by Lisa Cassidy
“Alyx, what is it, what’s wrong?” Concern flooded his face and he sat forward.
“You know that Shakar followed us after Carhall fell.” She sought for the words, struggled to find the right ones.
“Yes, yes.” He waved her off impatiently, his worry growing. “I know he killed the council and you barely got away.”
“Cayr.” Dashan’s voice was heavy with regret. “Shakar is someone we know. Someone close to you and Alyx.”
Shock and puzzlement flooded the king’s face. “What?”
“I’m so, so sorry.” She took a breath. “All this time it was Astor.”
Chapter 34
Alyx awoke with a sore neck, and she blinked, trying to work out where she was. Empty glasses and jugs littered the table directly in her eyeline. Soft light glimmered behind closed curtains.
Cayr’s sitting room.
After the revelation about Astor, Cayr had changed the subject, his characteristic reluctance to deal with difficult issues shining through. For once it hadn’t annoyed her, instead coming as a relief. They’d talked late into the night, telling Dashan everything that had happened during this absence. It had been close to dawn before they’d fallen asleep where they sat, exhausted and still slightly inebriated.
A soft snore broke her from her thoughts. Cayr was stretched out on the couch opposite, asleep, and Dashan lay flat on his back on the floor, the source of the snoring. She gazed down at his sleeping form for a long moment, unable to help herself after so long thinking she’d never see his face again. He looked more peaceful asleep, younger even.
Tearing her eyes away, she sat up, groaning softly as a pounding head added to her sore neck. Then, as on every morning since it had happened, she remembered her father had died. She bit down hard on her lip, tears rushing to her eyes.
She had to move. Distract herself from the grief.
Her intention had been to sneak out quietly and make her way home, but she opened the door to find Jenna still standing there, gaze alert and watchful. Not far away were three mage guards—Tari, Adahn, and Chestin.
“They found you on their own,” Jenna spoke first, not sounding at all tired despite the fact she must have been up all night. “Don’t blame me.”
Alyx smiled at her. “Thanks for watching over us last night.”
She said nothing to that, only inclined her head slightly. Alyx turned away, moving to join her guards. Adahn fell into step behind her while the other two went on ahead after she told them she was heading back to the mansion.
Outside, the air was cool and heavy clouds overhead promised rain at any moment.
“Is there anything I can do?” Adahn asked after a while.
“Thank you, but no. I’ll be okay,” she said softly.
“Because it was him that you needed.” A trace of bitterness edged his voice, even though he clearly tried to hide it.
She sighed, slowing until they came to a stop. It took a few moments to muster the resolve she needed to look him in the eyes. He already knew what she was going to say, it was written in his hard blue gaze. “Yes. I’m sorry, Adahn.”
“So that’s it?” his voice was soft, almost pleading.
“I like you and I respect you more than I can say. You’ve become one of my closest friends,” she said. “But I don’t feel any more than that for you. I’m sorry.”
He nodded, jaw clenching. “All right. I accept that.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but despite her best intentions had no idea what to say to try and make things better. In the end he turned away, beginning to walk off. She fell into step with him and they walked in silence back to her home.
The house was quiet when she entered, leaving her guards stationed outside, but Dawn and Ladan were both up and eating breakfast when she walked through to the dining room. They sat close together, and some of Ladan’s grim aura had softened.
“Are you just getting home?” Dawn asked with a smile.
“Yeah. The three of us had a lot of catching up to do.”
“I bet. How are you doing?”
Ladan’s gaze lifted to hers at Dawn’s question, and Alyx sighed. “Part of me is still aching with grief and wants to burst into tears every other minute, and another part remains utterly thrown by Dashan’s re-appearance. The rest of me knows Shakar is still out there to be dealt with and is both heartbroken and furious to know it was Astor all this time.”
For a moment Dawn just stared at her. Then she said quietly, “I think that’s the most honest you’ve been with me for a very long time, Alyx.”
