You’ve done all but say, “Fuck me Terran,” since you’ve arrived.
Why should I be surprised a Gyorian, and one as bold as its prince, would say such a thing? He did it to unsettle me. And it had worked.
The courtyard was quiet, lit by a few low-burning torches that cast long shadows across the stone. The air was cool but not harsh, still carrying the faint scent of something darker, like storm-soaked earth.
Jagged cliffs loomed beyond the outer wall. Strange silver-leafed trees lined the path, their leaves clicking softly in the wind. This place didn’t breathe like Aetheria, but there was magic here too. It was just buried deeper, quieter. Waiting.
I kept my steps light as I moved through the garden. No one had stopped me. Yet.
Terran would most certainly know I was out here. But unless he were to openly declare me a prisoner, there was no recourse for him or his guards who watched me even now.
Talk to me.
Dell had been here for too long. Eleven years apart from Aetheria, breathing Gyorian air and walking on the land of a magic so different from our own, his whispers had grown quieter. They didn’t travel the way they used to. Not through buildings, not across long distances. His reach had dulled, like a blade gone soft at the edge.
Dell?
I sent the silent message along the air currents, praying he might be waiting. Dell would know of my presence, but he’d been silent when I arrived. And this was the first time I had been able to make my way outside the palace walls.
It’s no longer in his crown.
I closed my eyes against the darkness, taking a deep breath, smiling.
Where is it?
Out here, in the open, his whispers were clear.
I do not know.
My smile faltered. That did not bode well.
Seryn?
Was discovered and taken before I was aware of what happened. The king ordered Prince Terran to execute him.
It was as I’d heard.
Tell me what you know.
To the guard, I was strolling through the courtyard, perhaps unable to sleep. In truth, I was gathering the most important intelligence in more than a century.
It had been kept in his crown until recently. The day before Seryn was killed, I obtained an audience with him and the stone was… missing. I’ve not yet been able to gain additional information on its whereabouts… and then Seryn.
Dell went silent.
Seryn was discovered. And killed. By Terran.
It is too dangerous for you here any longer. Go to the Veiled Market and find Ilyas Rho. Avoid the Warden’s Hold at all costs. They were out in force on my way in.
The Wardens enforced Gyorian law and would be more vigilant than ever, taking their cues from an increasingly unstable, and suspicious, king.
I would not presume to leave you alone here, my lady.
I’d stopped and the guard noticed. Resuming my meandering, I put Dell at ease.
Were you not here alone while Seryn was trained?
Ah, but…
