"Ry'Varok," she calls, her voice thin with exhaustion. "Nirik needs help."
I release Leira reluctantly, turning toward the young seer and the wounded guard. Zara’s small face tight with worry. I cross to them, sinking down to assess the wound.
"Sovereign," Nirik manages, attempting to straighten despite the pain evident in his grimace.
"Be still," I command gently. "Gorlin, tend to his wound."
My most skilled field medic moves forward immediately, coiling beside Nirik to examine the deep gash in his side. He retrieves bandages and salves from a pouch at his waist, working with swift efficiency to clean and bind the injury.
Zara glides forward, her small form launching into my arms with surprising force. I catch her instinctively, cradling her against my chest as she wraps her tail around my forearm in the familiar gesture she's done since she was barely more than a hatchling. As I hold her close, she pulls back just enough to fix me with those violet eyes. A gaze that has always seen too much. "The traitors are Naryth's worms," she whispers, her voice trembling despite her attempt at bravery. "They have been hiding among us all along.”
"What?" The word escapes me on a growl.
Leira presses close to my side, her warmth a balm against the cold dread her words evoke. "Lurok told us. He was imprisoned with us. They are not TrueCoil. They are a secret faction that served directly under Naryth. They have been feeding information to Thorne for months, maybe even years."
"We must warn Malikor that Jarik is one of the traitors," Nirik says through gritted teeth as Gorlin applies pressure to his wound. "And Miria and Zaethir too. They work for Thorne.”
Fury ignites fresh beneath my scales at the mention of Zaethir. A Talon I personally assigned to protect Leira. The betrayal cuts deep, stoking my rage to dangerous levels.
"Lurok told us this tunnel leads to the Ashlands," Leira continues, her hand coming to rest on my arm, either seeking comfort or offering it, perhaps both. "He followed Jarik in the great hall after the explosion and saw Thorne and an army of my father's soldiers amassing on the eastern border, but that’s been over a month ago."
"I know about Thorne and the army. Where is Lurok now?" I ask, glancing around as if expecting the massive warrior to materialize from the shadows.
Leira's expression falls, grief shadowing her features. "He sacrificed himself. Collapsed a tunnel to give us a chance to escape." Her voice drops to a whisper. "He saved us, Varok. He was never one of them."
A pang of regret lances through me. I had been so certain Lurok was behind the bombing, had directed my suspicion entirely in the wrong direction while the true traitors moved freely among us.
Gorlin finishes binding Nirik's wound, helping him to a coiled position. "The wound is deep but clean," he reports. "He has lost blood, but with proper care, he will recover."
I nod, already calculating our next move. We cannot linger here, not with Thorne's worms potentially in pursuit.
I gesture for Kessith to approach. "Your serpentglass tablet." He obeys instantly, sliding the obsidian device into my waiting palm. The surface ripples beneath my touch, dark as midnight but alive with potential. We must warn the others immediately. If Jarik truly serves Thorne, Malikor's life hangs by a thread, and every moment we delay puts another loyal warrior at risk.
The serpentglass reveals its network of glowing veins beneath my touch. I trace one finger along the main arterythat runs through its center, watching as the light follows my movement, branching outward in luminous tributaries. "Connect to Prithas Sareth," I command, pressing my claw to the nexus point where all lines converge.
The tablet's surface liquefies, swirling like dark water disturbed by unseen currents. For several heartbeats, nothing happens, just the endless churning of obsidian depths. Then the glass stabilizes, and Sareth's face materializes within the frame, his scales contracted with tension, eyes sharp with concern.
Sareth's face brightens with recognition. "Sovereign," he says, the word carrying unmistakable relief. "I was about to contact you. Traven and his wraiths have returned with the crates of arc launchers and the gloomroot-tipped arrows. And the search inside the palace has located Jeslyn's remains in one of the storage chambers, but the others?—”
"Call them off," I interrupt, hearing Leira gasp from behind me. "We have found her. We have found them both."
His massive shoulders slump slightly with visible relief before his warrior's composure reasserts itself. "Praise the Ancestors. Are they harmed?"
"Exhausted but largely uninjured. Nirik requires medical attention." I angle the tablet slightly so he can glimpse Leira and Zara behind me. "But we have uncovered something far worse than we imagined. The traitors are definitely not TrueCoil."
Sareth's pupils contract to narrow slits. "The other faction?”
"The conspiracy runs deeper than we knew. Those who took Leira and Zara are Naryth's worms. His personal network of spies that he maintained separate from the Talons. It is no wonder they never revealed themselves to me." The words taste bitter on my tongue. The betrayal of trusted warriors is one thing; the corruption of the Serpent Crown's own agents is another magnitude of treachery entirely. "They have beenworking with Thorne, feeding him information, possibly for years."
Sareth's scales ripple with tension as his pupils contract to slits. "The Serpent Crown's own eyes," he breathes, "feeding Naryth only what they wanted him to see. They could have been filtering intelligence for years, keeping him ignorant of Thorne's true movements while appearing to serve loyally.”
"Zaethir and Miria are confirmed conspirators," I continue. "But there is worse. Jarik is among them."
Sareth's scales bristle along his spine, a warrior's instinctive response to threat. "Jarik is with Malikor.”
"And Malikor's life is in immediate danger." My tail lashes against the stone floor, scraping scales raw against rock. "Jarik will either attempt to assassinate him or lead him into an ambush. We must warn him immediately. Send two of your fastest Talons to his location," I command. "Take Jarik into custody.”
Sareth nods sharply. "It will be done.”