She considered that for a moment, reaching out to take a sip from Ladan’s glass of juice. Her brother’s green gaze lingered on her, but it was a comforting weight. “What I saw inside Shakar when he attacked me…he’s so twisted up. Now I know how he ended up like that. It wasn’t becoming invulnerable. It has nothing to do with being a mage of the higher order. Those things were just awful coincidence. He loved his Taliath and the council killed her. He was angry and he wanted vengeance. He bottled up his grief and anger and those emotions were so powerful they turned him.” She paused. “I don’t want that to happen to me.”
“It won’t,” Ladan said quietly.
“No,” she said, meeting his gaze.
“Here, eat.” Dawn pushed a plate of toast at her. “Tarrick wants to meet over at the palace as soon as you’re feeling up to it.”
Part of her quailed at the thought. She was wrung out, empty from tears and the ache of missing her father. Her conversation with Adahn hadn’t helped. But in another part of her there was a spark, a little flicker of warmth from a night spent in the comfort and safety of her two oldest and dearest friends, the only family she’d ever had before DarkSkull. So she focused on that spark, protected it so that it would grow stronger.
Then she picked up a piece of toast and stood. “Let’s go.”
They were all in the mage offices—Tarrick, Finn, Cario, Brynn, even Dashan and Cayr. Jenna too, hovering protectively by the door. Alyx smiled at the warm hugs of support from Tarrick and Cario. The tears in Finn’s eyes as he told her how sorry he was he hadn’t been there to help brought matching tears to hers. “It’s okay Finn, there’s nothing you could have done. Leanli was here, and he tried everything.”
He said nothing for a moment, then he threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Closing her eyes, she hugged him back, taking the comfort he rarely offered.
Eventually he stepped back, looking a little embarrassed. “Shall we get to it?”
“Before we talk about anything, we have a serious problem,” Dashan cut in before Tarrick could start. “Alyx, I’m sorry, I know this isn’t a good time to—”
“There’s no good time for any of this,” she cut him off. “If there’s a problem, we need to deal with it.”
He nodded, eyes roving the room. “I think there’s an informer amongst us. Someone who was reporting information to the Mage Council and maybe even Shakar–spying, essentially.”
Alyx stilled. “Dashan, I—”
“No, hear me out.” His jaw was set stubbornly, and she sighed. There was no getting through to him when he was like this. “You told me last night that Galien and the council came for us in Sandira, came to kill me and you if you’d absorbed my invulnerability.”
Ladan nodded. “Right, because of their policy about Taliath.”
“Exactly,” Dashan said steadily “Because they knew about me and Alyx.”
Alyx nodded slowly. “They knew details, specific details. Information that only a handful of people could have known or guessed.”
Understanding spread over Dashan’s face. “You already worked this out.”
“I…” She trailed off as realisation hit her like a thunderbolt. Now it makes sense. Relief and joy hit her so hard she had to brace herself against the table for support.
“Alyx?” Ladan pressed.
“I figured it out three years ago,” Alyx said. “The specific details Galien knew,
it could only have come from one of a few people. Those in this room and my father.”
A thick silence fell. Of course, it was Finn who spoke first. He sounded utterly bewildered. “You knew this and you did nothing? All that time we’ve been working under you, trusted with everything.”
“I don’t understand,” Tarrick frowned.
Ladan was angry. “Something needs to be done to find out who this spy is, and if you won’t do it, Aly-girl, then I will. You should have done something a long time ago.”
“Being my brother doesn’t give you the right to lecture me. I won’t—”
“That’s exactly what it does do,” he cut over her. “This affects more than just you. A spy with the level of access to our planning that your closest friends have compromises our entire effort against Shakar.”
“He’s right,” Dashan said firmly. “We need to—”
“Stop!” She lifted her hand, then glanced around the room. “Yes, I knew the council had information that could only have come from someone here. I also knew that Shakar’s Hunters had been finding us too quickly and too often—it was a suspicion I held even before Sandira.”
