
Cyrene knew that she should leave. That they had more important things to do tonight. That they needed to save the world.
But instead, she sat down in the rocking chair and cooed over her baby nephew. She didn’t know when she would see him again. And that tuft of black hair and the big, round cheeks and rolls of baby fat would have to be enough for now. Enough to get her to the other side.
She listened with half an ear as Aralyn and Dean got to know each other. How easily he fit in with her when Aralyn had always been so closed off from everyone else. Being a mother steadied her.
It wasn’t something Cyrene herself had ever considered until that moment. She had way too much else to deal with first but maybe. One day.
“We should go,” Dean said gently. “The longer we’re here, the riskier it is.”
Cyrene nodded. He was right, of course. But she hated leaving.
She gently laid Logain back down in his crib, gripped Aralyn in a fierce hug, and whispered, “Thank you. Be safe.”
“You too.” Aralyn released her with a sad smile. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said.
“Take care of her,” she told Dean.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She laughed. “I like this one.”
Cyrene’s gaze swept to Dean’s in the dim lighting. “So do I.”
She tugged Aralyn into one more hug and then rushed past Dean to the window. She needed to get out of there, or she would never leave. Because she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to sit in that nursery all night long. She could just imagine her life. The best aunt in the world, doting on the baby boys and being such a big part of their lives. It felt too good to be true. Too good to imagine that she would ever end this war and get that life.
She scrambled down the side of the building and wai
ted for Dean. By the time that he reached the bottom, she had regained some of her composure. But he still reached out for her, pulling her tight to him.
“Are you all right?” he whispered into her hair.
She swallowed and nodded. “She lives such a normal life.”
“I didn’t think that was something you could ever want.”
She laughed. “If you had asked me two years ago, you would be right. I wanted adventure and travels and to see the big, wide world. But…I’ve had my fair share of adventure. It’s not exactly how I thought it would happen.”
“No, I suppose not,” he said, brushing her hair back. “Mine wasn’t either. But we’re stronger and better people because of it.”
“I hope so,” she breathed. “I hope I’m doing the right thing.”
“You are.”
“It feels like I’m doing everything I must do. Like time is running out, and nothing is good enough. We still have to go up against Malysa…and I don’t know if we’ll win,” she voiced the thought she had been trying to avoid.
“I can’t say that we’ll win.” He tipped her chin up to look at him. “But it won’t be because we didn’t try or we didn’t give it our all. You are the best damn ruler any of us could have asked for. You are the Domina for a reason.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath and straightening. “Thank you.”
“And if…after all of this, you want a normal life, Cyrene,” he said softly, “you’ll have earned it.”
She smiled sadly. She couldn’t imagine that world. But she sure hoped they made it that far.
“Let’s get back to headquarters. I could use a good night’s sleep and a nice hot meal.”
“You mean, you could eat someone out of house and home,” he said with a laugh as they moved through the streets again.
“Hey, magic costs something! I can’t help that I burn through it so quickly.”
“Are you going to show me how you made that bubble to encase the Guild members?”
“Sure. But neither of us should be doing it all that often since it expends more energy than I’d feel comfortable with if we ran into Malysa or a general.”
She began to explain the basic mechanics of her inverted shield while they navigated the streets of Alba. Even though it was dark and they stuck mostly to the shadows, there were still enough people out at night that Cyrene’s leathers would raise eyebrows. She made sure to keep her cloak tight around her and stay close to Dean. Kell was a very religious country, and women were bound to their husbands. They didn’t freely walk about the city, and none of them wore men’s trousers.
They were nearly back to headquarters when Cyrene felt eyes upon her. She purposely missed the next turn and forced Dean to continue walking. He gave her a questioning look, but she just kept walking. Circling back around to the headquarters and staying far enough away to not give away their position.
She remained clutched to Dean’s arm. Laughing and joking as if she didn’t have a care in the world. As if someone wasn’t stalking behind them. She flung her magic out wide, trying to gather if it was a Guild member. If they had found her somehow when she was coming back from Aralyn’s. But there was no energy signature. All of the Guild had magic. There should be no way for them to follow her without her knowing. And yet, she felt nothing. Except darkness.
Still, she knew someone was there.
When they got to the next intersection, she broke away from Dean down a dark alleyway. She pulled her magic in tight, holding it like a flame ready to ignite. Then she pressed herself into the murky shadows, completely disappearing from view. Dean appeared a moment later, blending into the black against the opposite building. There they waited.
A figure appeared at the mouth of the alley.
Took a step closer.
And then another.
The person’s eyes were glowing gold.
He shouldn’t be able to see them.
And yet, he walked straight toward her as if he could see quite clearly.
Cyrene didn’t wait. She sprang forward, throwing a blast of magic at him. His body collided with the cobbled road, but he wasn’t down and out. He sprang back to his feet, but Dean was there. He wrapped an arm around the man’s throat and constricted his airway.
“Cyrene, stop,” the man gasped, scrambling to get purchase on Dean’s arm. “You’re…killing…me.”
