by Lisa Cassidy
“Your letters were wonderful.” Alyx reached out to squeeze his hands. “And I love you. But I think we should stick to being apart until I return to Alistriem. We need the time.”
“I agree.” He smiled brightly. “Whatever it takes to make sure that once we do this again, it’s forever.”
“Forever,” she echoed, ignoring the way the word sat oddly on her tongue.
His lips were warm as they brushed her cheek, whispering, “I can’t wait till you’re home.”
She leaned into him for a long moment—this was likely to be the last time they’d see each other before she left Carhall. Once her father was safely gone, the less she was seen with Cayr and his father, the better. His presence soothed her as it always had, his familiar scent and solidity giving her back a piece of home she thought she’d lost.
“Let’s get you out to Dash.” Cayr pulled back eventually. “You know how impatient he gets. If we don’t hurry he’ll be marching in here any second.”
Alyx chuckled. “It’s your own fault, you know.”
“How’s that?” He gave her a mock-injured look.
“You’re the one who sent him with me!”
“No I didn’t.”
She nudged him in the arm. “Of course you did. Don’t pretend to be innocent, he told me so. Another one of your wonderfully sweet gestures.”
“If he told you that, he was having you on.” Cayr laughed.
Alyx stopped dead, the smile dropping from her face. “You’re serious?”
“As much as I’d love to take credit for a sweet gesture, I didn’t send him with you. He volunteered.” Cayr shrugged. “After we parted at the waterfall, I went back to my room to find a note he’d left telling me he was already rounding up his unit and requesting I get a letter for the Tregayans from his father as soon as possible. That wasn’t easy, I tell you.”
“Oh.” Then why...?
“Alyx, you’ve gone pale, are you all right?”
“Yes, of course.” She shook her head and reached up to hug him tightly. “Bye, Cayr. I’ll miss you.”
“And me you.” His voice was full of sadness. “Keep safe and come home to me soon.”
Dashan waited at the bottom of the steps for her, his cavalry horse and Tingo a few paces away, cocky smile firmly in place. “Ready to go, my lady?”
“I’m ready.” She walked slowly down the steps towards him. When he turned to mount his horse, she reached out to take his arm.
He sent her a questioning look. “Alyx?”
“Thank you,” she breathed, eyes focused on the buttons of his vest. “For last night, and for... I won’t ever be able to thank you enough.”
“Alyx, stop,” he murmured.
When she looked up, his eyes were darker than she’d ever seen as they regarded her. She shook her head. “I mean it, Dashan.”
He smiled that grin of his, completely ignorant of how the light of it speared through her and sent her emotions spinning in a thousand different directions. “I know you do. Come on, it’s getting late, and I want an ale before bed.”
As they rode back into Carhall, Alyx relayed everything that had been decided upon to Dashan, allowing the planning to focus and calm her.
“Your father’s plan is a sound one. We’ll make sure he gets to Tennan safely, don’t worry.”
“I know you will.” She smiled slightly.
Silence fell again as they rode through into Centre Square and Alyx left Tingo with the grooms in the mage stables. Dashan left his horse too, insisting on walking her over to Town Hall before returning to barracks.
“You’re as bad as Cayr with your overprotectiveness,” she muttered as they crossed the near-empty square, the night sky bright and clear above them.
He merely grinned at that, then slowed and pointed upwards, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Alyx stared upwards, dwarfed by the vastness of the night sky and the seeming endlessness of the stars.
“Yes, it really is.”
“Which ones can you name?” He stopped walking entirely, head raised as he looked up at the glittering sky.
“What do you mean?”
“Which of the stars do you know the names of?”
“They have names?”
He looked down at her. “What do they teach you in fancy princess school anyways?”
“I’m not a princess.” She scowled.
“You don’t know what any of those stars are called?”
“No.” Alyx hesitated. “Will you teach me?”
“Come here.” He took her hand and tugged her closer. The terrifying urge to twine her fingers with his was close to overwhelming and she almost didn’t hear him when he spoke again. “See that one up there?”
“Yes.” She swallowed, heart racing. He was so close she could feel his warmth. What is happening?
“That one is called the Taliath constellation.”
“Really?” She marvelled.
“Yep, see how it looks like an arm holding a sword? That bright star in the middle is the gem in the hilt of the sword.”
“I see it.”
“No matter where you are in the world you can see that bright star in the middle; we use it to navigate.”
“Tell me more.”
He looked down at her. “It’s late, Alyx. Another time.”
Disappointment shafted through her, but she nodded. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
He walked her to the bottom of the Town Hall steps and wished her a good night before tipping his hat and strolling off.
“Hey, Dash?”
He turned, one eyebrow raising inquiringly.
The words were on the tip of her tongue. Was Cayr right? And if he was... why?
“Spit it out, Egalion. I got places to be.”
The words died in her mouth and she shook her head. “Just... thanks again. What you did means a lot.”
“No thanks required. Sleep tight.”
She stood for a few moments to watch him go. He began whistling a cheerful little ditty as he walked, and she wondered why it was suddenly so hard to breathe.
