The contents seemed to be shared records among all of the clerics. A repository of basic notes so that the next cleric would know what was happening when their shift started. But, there was nothing inside that mentioned Yonlin, not even the original papers of his injury. But Eira vividly remembered Fritz going to this drawer. No point in being flustered over one thing not going according to plan. With a breath, she shut the drawer and moved on to the next one.
That drawer had nothing, and neither did the last one. Before she knew it, she was at the very last drawer. Eira pressed her fingers into the name embossed in metal upon it.Uncle Fritz’s.Eira ran her fingers lightly over the lock and took a breath. There wasn’t time for emotions and nerves. She had to act.
She was about to craft the key when—
“What do you think you’re doing?”
21
She gripped the desk, doubling over and wheezing for dramatic effect. Eira clutched her stomach. “I think…something I ate…I think I’m ill. I need a cleric.” That had been the claim used to sequester Yonlin and take him away. Perhaps she could leverage that to her advantage? Eira looked over her shoulder. “Olivin?”
“Your acting is terrible.” He kept his voice low, crossing into the room. “Good thing it’s only me.”
Eira stood, summoning the ice key into her hand with a twist of her wrist and her thought. She wasted no time inserting it into the lock. It turned; the drawer opened.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I could say the same to you.”
“Don’t use my dodging questions against me.” He frowned slightly, but his eyes didn’t get the note. They gleamed with the spark of appreciation.
Eira chuckled softly. “I’m doing exactly what it looks like. Trying to find information about Yonlin, and maybe the Pillars in the process. I would assume you’re here to do the same.”
“I am. And to look after you.”
“What?” Eira glanced over her shoulder. “You can tell Deneya I don’t need you or anyone else from the court taking care of me. My friends will give me all the help I need.”
“I never said anything about Deneya sending me.”
Eira rolled her eyes. “Then any of the other Specters, or royals, or whoever is giving the orders now.”
“No onesentme,” he said with a heavy note. Eira looked back to the papers she’d pulled from Fritz’s drawer, scanning the familiar writing. If that was true, then Olivin continued to prove himself more of an ally than she’d previously given him credit for.
“Have you found anything?” Olivin leaned over her shoulder. He was close enough to smell again and, unlike the first time they were here, today he smelled of pine and something delightfully musky, like the forgotten halls of old castles reclaimed by time and ancient forests.
“Unfortunately not.” Eira sighed. “Almost to a fault though… It’d be less suspicious if there were still mentions and records of Yonlin, but there’s nothing. Not even his initial papers about his physical wounds, much less the illness. It’s like he didn’t exist at all.” She glanced his way in time to see his expression sour.
Eira rested her hand lightly on his forearm. Olivin’s eyes darted from the touch to meet hers. But he didn’t pull away. She knew what it was like to be so worried your heart was in your throat, making you nauseous with every beat.
“It’ll be all right,” she said gently. “We’re going to find him.”
“I know.”
“How’d you sneak out?” Eira asked, trying to shift the topic lightly. “Claim you were going to go to the bathroom also?” Eira fished through the papers quickly. There was hardly anything of interest. She laid them out and stared at the desk in thought as she spoke. There had to be something she was not seeing. A clue in the absence.
“No, I didn’t need to sneak away because I never went up to the balcony.”
“How?”
“It’s a trick Menna and I perfected. She crafts a copy of me with her magic, an illusion placed over me, while I illusion myself invisible.” His pride quickly vanished, chest deflating. “I likely shouldn’t have shared that trick with a competitor while the games are still happening.”
“I appreciate your willingness to tell me your secrets, competitor.” Eira winked. At least it was a sign of his trust, or his clumsiness. She’d gladly take either.
“Wait.” His expression quickly turned serious. He leaned over the desk. “Look, here… Something about a ‘special shipment’ from thedistant west.”
“Why is that strange?”
“Distant westis often a casual term used here on Meru for the Empire of Carsovia.” Eira was beginning to hear that name more and more, and she doubted it was a coincidence.
