“We can’t control when they come in. It’s all based on the tides.”
Eira shoved the flash bead into her pocket and stuck the top back on the open crate as quietly and quickly as possible. They would find evidence of someone rummaging through the crate, but she didn’t want them to notice it and raise the alarm until she was long gone. Then, she sprinted to the back office, drawing her magic around her with palpable force. The office door closed behind her at almost the same time as the heavy padlock on the front door was slid out of its rung.
“Let’s put it over here with the rest of them,” one of the voices said with a grunt.
Eira was halfway out the window when she heard a low, horribly familiar voice say, “What is it?”
It couldn’t be him.
“One of the crates is open, Your Grace.” The first voice had completely changed. It was more serious. Somehow the slightestshift in tone could make a seemingly innocuous statement sound all the more sinister.
Your Grace. She’d heard that phrase used recently. Eira looked to the ledger that had held an echo of someone using that term of respect. She’d been right. They’d been speaking to Ulvarth then. And he was here now.
Eira looked to the door and eased away from the window. She could stay and listen. Perhaps they’d discuss more of their plans. Her hand twitched, itching to summon a blade and shove it between his ribs.
“Search everything,” Ulvarth said.
Eira’s heart raced. They wouldn’t find her if she stayed hidden. This would be her opportunity to—
Alyss’s wounded expression flashed across her mind. Alyss had put her trust in her when Eira promised she’d escape at the first sign of danger.
She wouldn’t let her friend down.
There would be another chance for her to kill Ulvarth. Even if she couldn’t see when that might be now, she had to have faith in herself—she was onto their plans and one step ahead. But his web stretched wider than she ever imagined. And Ulvarth’s influence ran deep. She had to play her cards right if she wanted to thwart him.
So Eira slipped through the window and into the dark night. She slowly banished the columns of ice she’d lifted the lower pane with and it slid down far more silently than she could’ve ever managed by hand. Plus, by the time it had completely closed, she was already halfway across the docks.
“I’m back.” Eira panted, leaning against the pillar and easing her illusion.
Her friend hadn’t moved. “Thank the Mother, I was worried when I saw them go in. Did they see you?”
“No, I don’t think so. But we need to move, quickly.” Eira stood and started back toward their tunnel. She hadn’t been keeping a close track on the time, but a decent amount of an hour had to have passed by now.
Alyss followed immediately, despite her apparent confusion. “If they didn’t see you, why the haste?”
“I didn’t have time to hide the evidence of my presence.” Eira glanced over her shoulder, looking for anyone who might be on their tail. “They shouldn’t know it was me, but they might suspect.”
“How would they suspect?” Alyss glanced up at her as they turned down a smaller, quieter street.
“Hewas there.”
“He? You mean,him? Ul—”
“Don’t say his name, not here.” Eira looked over her shoulder again. There was no one there. But looks could be deceiving. Perhaps she should make them invisible for good measure. Eira lowered her voice even more when she spoke again. “Yes, it was him.”
“Out in the open? Just like that?”
“He thinks he’s invincible.” Eira balled her hands into fists; she was going to show him otherwise. “That he has everyone fooled and is completely in control.”
“How could he know it was you?” It was a reasonable question for Alyss to ask and Eira didn’t have a reasonable answer.
“I just feel it in my bones. Before the tournament started, he challenged me to a game between us. We’re just pieces dancing on the board. There’s no way he’ll think it was anyone else.” Maybe it was arrogant of her. But Eira felt it was true.
“You’ll be all right,” Alyss said softly but confidently. “We both will be.”
“I hope so.” Eira met her eyes with a slight smile. “But I’ll feel better once we’re back in the village.”
“It’s not far now.”