Chapter 32
The chatter of the dining room floated around Alyx as she toyed with her breakfast, pushing it around her plate until it looked as if she’d eaten some of it. She held herself still, trying to focus on calming her roiling thoughts. After returning to her room close to midnight, she hadn’t slept a wink. It was a miracle Dawn hadn’t woken from her restless turning.
She was just stressed because of what she’d learned. That was all it was.
But what if it wasn’t?
Alyx swallowed and tried to breathe slowly, as if what remained of the foundation of her life wasn’t shifting precariously under her. She, Cayr, and Dashan. Childhood friends. Cayr and Alyx to grow up and marry. It had always been that way.
I didn’t send him with you. He volunteered.
And with those words everything had changed irrevocably. Why? Why had he done it? Deep down, where she hid all the things she didn’t want to know or remember, she knew why. Or at least she guessed.
“Alyx!” Tarrick’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“What?” She jumped, her head jerking upwards. At the sudden movement, the fork lying next to her elbow went flying and clattered loudly to the floor.
“What’s wrong with you this morning?” Dawn asked. “Tarrick has asked you the same question three times.”
Alyx could hardly bear to look at her best friend—the mere sight of her concern made Alyx writhe with guilt. But why was she feeling guilty anyway? She hadn’t done anything. These odd feelings... the tightness in her chest when he’d smiled down at her last night... it had to be stress, the aftereffects of her fear for her father and gratitude for what Dashan had done.
“Alyx?” Dawn repeated. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” She mustered a smile. “I’m tired and anxious, that’s all.”
“About what you heard?”
�
�Is there something more?” Cario added, eyeing her perceptively.
Alyx nodded, looking furtively around the room. “I need to talk to you all actually. In private. Cario, is there somewhere we could go?”
He nodded tersely. “There’s a place not far. We’ve got time before the council session starts.”
“Not much time...” Tarrick started, but trailed off when Alyx turned a hard look in his direction. “All right, let’s go.”
“We’d be acting in direct contradiction of the council.”
“Only if the council is intending to try and harm my father,” Alyx countered. “If not, we wouldn’t be doing anything wrong.”
“Alyx, this isn’t sneaking in after curfew because we stayed in Weeping Stead too late, or creeping about trying to foil Galien’s plans.” Tarrick leaned forward. “We’re apprentice mages. If they found out what we were doing, the consequences could be worse than expulsion.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
“And they could find out,” Finn said. “If they’re planning something against Alyx’s father, and we stop it, Romas will know it’s us.”
“He was the one that let us know what was going on in the first place. Why would he rat us out?” Dawn asked.
“Why did he let us know in the first place?” Alyx shook her head. “Finn is right. We can’t trust anything he does. But this is my father’s life, and I'm willing to risk whatever consequences there are.”
“You’re asking us to risk everything too,” Finn pointed out.
“Not all of you. Dawn, yes, because her magic can help us do this quietly. And Cario, I need you to get us to the meeting place with my father and then out of the Hub and Centre Square. Finn, you and Tarrick should just carry on as normal, although if one of you could get a discreet message to Dash today, that would be wonderful. Take Jayn and Mika down to the city for a drink tonight, cover for the rest of us.”
“I’m in,” Dawn said firmly. “If it were my father, I’d be doing exactly what you’re doing, and I know you’d help me.”
“I would,” Alyx assured her, meaning it.
“It amuses me to thwart the council, but I won’t risk myself for you, Egalion,”
Cario drawled. “I’ll give you instructions on how to get to the meet and then out of the Hub without being seen, and I won’t report this conversation. That’s all I’m willing to offer.”
“It’s good enough,” she told him.
“I don’t like it.” A vein ticked in Tarrick’s jaw. “What if Dash and the Bluecoats don’t get back to Carhall in time for Romas’s departure?”
“They will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” Alyx said firmly. “You’ve seen his unit, how well trained they are. They’re good, Tarrick, and if Dash tells me he can do this, then he can do it.”
“Damn it.” Tarrick stood abruptly, his chair falling back with the suddenness of his movement. They all jumped as it banged to the floor. “I hate this.”
Finn rose too, frustration filling his voice. “For the record, Tarrick is right. This is a damnably impossible situation to be in.”
“I’m sorry,” Alyx said helplessly.
“I know it’s not your fault.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re my friend, and he’s your father. I’ll do as you ask and get the message to Dash today, not that it’s much.”
“Thank you, Finn.”
“If I get expelled from the mage order, I have nothing left. No magic, no family, no purpose.” Tarrick looked at Alyx, and she recoiled from the bleakness in his face and voice. It wasn’t her he was truly upset with, though, she picked up that much from his unshielded thoughts.
“Is this the type of mage order you really want to be a part of?” she asked quietly.
His face twisted. “Don’t ask me that. It’s all I know.”
“If it goes wrong, we’ll keep you out of it,” she promised.
His shoulders sagged. “You don’t need to do that, we’re in this together.”
“No.” Alyx rose to her feet as well. “I owe you that much. Come on, we should go before they come looking for us.”
“Thank goodness,” Cario muttered as he strode for the door. “All this intrigue and drama gives me indigestion.”
