The closest people left to me in this world, and one was lying in a sickbed while the other was trying to save the empire. Two of the strongest women I’d ever known, both fighting for their lives in very different ways.
Rissa asked me to trust her. And I did. But that didn’t make it any easier. It didn’t make her pain any less hard to watch.
“Leo, put that away before someone sees,” Lark scolded from across the table, motioning to the tail still twitching in anticipation. I hastily tucked it under my cloak as my anger began to cool, and the memory of why we were here came rushing back.
“So, what is it you three have been hiding?” I asked Horace, Lark, and Rissa in an even tone, rapping my fingers on the tabletop.
My sister sighed. “We’re nothidinganything. There’s a…sensitive mission Lark has been working on. But it’s finally been set into motion.”
“A mission? Why wasn’t I made aware of this?” My sister may be the unspoken leader, but she had always confided in me. Always looked to me for support. It had been her and me for so long, ever since our father died and our mother took ill.
With a wince at the betrayal in my tone, Rissa said, “Well…youdoknow about it. Just not everything.” She motioned toward Lark, as if to say, “your turn.”
Lark straightened in her seat, looking to the side to be sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. We weren’t too concerned about the kind of patrons that frequented the Drakin’s Lair overhearing our conversation; for the most part, everyone minded their own business here in the underbelly of the capital. If anyonedidhear, they were more than likely already connected to the Sentinels or would have no qualms with a rebellion against the emperor. It was why we met at this location so often. Still, one could never be too safe.
“It’s about Gayl,” Lark started, and my jaw ticked involuntarily. “We’ve had definitive proof for some time now that his spell created the Somnivae curse all those years ago, as you know.”
I nodded. For a while, the entire empire was convinced Branock Aris had cast the curse—somestillwere. But when he died fifteen years ago, questions arose. We had tracked down a healer who had been there the night the curse began and got her firsthand account of what happened. How Gayl had saved Evadine Aris’ life with what the healer believed was dark magic. That’s what finally solidified our theories that Theodore Gayl was the one behind it all.
Lark continued. “Locating his Grimoire has been our biggest obstacle, not to mention somehow getting him to reverse the spell.”
I interrupted her with a growl. “I’ve told you, letmetry. I’m the only Alchemist here, I can?—”
“HalfAlchemist, Leo, and as I’ve toldyou, that’s out of the question,” Rissa interjected.
I bristled. “You can’t sneak around without telling anyone and get yourself caught by palace guards, then force me to stay in the dark.”
“I can, and I will. Unless you’d like to challenge me?” Rissa’s voice hardened, her black pupils elongating slightly as her eyes took on a golden tinge—a sign of her imminent shift. A powerful leader ready to stake her claim.
Sometimes, I forgot exactly who my sister was. What she was born to be.
I held her gaze, grinding my teeth. She knew full well I wasn’t going to challenge her for leadership; I respected her too much. But that didn’t mean I had to approve of her running headfirst into danger any chance she got, nor that I was pleased with being excluded from plans while my constant request todo somethingwas once again ignored.
“If you two are finished, can I continue?” Lark’s sharp voice broke our stare. She cleared her throat. “I had already found someone for the job. An acclaimed Alchemist from Feywood. We’ve been in contact for the past eighteen months, working to get him here for the Decemvirate so he could get close enough to find the emperor’s Grimoire. From there, we had a plan to figure out what we needed to do to reverse his curse.”
“Had?” Chaz asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
Lark’s dark features twisted into a grimace. “We hit an…obstacle. But I think I’ve found a solution.”
“It involves someone in the tournament. That’s all you need to know,” Rissa jumped in. “Horace knows because he’ll be inside the palace and can watch over them and relay messages if needed. But the less people who are aware of the details, the more likely we’ll be able to keep this task out of prying minds.”
Frustration roared back in full force. Lark and my sister had been planning this foreighteen monthswithout me? Was Rissa truly this intent on keeping me from it? On refusing my petition to sneak into the palace and steal Gayl’s Grimoire myself? Or perhaps it was because she had so little faith in my ability to be successful.HalfAlchemist, as she had thrown at me.
Her fair features softened as she took in my reaction. “Leo, I promise this isn’t about you. You know I trust you more than anyone. This is about keeping the mission and all involved safe. The more people who know, the higher chance something slips.”
I ran my thumb along my lower lip, willing myself to hold my resolve against thatfaceshe always made. The one that would haveme handing over my piece of cake when we were kids because she begged for it. The one with the big, sad eyes, the slight pout of the lip, the batting eyelashes.
“You’re impossible,” I grunted, and she beamed. Fates, I could never stay mad at her for long. “But how do you know you can trust this person, whoever it is?” I pressed. “How do you know they’re capable of doing the job?”
Sneaking around the palace for any reason, much less to locate Gayl’s personal Grimoire under his very nose, wasn’t a feat most people could take on. It was why we hadn’t succeeded thus far. A few Sentinels had volunteered a couple years ago, and they had ended up either victims of Gayl’s guards or dead by their own hands, unwilling to risk betraying the rest of the rebellion if subjected to torture and questioning.
Too many lives had been lost for this cause. Each time, I urged Rissa to let me try. And each time, I was denied. Was this mysterious spy simply going to be another tally added to the list? Or who was to say they wouldn’t betray us for favor with the emperor, or lose their nerve?
Lark’s lips thinned. “Let’s just say they have a vested interest in things going our way. As for being capable, only time will tell. But they’ve been highly vouched for by someone I know and trust. Horace and I will do our best to keep them as safe as we can inside the palace.”
I knew by the look on her and Rissa’s faces that there was no point in arguing. While the two of them may believe this was a good plan, the idea of placing this responsibility into the hands of a stranger made me uneasy. Outing Theodore Gayl as the Alchemist behind the Somnivae curse and finding the spell he’d used to cast it was essential to ending his reign. We had to remind the people how muchbetterthis empire could be when out from under his thumb. How it had once been. That Veridians should be united again, without fear of crossing borders or suffering attacks for beingdifferentor staying silent because you knew no one wouldcare. It was perhaps the most important task we’d ever have, and we were handing it over to someone most of us had never met.
The small, selfish, prideful side of me couldn’t help but think it should bemerisking my life to bring Gayl down. It was a vow I’d made to myself all those years ago when our father died: vengeance on the man who had ripped the legacy from my father’s name and the crown from his head.
