I didn’t wait for the others, throwing open the door and rushing out of the room.
A battle was raging in the corridor. I was relieved to see that most of the ones surrounding Eamon were palace guards fighting on our side, but the situation looked far from under control. They were struggling against more Drynland soldiers. Two women bearing Order marks had joined these enemy soldiers as well, wielding curved swords that glowed and crackled dangerously in the confined space.
I stormed forward, followed quickly by the others.
Bastian and Thalia both commandeered swords from fallen figures on the outskirts of the skirmish. Zayn was already armed, and he wasted no time slamming his blade into the first soldier he reached. His fear for Aleks must have been simmering toward something explosive beneath the surface; I’d never seen him move with such violence.
Our victory was swift.
Only one of the Order members managed to escape our onslaught; I followed her halfway down the hall before I managed to rein in my fury and shadows, begrudgingly letting her go so I could turn my attention back to a bloodied and shaken Eamon.
I ordered our guards to each end of the hall, having them keep an eye out while the rest of us talked.
It was unsettling to see Eamon’s usually neat appearance so disheveled, with red spattered across his fine clothes and a bruise covering a large swath of his face, swelling up his left eye and marring its usual brightness.
“I thought you’d evacuated,” I said.
“I did. But I decided to come back.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Zayn muttered dryly, gesturing to the carnage around us. “Clearly the party is still in full swing.”
Eamon gave him a sharp look, smoothing the rumpled fabric of his shirt. “I made sure Brynn was safe first. I left her with Aveline, at one of the shelters we’ve established in Tarnath.”
My relief was immediate, knowing they were both safe. It was short-lived, though, because no part of me was certain I couldkeepthem safe.
“But I had to come back, I had to see if…” Eamon cleared his throat, as if trying to rid it of the uncharacteristic emotion building in it. He was back to his usual controlled demeanor when he continued, “I had to witness for myself what was happening, and I wanted to help more people if I could. And then, on my way back to the palace, I saw…I saw something impossible.”
I knew what he was going to say before he found the words.
“Lorien Blackvale.” He lifted his gaze to me, searching for confirmation. “My eyes weren’t deceiving me, were they?”
I shook my head slowly. “No. They weren’t.”
Eamon propped a hand under his chin, his brow furrowing in thought. “He was fleeing toward the woods beyond the South Gate, it looked like.”
“He...fled?”
“He was outnumbered. I saw more Order symbols than I could count on the ones pursuing him.” He paused. “And those Order members…Aleks was among them.”
My heart plummeted.
Zayn spoke up, his voice tight. “So, Lorien escaped?”
“For now, it seems.”
“And what did Aleks do after that? Where did he go?”
Eamon shook his head, clearly frustrated by his inability to make sense of what he’d seen. “I followed him for a time, trying to figure out what he was still chasing after. I didn’t approach him, but I saw him asking questions, demanding information from anyone he encountered…”
I held my breath as he fixed his gaze on me.
“He was looking for you, Nova.”
The words settled like brands over my skin, igniting a burning need to move. I didn’t even know which direction I was going, but I sheathed Grimnor and started to walk. I couldn’t keep still.
“Nova, wait a moment,” came my brother’s stern voice.
I ignored him, walking faster.
