I was so overwhelmed with relief I forgot to breathe for a moment. “He…he’s safe?”
She nodded, her hand moving from my cheek to the apron she wore, taking out a handkerchief and wiping something from my forehead. Blood, or dirt, or the gods knew what else. Then she switched abruptly into her commanding mode, carving a path through the chaos, guiding me out of the building and pointing to a run-down house at the end of the street.
“Straight on to that house with the faded red door.” She glanced between it and the barracks behind us, fighting off a frown. “You’ll be all right, now?”
It was an affirmation as much as a question, but I still nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
“Good. I’ll need to get back in there before someone bleeds out on my watch.”
I grasped her hands one last time. She gave them a tight squeeze, commanded me to be careful, and then she was back to the business of ordering everyone else around.
I hurried on toward the house she’d indicated, Lorien secretly following in my wake.
Phantom sensed me coming before anyone else; his bark was a beautiful sound. He appeared a moment later, shifting into dark mist and squeezing through a cracked window, then materializing back into his familiar canine shape as he hit the cobblestone street. He raced to greet me, but his wagging tail turned to raised hackles and bared teeth as Lorien stepped out of the shadows alongside me.
“It’s fine,” I assured Phantom. “I can explain.”
A growl rumbled in his chest. (I have doubts.)
“Still doubting me after all this time? Really?”
Another growl turned into an uncertain whine, but before he could say anything else, the door was opened by two guards who ushered us inside. They both cast wary looks at the man accompanying me, but neither dared to question what I was doing.
Captain Voss stood in the back of the entry hall. His face brightened a bit at the sight of me. “Your Highness.” He bowed his head, and as he lifted it, his gaze fell on Lorien, and he briefly froze—one of the only times I’d seen him speechless with uncertainty. He clearly recognized who he was, though; my brother had likely filled him in on the details.
Lorien held up a hand. “No titles necessary for me.”
The captain’s lip curled. “I didn’t intend to address you with one.”
I cleared my throat. “Is my brother here?”
With one last cautious look at Lorien, Voss slowly made his way toward a narrow door flanked by two more guards, motioning for me to follow.
The room it opened into was much larger than I would have guessed from the other side. No less than a dozen high-ranking soldiers moved about the space, exchanging information and discussing strategy in low voices.
Thalia and I spotted each other at the same time. She went perfectly still for a moment, blinking in disbelief, before crossing the room in a few frantic strides. She caught me by surprise when she threw her arms around me—surprising herself, too, judging by how quickly she let me go.
She tried to compose herself, to fall back into her usual stoic demeanor. But her eyes were shining with emotion when she said, “Ireallywish you would stop coming up with new, creative ways to scare me.”
I gave her a sheepish smile.
“And new, creative ways to test your brother’s patience,” she added, glancing at Lorien.
“It’s a necessary evil, I’m afraid.”
“…Come on, then,” she said, ushering me toward a smaller room off to the side, where my brother was deep in conversation with several of his advisors.
Zayn sat in the corner of this room with a tankard in his hand, his shoulder heavily bandaged, his eyes drooping slightly; I suspected whatever was in his cup contained strong pain relief of some sort. He rose at the sight of me—only to sink back into his chair when he noticed who I’d entered the room with.
It was a grim reminder of the complicated pasts that haunted every step and decision we made. Doubt crept into my chest as I watched Zayn turn away, all trace of his usual good humor and optimism gone from his expression. The weight of what I wasplanning—what I would be asking them all to accept—hit me in full force, making it hard to breathe.
But it wasn’t as if I could turn back now.
Bastian finally looked up from his conversation, stopping mid-sentence at the sight of me. He hastily finished giving a few orders and then excused himself, shaking his head as he stepped to my side.
His eyes darted to Lorien, who lingered by the doorway. “Why is it that every time I let you out of my sight, you come back with more trouble in tow?”
I shrugged. “It’s habit at this point.”
