"Oi!" Jax whispered harshly behind me. "Slow down, will you? I can't keep up!"
"I think he's just dragging his feet," Elisha said beside me. "He can move faster than this. I've seen him."
"Perhaps," I said, hiding a smile.
"What happened over there?" she asked, pointing at what should've been another building.
My brow furrowed, and I walked to the edge of the roof, staring down into rubble. My first instinct was that it had been destroyed during Ilara's invasion, but it was too far from the water. This must've been one of the casualties of the ond attack.
A hot surge of anger rushed through me. Someone in this city—a Forcadelian, most likely—had killed their own countrymen. And for what? What had killing Forcadelians done for their cause?
You also sacrificed forty-two countrymen in Neveri.
That serpentine voice slithered around in my mind, and the weight of the pendant at my neck grew heavy again.
"Well?" Elisha asked, drawing me from my thoughts. "What happened here?"
"Ond happened," Jax said, wiping his brow. "But I saw a couple Severians nearby. It's gonna be hard to avoid them if we keep stopping like this."
I nodded. "We're almost there."
We came to the Forcadel town square, the center of life and activity in the capital. In the morning, it would be filled with vendors and farmers selling everything from clothes to baked goods. Beyond the square, the castle loomed in the darkness. Lights flickered from some of the windows, but most of it disappeared into the night. By instinct, I searched for the tallest tower, where Felix had imprisoned me so many weeks ago.
My gaze drifted down to the high walls that protected the castle from the rest of the city. There were secret passages all over, connecting royal rooms to servants' halls. But to my knowledge, there was only one secret exit—and based on the two guards standing next to the door leading out to the gardens, I supposed it was no longer that secret.
I came to the side of the church and the bell tower. A section of wood covered a rickety door, revealing the entrance to my secret Veil lair.
"And we're sure nobody's gonna be there waiting for us?" Jax asked as we ascended the dark stairs.
"No, we're not sure," I said. "But that's why I've got two fighters with me."
He made a noise. "One-and-a-half."
"Hey!" Elisha cried.
"Ssh," I said. "The sisters may not come up this way, but your voices echo."
When I lit the lamp at the top, the soft glow illuminated a mostly-empty space. A few trunks were open, but other than that, it was empty. I hadn't expected Felix to do much, but some part of me wished he'd made his own Nestori contacts in the city.
"Spacious," Jax said, brushing by me. "Which piece of hard floor is my bed?"
"Pick your favorite," I said, settling down and yawning. "In the morning, we'll—"
I was answered by his loud snoring.
"He's an ass," Elisha said, covering herself up with her threadbare cloak. "Goodnight."
"Night," I said.
I waited until I heard her soft breathing before opening my eyes again. At the top of the bell tower, the faintest bit of sky could be seen. It was still dark, but growing pinker.
Silently, I sat up and watched Jax and Elisha, but they didn't stir. They wouldn't notice my being gone for an hour or two. So with care, I grabbed a few things from the mostly-empty trunks and crept down the stairs.
If I was going to retrieve Katarine and Felix, I needed to know how to get in and out of the castle without being seen—and for that, I needed the castle schematics. I'd seen them only once, and I wanted a refresher on the litany of secret entrances, hallways, and doors—some of which had been unknown to anyone except for me. It was housed under lock and key in the archives.
This effort might've been easier with Jax and Elisha, but I wasn't sure they could be trusted. After all, Jax still worked for Celia and telling her there was a detailed map to get to my royal bedroom seemed like a bad idea.
The building was a short walk from the church on the other side of the square. Two large, oak doors met me—formidable and immovable. But with a little work, the front door lock turned over with relative ease. I came into a large, dark room filled with books, some of which Katarine had used to instruct me on the history of the country. The map of the castle would be further in the back, behind yet another locked door. So I bypassed the books and kept walking toward a back hallway.