Cyrene’s eyes rounded, and she hastily lit a Doma Fire.
She inhaled sharply. “Ahlvie?”
37
The Defector
“What? How?” Cyrene gasped.
It was impossible. Ahlvie couldn’t be here. The last she had seen him, he had been attacking the army. He’d killed some of their people. He’d been full Indres. All beast. How could he possibly be standing before her as a man?
“Let me go,” Ahlvie said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to save you.”
“I’m not letting him go,” Dean said. “We can’t trust him.”
She blinked. Of course, Dean was right. Of course he was. She had just seen Ahlvie. Her friend. The boy who had always believed in her. And followed her when no one else had. She hadn’t seen what he was now. A killer. A beast. Malysa’s general. The Indres alpha.
There was no possibility where this ended good for her.
“Please, Cyrene,” Ahlvie said. “Just hear me out.”
Cyrene nodded at Dean. “Knock him out.”
Ahlvie’s eyes widened. “I came to warn you! There are Indres everywhere. Wara is in the city. She’s looking for you.”
“I already knew that,” she said as she watched Dean knock out her oldest friend.
Ahlvie collapsed forward into Dean’s arms. Cyrene had to look away.
“What are we going to do with him?” he asked.
Cyrene shook her head. She couldn’t process what the hell to do with him right now. He was still Ahlvie. Her Ahlvie. Even if it was clear he was playing a part. Trying to get to her again for Malysa.
“We have to tie him up and take him back to headquarters.”
“What if they track him?”
“Then we’re already dead,” she said solemnly. “There isn’t another choice. I won’t kill him.”
Dean must have seen the resolution on her face. He nodded, slung Ahlvie over his shoulder, and followed her through the back alleys to the Commander’s headquarters.
They deposited his body in a chair and tied his arms and legs to it.
“You know, if he shifts, that’s not going to be enough to hold him,” Dean said pointedly.
She sighed and got to work, inverting her shield. She had just finished placing it around Ahlvie when the Commander appeared.
“What’s going on? Isn’t he with you?”
Cyrene shook his head. “He’s one of Malysa’s generals.”
“So, we kill him,” the Commander said with no emotion.
“No. We can’t kill him.”
“And why not?”
“He can give us information.”
“So, after we interrogate him then.”
Dean put himself between the Commander and Cyrene. “He’s a friend.”
“I don’t care who he is to you. Could he have compromised our position? Could he be leading the rest of the Guild and Wara here? Malysa?”
Cyrene bit her lip. She didn’t have answers to those questions. “I didn’t feel anyone else around him.”
“Great.” The Commander let loose a string of expletives and then began barking orders to scout for anyone who might have followed them. “You’re risking everything for one man.”
Cyrene stared down at Ahlvie’s limp body. “I know.”
“He’s a liability.”
“I know. If it’s a trap, then we’ll deal with it.”
“If it comes to it, you’ll have to do it yourself, spitfire. Can you?”
She ground her teeth together and nodded. She didn’t want to. But she could.
“Fine. I’m going to prep everyon
e to head for safe houses just in case. We’ll reassemble here if it’s not compromised in twenty-four hours.” Then the Commander stalked away.
Cyrene sighed. That was too long. She didn’t want to waste the time. But she knew it was a safety precaution. He’d put it in place for a reason.
“You should get some sleep,” Dean told her. “I’ll wait here with him.”
“No. You go first. I’ll just…lie right here.”
Dean ignored her, taking a seat and waiting with her. She sank to the ground next to him, resting her head on his leg. Her eyes were glued to Ahlvie. She sure hoped that she hadn’t been stupid in bringing him back here. But she couldn’t have just let him go back to Malysa. She also couldn’t have left him behind. Only time would tell if she’d lived to regret that decision.
Cyrene awoke to the sound of banging. She opened one eye and yawned dramatically. How long had she been asleep?
By the state of her cramped body on the floor of the warehouse, long enough to have all new aches and pains. But also long enough for her magic to have replenished.
And the banging…was coming from Ahlvie.
She straightened in surprise, having momentarily forgotten why she was even sleeping on the ground. Ahlvie. She’d captured Ahlvie.
“Thank Creator you’re awake,” he said, shaking out his hands. “What do you have me in?”
She scrambled to her feet, jostling Dean awake. He must have been in need of sleep as much as she had been. At least she had some relief that her inverted shield bubble had worked. Ahlvie was secured inside. Even all that banging on the wall hadn’t gotten him out.
“Let’s start with more important questions. Did Malysa send you?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“She sent me to Kell with Wara and a pack of Indres to bring in some Guild members. She wanted to silence some dissenters and have us there as backup,” he spewed information.
“And find me?”
“I don’t think she had any clue that you would be here.”
“How did you locate me?”
“Your scent,” he said at once. “When we arrived, the Guild were in chaos. Their leader mentioned your name, and Wara went crazy. Sent the pack after you. But I sent them all on a wild goose chase as I went in search of you.”