LETHE MONASTERY, RAVOS
Rydon thanked the monk, Talian, as he and Melanos passed him and entered the small antechamber of Lethe Monastery.
“Lady Sonah and Lady Bethana are in?—”
“Let me guess,” Rydon said over his shoulder, smiling grimly at Talian as they walked. “In the courtyard?”
Talian smiled, his craggy face brightening as he bowed and turned back, leaving Rydon and Melanos to continue on through the large corridor dividing into three smaller ones. The one on Rydon’s left led to the dormitory and Abbot Malis’s office, whilethe one to the right led to prayer rooms, classrooms and other rooms Rydon hadn’t bothered to visit.
They continued straight, reaching an arched wooden door with iron rivets and a simple latch handle opening into the courtyard.
Surprised to see many of the monks out and about so late in the day, Rydon’s lips curved in a knowing smile as soon as he spotted the likely source of their continued enjoyment of the outdoors. Sonah sat on a stone bench next to Daniel, a beautiful blonde woman beside her, speaking with sweeping arm gestures and animated expressions as the small group of monks sat enraptured by whatever tales she was spinning.
“I knew I’d find you here.”
Sonah did a double take when she spotted Rydon and Melanos. Jumping up with a gasp, she flew to Rydon, bouncing up and into his arms as she rested her nose in the crook of his neck. Rydon grinned and spun her once, her squeal of delight causing his cheeks to hurt with how wide he smiled.
“How are you here? No one heard you coming! Is Ren with you?”
“It’s just us, Sonah. And we need to leave as quickly as possible.” Before he let her go, Rydon squeezed her hard one last time. He glanced at the woman embracing Melanos. After a quick introduction that left Rydon reeling, he recovered as he took in Sonah’s radiant smile. “Come. Get your things and?—”
“We can’t!” Sonah said. She gripped Rydon’s forearms and looked over his shoulder. “I’m not alone! You’ll never guess what happened to me on the road.”
“It’s a good thing we have time on our way to Metilai. I definitely need to hear your story, Sonah.”
“Wait, what?” Sonah darted forward to grip Rydon’s arm. “Why Metilai? Where’s Ren?”
“I’ll tell you on the way,” Rydon said. “Hermes is on his way here and will take you if we do not leave now.”
“Bethana and I will meet you at the gates in five.”
“Aye, good.”
“There’s something else,” Sonah said as she chewed on a fingernail. “I?—”
“Riders at the gate!”
Rydon looked at the man who’d come running with the news.
“Fuck!”
Chapter 39
LETHE MONASTERY, RAVOS
“Riders at the gate!”
Sonah jumped as Talian rushed through the courtyard, hands flailing as he hollered the news, presumably to Abbot Malis who stood nearby.
“Can you tell who they are from their colors?”
Talian glanced at Sonah and Rydon before answering the abbot. “Spartans.”
Sonah swung around to Rydon. “Spartans?”
“Aye, lady.” Talian folded his hands beneath his robes. “But?—”
“Fuck,” Rydon said as he scrubbed at his face. When he turned to Sonah, his face was an unpleasant red and his eyes flashed. “It’s Daris.”