I froze at the soft clearing of a throat, and I reached for my knife. But the sound had come from the front, not the back, and as I peered around the corner, I found the source—a Severian guard standing in front of the archivist's office.
At least he was alone, which was good. I reached into my slingbag and attached a small bag of knockout powder to one of my arrows on my crossbow. Then, with another glance around the corner, I aimed and fired the arrow to just above his head.
The bag ripped and the powder fell on top of him. He blinked for a moment, then slumped to the ground. I had about half an hour before he woke up, but I wanted to be long gone by that point. The door was loud as I scraped it open, but clearly no one else was in the building.
I dug through the archivist's desk, finding maps of the city and requests for books from Katarine, but no map of the castle.
I paced the room, opening every drawer and cupboard and finding no other maps. The castle schematics were a highly secured state secret, so perhaps it had been silly to think it would've just been sitting out.
I sat down on the archivist's chair and rolled the chair over the wood. To my ears, it was solid, until I heard the faintest echo. Near the brass wheel was the smallest hinge.
"There you are," I said, pushing the chair out of the way and kneeling down. But the end of the board was under the corner of the desk, probably on purpose.
Hoping that the knockout powder was still working its magic, I braced myself against the desk and pushed hard. It was solid wood, but with some effort, it scraped forward just enough to allow me to pop up the loose plank, revealing a small alcove.
There, I found an assortment of books—including a description of the defenses of Forcadel, which I happily stashed in my slingbag—and, as I'd hoped, the map of the castle I'd seen before.
With care, I unfurled it onto the archivist's desk. I put my finger on the secret entrances to the royal chambers. It would be so easy to slip in and kill Ilara. But that wasn't the ending I wanted for her—not yet, anyway—and it wouldn't remove the hundreds of Severian soldiers swarming my city. Besides that, I didn't know if she knew this map existed. If she did, she might've already placed soldiers at the royal bedchambers.
I shook myself and refocused on my original task. I ran my finger along the edges of the castle walls, praying to the Mother she would guide my gaze to the right spot. There was the main entrance, the gate entrance, but every other wall was solid.
There.
I blinked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I had missed it the first time because it was a faint mark, almost an errant scratch on the page. But when I brought the paper close to my nose, there was very clearly a small door behind the barracks.
It wasn't incredibly helpful, though. From the barracks to the kitchen was about two hundred feet of open greenery usually filled with drilling soldiers. Crossing it would be difficult, but it appeared my only option.
The guard moaned on the other side of the door. My time was running short.
If I took the map with me, someone might sound the alarm that it was gone. So I grabbed a spare quill and a piece of parchment and began sketching my own version, adding just enough detail that I'd know what it was, but if it fell into the wrong hands, someone else wouldn't be able to decipher it.
Then, quickly, I replaced the floorboard and pushed the desk back into place. Everything else, I righted as if I hadn't been there—even the guard, who I hoisted back onto his chair. I gathered the evidence of the knockout powder, including the arrow and bag, and dashed a
round the corner, waiting for him to awaken fully.
He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes then jumped to attention, as if realizing he'd fallen asleep on duty.
I slipped out of the archive with the map and a smirk.
Chapter 5
There was a gloomy, overcast sky, but a definite warmth to the city when I awoke the next morning. Winter in Forcadel consisted of long stretches of balmy weather and the occasional rain to wash the mugginess away. Down below, the town square was fairly busy, although there seemed to be more soldiers than people.
"Good morning," Elisha mumbled, sitting up with her dark hair in tangles. "Or is it afternoon?"
"Midday," I said, gazing down at the town square. "Feel like getting us some food?"
She nodded and took a silver. From above, I watched her dart through the vendors and talk to a few of them before coming back to the tower. Although there were Severian guards in the square, none of them paid her any attention. One of the perks of having a child spy.
"A silver wasn't enough," Elisha said when she came back to the top of the stairs. "So I had to steal a loaf."
"It should've been enough," I said with a frown.
