Riordan watched her go before shaking his head. “They’re all on edge, the guards, the staff, the council. They’re waiting to see who strikes first. These raids have left everyone scrambling.”
Silence stretched between us. In the distance, I could hear the clang of pots and pans as the kitchens prepared for the evening’s festivities.
“We need to figure out who is feeding the Crimson Enclave their information,” Riordan said, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth.
“I’m not entirely convinced it is the Crimson Enclave.”
“Who else could it be?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “The last raid felt different somehow. The setup was near perfect, and I doubt the councilors are clever enough to coordinate both attacks.”
Riordan murmured his agreement. “Not to mention, they were scared out of their minds when you suggested it could be one of them. I would have bet my life on them letting the rebels fall on their swords, not digging in deeper.”
“Unless their fear made them double down.” I shifted against the stone wall, my shadows dancing between my fingers. “But you’re right. Their terror felt genuine.”
Riordan’s jaw clenched. “We know the Crimson Enclave isn’t acting alone. If it’s not the council, then who’s helping them?”
“Both things can be true at once.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone on the councilcouldbe feeding the rebels their information. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have more eyes and ears inside the palace.”
“Maybe someone warned them that their informant would betray them?”
“Exactly,” I said. “That would have allowed them to set an ambush to counter the trap we had planned, while also going after the secret supply route.”
“It has to be someone with access to our intelligence.” Riordan stroked his chin as he turned over everything in his mind.
“Not necessarily.”
“Who else could it be?”
“What if it’s a servant?”
Riordan’s eyes rounded in surprise. “A servant?”
“They’re mostly invisible, moving through each room, hearing every conversation…” I trailed off, letting my words sink in.
“I never thought about it like that.”
“We kept everything under wraps until the day of the supply run to guard against leaks.”
My brother furrowed his brow. “Doesn’t that prove your theory wrong, though?”
“Think about it, Riordan. They could have overheard a council member discussing the matter when they served them meals in their chambers. Or maybe they were eavesdropping when the guards received their orders. They also clean the barracks, and I doubt the men give them a second glance. With a quick way tocontact the Crimson Enclave, there’s no telling what information they could pass along.”
“Fuck,” Riordan said with a groan as he ran his fingers through his cropped hair. “How many servants do we even have? Hundreds?”
“More than that.”
“Any one of them could walk out with our secrets, and nobody would question it.”
“Precisely.”
“So, what do we do about it? With Mathias here in the palace, we can’t leave any loose threads lying about, or his king and queen will seize the opportunity to choke us with them when our father’s plans backfire.”
“Agreed. We need to act quickly.”
