At the same moment, Alyss lunged forward, emerging from the wall like a living golem and charging for Salveus’s knight. She wielded a sword of stone, just like the ones Eira had seen her practice making during the tournament.
“Keep him alive,” Eira said hastily. Alyss stopped, wide-eyed, mid strike. But Eira couldn’t pay her any heed. Magic was alight under her fingertips. She would freeze Salveus in place. Worse. She would?—
“Thank the Mother.” Cullen’s armored arms threw around her. Eira relaxed into him, but only briefly. Surprise struck her at the sudden realization that he was there.
“How…” Eira looked him up and down.Hewas the one in the armor. No wonder Alyss had halted. “Oh.” They all had their ways and methods of maneuvering and Eira needed to focus on their singular goal.
She returned her attention to Salveus, still frozen under her control.
With a needlepoint dagger of ice in her palm, Eira tapped him under the chin. “I might let you live, if you tell me what I want to know.”
“It…it is you…it’s true what they say…Adela does not die.”
“And I will haunt you into the next world.” She pressed the point of the dagger into his throat. “Why are you sending flash beads to the Pillars in Meru?”
He laughed weakly. Nervously. Quivering and trembling. “If I tell you, I am dead. So I will not dishonor Her Majesty.”
It was going to be impossible to negotiate with anyone from Carsovia with this zealousness. Eira gritted her teeth. She wanted answers, but one answer was probably as good, or as likely, as any of the others.
The empress was funding the Pillars to disrupt the treaty, as Vi had feared. Because she wanted to plant a friendly leaderon Meru’s throne. Perhaps Ulvarth was somehow related to her. The empress’s motivations didn’t matter in the end.
But it all came back to this man—and he was the only thing between her and the ship that would get them all back to Meru and beyond.
“Then die.” Eira gave him a far cleaner death than he deserved. But as much as she would’ve taken her time, there wasn’t time to waste. Eira dismissed the dagger, his blood splattering to the ground.
“You said I could deal the first blow.” Alyss had a bit of a pout.
“Oh right. Sorry…” Eira rubbed the back of her neck. “The knight—Cullen—was a bit unexpected. But you can be the one to cut off his foot, if you’d like? We should get moving.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Alyss knelt and set to the task, her medical knowledge allowing her to make quick work of it.
But it took long enough that Cullen ran his hands over Eira’s face, no doubt pushing away blood and gore. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I should have come sooner—when I heard they had you. I was trying to convince him to come.”
“You did the right thing.” Eira grabbed his wrists and closed her eyes as he pressed his forehead into hers. She was immensely glad she hadn’t tried to dictate where everyone would be. Her friends’ instincts were triumphant in the end. “Thank you.”
“I wish I could steal the air from all their lungs for hurting you,” he muttered.
“We need to focus on getting out of here.” Eira shook her head. “But your defense on my account is heartwarming.” She smiled slightly. “When did you become so murderous, though?”
“You might be rubbing off on me.” The corner of his mouth quirked slightly. The stolen armor suited him. Her twisted knight.
“All right, I have the foot!” Alyss stood up, holding the disembodied appendage with pride.
At that moment, they all heard a sharp gasp and turned to find another knight—a real one—farther down the tunnel.
“Oh, Yargen bless,” Eira groaned under her breath as the man turned tail and ran, raising the alarm with a shrill whistle before she could fire off any magic.
So much for a quick, clean, quiet exit.
38
“What do we do?” Cullen looked to her. Alyss as well.
“What do you both think?” Eira could hardly ask her question before horns blasted again.
“I can probably get us out of here undetected.” Alyss moved to the wall, her focus drifting as she was no doubt charting a course.
“Ducot shouldn’t have a problem,” Eira mused. Knowing him, he probably was already scurrying back to their exit point.