"Not with Ilara's new edicts," Jax said, eyes still closed. "You saw how bad things were in Neveri. They're worse here."
I shook my head. "Today, I want the two of you to patrol the town. Find out what you can about all of this—the merchants, the edicts. All of my knowledge of the city is at least half a year old. Help me get up to speed."
"And you're just going to…what? Stay here?" Jax quirked a brow. "Since when?"
"Since I promised Jorad and Aline I'd stay out of trouble," I replied with a sweet smile.
Jax didn't believe me, but he and Elisha left anyway. Once their footsteps died down, I uncovered a pair of sticky gloves underneath a floorboard. I used them to climb the wooden wall up to the top of the bell tower, where I could look over the city without being seen. Down below, Jax and Elisha made their way out into the city square, and I cracked a smile. Suckers.
I settled myself onto the ledge and gazed out into the city. In the daylight, Forcadel was beautiful. Buildings of all different sizes and shapes rose from the cobblestone streets. People walked to and fro. The bay glistened in the sunlight. I had seen some magnificent things in my journey through Niemen and Kulka, but nothing compared to this view. Nothing compared to home.
A fine-looking carriage rolled out of Mariner's Row, pulled by two cream-colored horses. They trotted around the perimeter of the market square before pulling to a stop at the foot of the tower in which I sat. When the door opened, a woman stepped out.
My mouth opened a little; was that Councilwoman Vernice? She was still in town? And by the looks of it, still the proud owner of her title.
I quickly climbed down the wall, landing in a crouch on the floor. I took the stairs two-by-two down to the bottom of the stairwell but didn't continue out into the street. There was a small door in the shadows that led to a hallway. One way led to Mother Fishen's apartment, and the other, along this very wall, into the confessionals. If Vernice was coming to the chapel at this hour, she was surely in need of some guidance.
And if she were amenable, she might help me get inside the castle.
With care, I pushed open the door leading out to the main nave. Vernice was sitting in the front row, her head bowed in prayer.
I hadn't seen her since the day Ilara invaded. She'd lost her rosy, round cheeks and perfectly styled hair, and her dress looked a little less new and fashionable. Her lips, which had been a shade of vibrant purple the first time I met her, were a dull pink, giving her the appearance of a much older woman. But she still looked like a Councilwoman, so it appeared she'd taken the same path as Katarine: trying to make Ilara into a better queen for the benefit of Forcadel.
I closed the door just as her eyes darted up. Through the mesh on the door, I watched her stand and walk to the other side of the confessional. The door unlocked and she stepped inside.
"Mother, are you there?" she whispered.
I swallowed, unsure what to do or say. Being there under false pretenses seemed like a spiritual bridge too far for me. But at the same time, perhaps I could learn something from Vernice that I couldn't anywhere else.
Mother, forgive me. "I am one of the sisters," I said, lowering my voice. "Mother Fishen sends her apologies."
"It is just as well," Vernice said. "I suppose I need someone to talk to."
"Then speak," I said.
"I'm torn," she began. "It's only by the Mother's grace that Ilara hasn't made a terrible decision that's plunged us deeper into war. But I suspect it's a matter of time. She's ordered the merchants to bypass the city entirely. Now goods and food will go directly to Severia, leaving very little for us. That, I fear, is why the usurpers attacked the merchants they did. They were hoping to disrupt this new edict." She sighed. "Unfortunately, Ilara's undeterred. If the merchants refuse, she'll commandeer their vessels and throw them in the dungeons."
I couldn't help the groan of misery that came from my lips. Through the mesh, Vernice shifted.
"Please, continue," I said.
"My brother in Kulka has begged me to come to him, to live in the guest cottage on his property." She smiled, sitting back. "It was the farm where I spent my summers as a girl. He inherited it from our great uncle. Beautiful land, lush with apples and berries. Horses running wild. It's magnificent."
"And far away from the turmoil of Forcadel," I finished for her. "Why haven't you left yet?"
