“At your riding lesson tomorrow, you will go to Koerlyn, or your old woman will die. Say nothing, or she will face consequences.”
“No. No, no, no,” I whispered, forcing myself to read the lines again to see if they were really there. The words didn’t change.
Oh, skies. Merelda.
My stomach dropped, but the sensation was so much worse than it’d been earlier today. Koerlyn had Merelda. He could be tearing her nails from her fingers at this moment. She could be in the darkest dungeon, chained. We’d been too slow in getting to her, and now she was suffering, all because ofme.
Bile rose, but there was nothing in my stomach to vomit. I stood and paced, scanning the scroll once more and forcing myself to take a deep breath. Panic wouldn’t help the situation.
There technically was no proof. Only words and the knowledge that Merelda wasn’t here with me in Fourth. It could be a bluff. The kidnapping attempt had failed, and now Koerlyn was trying to fool me into going to him.
But the fact that they even knew about Merelda was worrisome. She had few contacts outside of our village. For Koerlyn to know about her, he had to have gone to my home. And if Merelda was there, he wouldn’t have hesitated to take her.
And Merelda never left home. She had to have been there. Whichmeant the letter wasn’t a lie at all.
I had to go.
Getting Harthon into Centralis was bigger than my emotions, but it wasn’t bigger than Merelda’s life. It never would be. I would go, get Merelda, and find a way back here before giving Koerlyn any hints of where the path into Centralis lay.
As if it’ll be that easy.The cynical voice in my head taunted me, and I brushed it aside.
I was more capable now than I had been when Koerlyn first took me. Besides, I had no choice. I couldn’t gamble with Merelda’s life. I would show up to tomorrow’s riding lesson and somehow leave Fourth.
Harthon would think I’d abandoned him. He’d think today’s revelation had changed my loyalties. There was no way for me to tell him otherwise. The letter’s warning tosay nothingwas a clear threat, and if Koerlyn’s spy was trusted enough to have access to my room today, they could very well know if I spoke to Harthon.
I couldn’t take the risk with Merelda’s well-being. I would go.
Chapter 28
“You know it’s not that cold out,” Stefano commented as he followed me down the hallway. He was referring to the heavy layers I wore. Beneath the bulky cloak, the bread and knife from breakfast were tucked into my trousers. They were the only provisions I could manage without suspiciously leaving my room.
I was sorely underprepared, but there was nothing I could do about it.
“Jac might take me out to the hills to practice new skills. It could be a long day outside,” I said, having practiced my response.
There was a small chance that Jac was the spy, only because the note specifically referenced my riding lesson. But that was extremely difficult to believe. He was one of Harthon’s most trusted soldiers, having been with him since before he was Princeps. He was kind, encouraging, and had a big heart—nothing that indicated he was capable of treachery. But if it wasn’t him, a stranger could be waiting for me in those stables, or I might have to find a way to escape on my own. The scroll hadn’t offered any details. I was going into this blind, and even though I’d spent all of last night planning how I would handle different scenarios, I was terrified.
“That’s not happening. With yesterday’s attacks, you can’t leave thecity. I’m sure Jac was briefed too.”
That was news to me. I came to a halt, whirling on Stefano. “No one told me I can’t leave.”
Stefano swallowed, and I knew I wouldn’t like what he was about to say. “Those are Harthon’s orders. The attack took us all by surprise, so it’s safest for you to stay here.”
My eyebrows rose on a flare of indignation. “Harthon ordered everyone else to keep me in Centralis, but didn’t tell me about it?”
He scratched his head. “He probably meant to, but after your…uh…argument, it didn’t seem like you wanted him to talk to you…” He trailed off awkwardly.
If Harthon had knocked on my door yesterday, I absolutely would have ignored him. But still, I was anadult, and I deserved to know what plans others were making for me.
Let me revise that—other people didn’t get to make plans for me. I had a say in them now.
“He could have communicated that message through you,” I hissed. If Jac wasn’t the spy, managing an escape on my own would be so much harder now. I stalked off, not knowing how I would pull this off. How I would get to Merelda.
“That’s my fault. I should have told you,” Stefano said, sounding sorry as he trailed behind me.
I didn’t bother with a response, too caught in worry as we approached the stables. This time, the smell of horse and hay wasn’t welcoming. Rather, it was a sickening indication of what was to come. I didn’t know how to feel when we entered and met only Jac, readying two horses.
He never readied my horse.