Following Cario’s detailed instructions, Dawn and Alyx made it without incident to the kitchen storeroom in the Hub just before midnight. Garan was already there, seated on a sack of flour in a shadowed corner of the room. He’d replaced his court finery with simple shirt, breeches and jacket and wore a cap low over his forehead.
“Any issues?” he asked tersely as Alyx closed the door.
“No, we’re fine.”
Both girls stripped off their grey apprentice robes, revealing equally non-descript clothing underneath. Dawn tucked the robes safely behind a wheat bin—they’d need to come and collect them on their way back.
“Just the two of you?” Garan asked as they headed for the door.
“Dawn’s magic is what we need, and I didn’t want to unnecessarily risk the others.” Alyx turned to her friend as they reached the door. “You’re up.”
Dawn nodded and closed her eyes. Standing so close, Alyx felt the familiar signature of her friend’s telepathic magic brush over her mind. Her father stood patiently, a solid presence behind her.
“Nothing out there but a cleaner and a few clerks working late. The route we need to take is deserted.”
“Then let’s go. Keep scanning around us; I’ll watch out for you. All right?”
“I trust you, Alyx,” Dawn said confidently.
They moved quickly through the deserted corridors of the royal chambers, Alyx fighting the tight ball of anxiousness in her chest the entire way. When their boots echoed on a set of stone steps, her heart leapt into her throat.
“We’re okay,” Dawn murmured. “Nobody is close enough to hear.”
Cario had promised that his directions—which he’d forced Alyx and Dawn to memorise rather than write anything down—would bring them out to a little-used storeroom that practically abutted the Centre Square wall.
“You’ll have to go over the wall,” he’d told them. “There’s too high a risk the militia guarding the gates will recognize you or your father if you go that way.”
She relaxed a little as they reached the storeroom, the unlocked door swinging open with only a slight creak before Garan pushed it closed. The scent of parchment and ink permeated the air. Darkness settled around them.
When the door leading outside rattled slightly and began to open, Alyx’s hands lit up in a green glow before she even realised what was happening. Garan was just as quick, covering the space between them and the door in under a second.
“It’s just me.” Dashan’s familiar voice stopped them all in their tracks, and the room went dark again as Alyx’s power faded as quickly as it had surged.
“You were supposed to meet us outside, is something wrong?” Alyx asked.
“Voices down,” Garan warned, and they huddled together by the door.
“Lord Egalion, what time were you scheduled to leave the Hub tonight?”
“There was no particular time. King Mastaran is hosting a dinner at the palace, though, so it could be assumed I would attend that. Why?”
“Josha and Casta have been keeping a discreet eye on the Hub’s front entrance. A short time ago, the mage warrior on guard left his post and crossed to the Town Hall. He reappeared shortly after with three more mages and went inside the Hub rather than staying on the door.”
Alyx cursed. “They’ve realised you’re gone, Papa.”
“By now, almost certainly.” Dashan nodded.
Garan’s voice was low but clear. “There are two possible eventualities. One, our hosts are simply keeping a close protective eye on King Llancarvan’s retinue and are concerned that I’m not accounted for. Two, they’re watching me specifically.”
“Or a mix of both,” Dawn said. “Give me a moment, and I’ll
see if I can find out what’s going on.”
The seconds ticked by painfully slowly. Alyx tried not to jiggle her leg nervously, attempting to copy the calm stillness of both Dashan and her father.
Dawn’s eyes eventually snapped open. “I’ve located the three mages but they’re all shielding strongly, so I can’t see anything specific in their thoughts. They’re searching for something and they’ve split up, but all three are far from where we are. There’s also movement on all four gates into Centre Square, more minds than should be there on guard, I think.”
“We have to go now.” Dashan rose to his feet. “Are we clear in the immediately surrounding area, Dawn?”
“For now, yes.”
“I’ll go first, if that’s all right, sir?” Dashan looked at Garan. “I’ll hop the wall and give a low whistle if the coast is clear. You come first, with Alyx and Dawn following. If anything at all happens, I’ll grab you and we run.”
“A good plan,” Garan said tersely. “Go.”
The whistle came quickly. Garan rose lithely to his feet and was out the door without a sound. Alyx held the door open slightly so she could see when her father was safely over, then gestured for Dawn to follow. Alyx went last, scaling the wall with a little difficulty before landing on the other side.
Dashan and her father were already strolling away, looking for all intents and purposes like a couple of farmers enjoying an evening out in the city. Dawn fell into step beside Alyx and they followed at a distance.
“Thank you for doing this,” Alyx said as they walked.
“You don’t need to thank me,” Dawn murmured absently, then, “We’re good for now. I don’t sense any threat from the minds in the streets surrounding us. There are a lot of people out though, so I can’t guarantee not to have missed something.”
As they passed the next block, two young men casually fell into step with Garan and Dashan. Alyx recognised Josha and Casta despite the fact they were out of uniform.
It was almost anti-climactic to reach the outskirts of Carhall and a deep culvert that cut under the city wall without incident. Josha and Casta dropped down into the ankle-deep water and waded towards the gate before pushing it open with a small screech.