"Because my duty is to my kingdom," she said. "I thought it would be no different than when Brynna was in charge. A young, brash woman who needed a little guidance."
"You call what you did to me guidance?" I snapped before I could stop myself.
Vernice gasped and turned to the grate. "I'm…sorry?"
"I meant what you did to the princess." I winced, cursing myself for being so careless. "She spoke to me often about you. Said you were harsh and untrusting. Doubted that she was even the real princess."
"I never thought that in my life," Vernice said, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "She was a little rough around the edges, sure, but I knew she wanted what was best. She just didn't know what that was. And unfortunately, none of us could see the impending invasion coming."
I seem to remember you telling me to kick Ilara out a number of times. "What do you think is best for your country? To stay and try to sway Ilara until she forces you out, or just go now?"
"Stay," she said. "But it's hard. I'm scared for myself. I don't want to end up like Garwood."
I jumped. "Garwood? What's happened to Garwood?"
"Surely you heard? He refused to submit to Ilara and she had him thrown in jail." She exhaled softly. "His days are numbered."
"She's going to have him executed?"
"She'll let the conditions in the dungeon take care of that," she said. "He hasn't seen the light of day in months, let alone had proper medical care. He's not the youngest man either, not like Captain Llobrega." She paused, fussing with her hands. "Lady Katarine insists that poor Felix has had a mental break, what with losing August and Brynna so close together. I don't know how she maintains her stoicism. Must be the frigid northern climate where she was born."
I sat back, chewing my lip. Garwood was down there with Felix, and had been this whole time. He was my mother's brother, and while we weren't exactly close, he'd been a stalwart ally. But he'd sacrificed everything for me—his house, his husband, and possibly his life. And Felix seemed bound and determined to do the same. It was all so unnecessary.
I didn't care about the cost—I'd get all three of them out. Today.
"Stay," I said after a long pause. "Stay and fight for this country. You've still got some sway with Ilara, clearly, so you should use it until there's no more left. The citizenry need you to temper her."
"If I can."
"You must," I said. "All we can do is the best with what we have. And hope t
he Mother judges us fairly."
She nodded. "Thank you, Sister, for your guidance. I will return to the castle."
And so would I.
After leaving the confessional, I kept to the side streets around the church, my gaze focused on the ground. I left the town square and continued along the perimeter of the castle, avoiding Severian patrols. I'd only have a few minutes to test the wall, so once the soldiers turned the corner, I darted across the street. I moved quickly, running my fingers along the rough, bumpy plaster, inspecting every crack to see if it hid something more. A brief flicker of fear echoed in my chest as I considered maybe they'd bricked over the wall.
But then, as I'd almost given up hope, something moved under my palms. A false door opened just wide enough for me to slip through. Something thorny dug into my pant leg, and I received a spiderweb to the face, but I shut the door behind me and exhaled softly.
My eyes adjusted to the different light. I'd squeezed myself in-between the wall and the barracks. Placing my feet surely, I moved toward the end of the building. Soldiers were drilling on the green, nothing new—except that they weren't Forcadelian. They were Severian soldiers with Severian colors. I could picture Felix standing where the Severian lieutenant was, barking orders to his troops.
I waited until they started their jog around the castle to move, crossing the green toward the kitchens and keeping my head down. My breath came in short spurts until my hand touched the kitchen doorknob. But to my horror, it turned over in my hand.
Thinking quickly, I ducked out of sight behind a nearby bush as a maid came walking out with a basket full of refuse. She didn't see me, too preoccupied with balancing the basket of smelly bones and rotting meat on her hip to be mindful of anything else. I didn't recognize her from my time in the castle, but she seemed Forcadelian, so she'd probably recognize me.
However, she was about my size.
I stalked her as she headed toward the refuse pile on the eastern side of the castle. Keeping an eye out for the jogging cadets, I waited until she came to the back of the castle—near another drainage grate—and dumped the trash before I knocked her out with powder.
The Veil of Trust Page 3
