This was only a month ago.
Why doesn’t he notice me?Her thoughts echoed in my head.
The boy stiffened, making me suspect that he heard her, too. From the way her eyes widened and her cheeks turned dark pink, I became desperate to save the situation. I remembered the horror of accidentally exposing a crush at that age, and if these kids couldn’t live normal teenage lives with the rest of their peers, I was determined to try to ease things as much as I could.
“Show me how this one works.” I picked up an instrument that reminded me a lot of a harmonica, and the boy happily took the distraction. He set the bass down and clasped the wooden box with both hands before blowing into it.
I grinned, pleased that my guess was correct.
It didn’t sound like a screeching harmonica, though. The sound was crisper. A clean whistle, but gentle enough not to make listeners tense from the sound.
“Van.” My head jerked toward the sound of Audrey’s voice, and all the other kids around me followed suit. “Oh, thank god you’re alright.”
“I’m okay.” I pointed to the harmonica-like instrument in the boy’s hand. “I want one of these next.”
Audrey smirked, even though a visible sadness lingered in her eyes. “Next? Is there a list?”
“Yup.” I nodded, standing from my cross-legged position to leave the teenagers to their soul-crushing angst. “How did it go?” Audrey and I waved goodbye to the teens as we walked throughout the cavern, keeping our voices low in a space that echoed, filled with thousands of ears that could hear better than I’ll ever be able to.
“Okay,” Audrey replied with a shrug. “Ada feels horrible about all of this.” I pressed a hand to my chest in relief. “Liam is at Fergus’s now, asking the Nereid Kings and Queen for assistance.” She bit her lip as her gaze flicked back to me. “I didn’t want to leave you alone here for much longer.”
“Thank you.” I elbowed her arm as we walked. “And I’m glad to hear Ada understands the problem and wants to help,” I replied.
“Well.” Audrey kept her gaze down as she spoke. “The problem is, we kind of are on our own.”
I frowned at her, “What do you mean? I thought that things went well. They don’t want to help us take down Ilia?”
Audrey shook her head. “Ada is sympathetic and agrees that Ilia is a huge threat. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. Now that he has her parents’ journals,andshe knows what’s in them.” Audrey looked defeated as she explained, “Ada is hesitant to directly attack or oppose him. It’s very complicated knowingwhat Ilia has on her—and when I relayed the information Drustan shared about Ilia’s amplified sinndra, she just looked…terrified.”
I widened my eyes. “Agreed. So how is any of this too complicated for her to join us?” I gestured to the huge cavern of women and children at risk of being executed.
Audrey sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Ada can’t just invade. It’ll break several treaties and laws, laws older than anyone alive in this realm at the moment.”
I shook my head at her, “So?”
“So,” Audrey continued, “She can’t just invade Lyndoruun and take Ilia out. However, she suggested the possibility of taking in Lyndoruun refugees if we managed to sneak anyone out under Ilia’s nose. She also suggested waiting to see how talks go with Liam and the nereids. If they’re willing to stand up to Ilia, Ada would feel more comfortable doing so as well.”
I blinked at her. “Okay, that’s not terrible. But what happens when Ilia discovers the refugees first? Or learns that we’re trying to turn the other territories against him?”
Audrey blew out a breath through her lips. “I don’t know. That’s something that Ada mentioned, and it made her a little more concerned for her own people’s safety and trust in her rule.” We made it to Hush’s quarters in an emptier area of the cavern. Audrey knocked on the door, which was immediately opened by Sergei, who gestured to us to enter. Hush, always donned with her face mask and military leather, was pacing the room with a distressed look on her brow. The two of them were staring at two large monitors on the far wall, displaying security footage.
“We’re monitoring a unit that is currently patrolling near the tunnel’s entrance. They haven’t found the cabin yet,” Hush explained. I panicked, but Hush and Sergei’s level-headednessmade me think they were prepared for something like this. Or perhaps they were used to patrols getting close to their secret.
“It might be worth trying to get the sirens out, without alerting Ilia to their departure and risking an attack on the fae and nereid territories,” I summarized.
“Correct.” Sergei nodded.
“Yeah.” Audrey plopped down in a nearby chair. She had dark circles under her eyes, and I felt bad for my friend and the weight she was carrying now. “According to a call I had with Liam, Fergus at least seemed very willing to help relocate the families to Vanhirra, which would make more sense logistically than Enharra. Fergus was hopeful that his parents would, too.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Good, good.”
“We also need to find a way to remove Ilia, assuming we get little to no support from the fae or nereids,” Sergei muttered, rubbing his hand on his jaw. “Ideally with minimal civilian casualties and public backlash.”
“We need to ensure that the sirens of Lyndoruun, and the rest of Hyvenmere, understandwhyrebels are doing this,” Hush added. “We need to take control of the narrative before Ilia can.”
I grimaced. Hush and Sergei gave me funny looks.
“What?” Hush asked.