The confusion on Dawn’s face matched that of everyone in the room. “Why didn’t you just read our thoughts to find out who it was?”
“Because I only became certain after Sandira, when the trust between us had been completely shattered and we were trying to rebuild it.” She glanced around the room, looking at each of them in turn. “I wrestled with it for days, but when it came down to it, I fundamentally could not believe that any of you was a spy. I decided to trust in that, to have faith. If I was going to build a new mage order, if I wanted you all to have faith in me, then I had to have faith in you too. So I decided that there must be another explanation. And in the end, there was.”
Finn looked close to tears. “What was it?”
“Astor.”
Understanding dropped over their faces with varying degrees of speed. Cayr sank into a chair, head dropping into his hands. Quicker than thought, Jenna had moved to his side, resting a hand on his shoulder.
“Astor is Shakar.” Alyx’s voice trembled a little as she said it out loud. “Shakar knew all about me and Dashan, and Astor knew all of our secrets. After the attack on Sandira—he warned me of the spy, pointed out the specific detail the council knew. He was trying to drive us apart.” Wonder filled her voice. “But he failed. I didn’t let him.”
The silence that followed grew so long that she began to feel uncomfortable. It was hard to read the expressions on her friends’ faces. Cayr was looking at her with pride, Dashan with an amusing mix of horror and affection.
Tarrick rose slowly to his feet. There was pain in his dark eyes. “You have shown more trust in me than I ever did in you, Magor-lier.”
Alyx waved him off. “Tarrick please, don’t.”
“He’s right,” Finn said. He seemed equally stricken. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“Fools,” Dawn muttered under her breath.
Ladan gave Alyx a look that warned her this wasn’t the end of him lecturing her on the topic, then cleared his throat. “There are things we need to discuss. Your Highness, it might be time to discuss your news.”
“Yes.” Cayr straightened in his chair and Jenna took a step back. “Amidst all the grimness of the past week or so, I have some good news to share with you.”
Relieved at the attention shifting away from her, Alyx lifted an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“The Zandian emperor has sent a message offering to come to Alistriem and attend discussions with myself, Mastaran, and the leader of the Shiven rebels.”
For a moment it was possible to hear a pin drop in the room as everyone swivelled to Cayr in astonishment. Alyx and her mages had been working on getting the emperor to agree to a meeting for years, and now… “He’s willing to come here?” she asked.
A wry smile tugged at Cayr’s mouth. “The emperor graciously acknowledges that given the state of the war, neither Mastaran nor myself are in a position to travel away from our homes.”
She stared at him in astonishment. After the emotional hits of the past few weeks, it was difficult to accept that something good was happening. “When did this happen?”
“Sparky suspects the emperor’s generals told him of the unexpected and rapid advance on Carhall by the Shiven army. It seems to have prompted him to action,” Ladan said.
Alyx shot a look at Finn, he gave her a little knowing smile.
“I have already written to him to accept his offer.” Cayr’s voice turned firm. “The emperor has requested absolute secrecy—none bar his most senior advisors and Leopard guard are aware of his intended travel. Outside this room, only Sparky is aware. I insist that it remains that way.”
“Will you invite the Shiven as the emperor suggested?” Dashan asked.
Cayr inclined his head. “I have already reached out to Tarian Astohar and King Mastaran.”
“This is a good development, Your Highness,” Cario said. “Even with Carhall having fallen, an alliance with Zandia could turn the war firmly back in our favour.”
Cayr sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I hope so. I fear Rionn isn’t going to hold much longer.”
“It will hold as long as it needs to,” Ladan said determinedly before rising to his feet. “We will make sure of that.”
None of them spoke aloud what they must all be thinking. Alyx shivered. Shakar had been cautious and clever in his strategy so far, but how long until he decided that he could take what remained of Rionn and Tregaya by himself, especially if he got wind of a Zandian alliance?
