“I promise I’ll keep your secret,” Eira said without looking at him.
“Eira—”
“I have to go.” Eira shook her head and went to go inside.
“Don’t do this.” He was on his feet. “I know you’re afraid but—”
“Don’t presume you know what I think.” She was at the door.
“I know more than you give me credit for.”
“Goodnight, Cullen.” Eira slipped inside and headed halfway downstairs quickly, rather than up. She pressed herself against the wall, listening to Cullen’s footsteps racing upward, no doubt thinking she had gone for her room. Hopefully he thought she’d locked herself within as he knocked. Hopefully no one was in the common area to direct him downstairs.
With a sigh, she descended the rest of the way to the first floor. The curtains danced with the moonlight in the archways. Eira slowly walked over to lean against one of the pillars. She hugged herself, shivering against the night. The air wasn’t cold. It was her core that was frigid.
She could never allow herself to feel deeply again—to love as a friend or as a woman. Doing so would either hurt the people she cared for, or they would betray her. No matter what, life had taught her that love ended in pain.
Eira pressed her eyes closed and sighed. But when she opened them, a dark streak across the grounds distracted her. A strange-looking mole creature raced between the hedges of the terraces leading down to the river.
Ducot?Eira pushed off the pillar and watched as the morphi headed for the wall. He disappeared under a hedge and when he didn’t reappear, Eira crossed over. Sure enough, there was a small crack in the wall, just large enough for a mole to fit through.
Where was he going?Eira wondered. Then it struck her.
The note she’d stolen from the Pillars’ courier had said three days—which would be up tomorrow. That could mean the Pillars would be meeting tonight. And if that were the case, there was no way Eira was going to let herself be left behind. Not when Ferro was still out there. Nothing else mattered.
11
Eira walked nonchalantly back toward the manor. She kept her face down, but her eyes straining up toward the archer circling the rooftop on their nightly patrol. As soon as the archer turned their back to the terraced gardens, Eira spun on her heel and waved her hand through the air. Water shimmered, refracting the moonlight around her in a near-perfect illusion. Illusions at night were always easier to make appear realistic. People were more ready to believe that the shifting shadows were playing tricks on their eyes.
She sprinted to the wall, leaping toward it and planting her toe against it. Ice shot out underneath the ball of her foot, giving her a platform to scramble up from. Two more ridges of ice grew, ready for her hands to close around. She scaled the wall just like she had in the second trial back in Solaris, tipping over and casting aside her magic with a wave just as the archer was rounding the building.
Wedged with the wall at her back and another wall in front of her, Eira sidestepped. Rounding the corner with a breath of relief, she saw a small shadow dart across the moonlit street. She hadn’t lost him.
Always two steps behind, Eira followed Ducot through the empty city. She clung to shadows and bounced on the balls of her feet, trying to keep the formal boots she’d decided to wear to the dinner from making too much noise. When Ducot rounded a building and into an alleyway, Eira charged into the shadows after him. But as soon as she crossed out of the moonlight there was a pulse of magic at her side.
Ducot materialized out of ripples in the air. He unsheathed a dagger at his hip, reaching for her with his free hand. Eira fought against every instinct to retaliate as he pushed her roughly against the wall, dagger at her throat. Ducot paused, his milky eyes scanning the air beneath her chin as though reading some kind of unseen text.
“Eira?” he whispered.
“Sorry to startle you,” she breathed, trying to keep her neck from moving so the blade didn’t nick her.
“What in Yargen’s name are you doing here?” Ducot pulled away, sheathing his dagger. But, for a second, he looked as if he were seriously considering otherwise. “They didn’t tell me you were on this job.”Job. She had been right.
“I…” Eira swallowed her hesitation and better sense with it. “Last minute change.”
“Was it?” He frowned. “Or did you lie about not taking a peek at the package you brought to the court?”
So the bundle she’d delivered from Taavin must have led to some kind of information about wherever Ducot was going. “I didn’t look, I swear.”
He seemed skeptical but ultimately sighed and cursed under his breath. “Fine, let’s go then. We’re running out of time before it starts.”
Eira nodded. She didn’t know if he could see her in the darkness, or sense her movement, or if he was just done with the whole interruption, because Ducot moved on her cue. He went back to the alleyway’s opening, pausing and looking around before continuing on. Eira followed wordlessly.
Where were they going? And what was the “job”? She wanted to ask, but she couldn’t figure out how she might be able to phrase a question that wouldn’t give away her deception.
Ducot stopped and swept his arm out, blocking her just before a street corner. He leaned forward, whispering in her ear, “A patrol. Make yourself unseen.”
“Got it.”