Chapter 35
The ring of the doorbell was unexpected given the late hour. Not that she’d been sleeping—lingering grief and the fear of nightmares prevented that. The house seemed emptier now, even though Ladan and Dawn were living there.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Dawn came down the stairs as Alyx reached the front door, a little smile on her face. Lifting an eyebrow at her friend, Alyx opened the door to find Dashan, Tarrick, Finn, and Cario hovering, a strange kind of energy buzzing around them. All wore non-descript clothing.
“What’s going on?” she asked suspiciously.
“I’m in!” Dawn answered somebody’s unspoken thought and pushed past Alyx, joining the young men outside. It was only now Alyx noticed her friend had changed into a pretty sundress and light cotton wrap. In for what?
“We.” Dashan gestured grandly to all of those behind him. “Have decided that we’re in sore need of a night in the party district.”
“I see.” Alyx shifted to peer around him, raising her eyebrows at Tarrick. “You approve of this?”
Her astonishment deepened when he grinned. “Absolutely. Hurry and change before we leave without you.”
She hesitated. This wasn’t like any of them. Well, it was like Dashan. “What about my guards? And where’s Brynn?”
“Brynn is resting after his recent head injury, under my strict instructions,” Finn said.
“You’ll be safe enough with us for a couple of hours, and besides, we’re going incognito.” A smile tugged at Tarrick’s mouth. “Just don’t tell Rothai I said so.”
“Will it help if I promise not to seduce any young women and start a brawl?” Dashan added, flashing her his most charming grin, and she caved, laughing.
“All right, I won’t be long.” She paused by Dawn. “No Ladan?”
The telepath made a face. “He muttered something about inns and drinking not being his idea of a good time, then rolled over and went back to sleep. Don’t worry, we’ll make plenty of noise when we come home later and insist on drunkenly telling him all about the fun he missed.”
That thought had a smile spreading across Alyx’s face from ear to ear as she hurried upstairs to change.
An hour later they were huddled together in a booth in the corner of a rowdy inn. All the windows and doors were open to let in the warm evening air, and the place smell
ed of ale, sweat and the salt of the ocean breeze.
Alyx had been tense ever since they’d arrived, waiting for the moment when Finn or Tarrick would start in on her and Dashan needing to keep their distance. But they hadn’t said a word yet, neither of them even raising an eyebrow when Dashan had slid into the booth beside her.
“Interesting news about the emperor,” Finn murmured, leaning in from her other side.
She grinned. The ale was beginning to soak through her, taking away her anxiety and leaving her feeling relaxed and loose. “It’s what we hoped for.”
“I hope it’s not too late.” He frowned. “And even if it isn’t, this means we’re now getting close to the final steps.”
“Scary, isn’t it?” she murmured.
“Yes, but also a relief in a way. I can’t wait for all this to be over.”
She nodded, meeting his gaze. “We just keep sticking with—”
“What are you two mumbling about in the corner?” Cario demanded, his face slightly flushed.
Alyx shrugged, took a swig of ale. “Finn was yammering something about the mating habits of sandbirds.”
“Really?” Dawn scowled at her brother.
Finn shot Alyx an indignant look, then sniffed. “It’s a fascinating subject.”
Tarrick dismissed that with a wave of his hand, then started telling them a story about the time he and his brothers had gone hunting for sandbirds outside Sandira.
For a while, it was just like being back at DarkSkull Hall, when they would gather together in Weeping Stead to laugh and talk and complain about their long days. The constant tension across her shoulders and neck faded for the first time in a very long time. By Finn’s flushed cheeks and Tarrick’s relaxed sprawl, she gathered they were unwinding too.
A smile playing at her lips, Alyx leaned into Dashan. “Has Cayr told you yet that he wants to marry Jenna?”
Dashan choked, coughed, then spat his mouthful of ale all over the tabletop. Finn snorted, almost following suit. Dawn grabbed a napkin and threw it at Dashan, her grin only slightly wider than Tarrick’s. Cario observed with his usual amused smirk.
