Even so, Lora felt shattered, broken by her own words.
* * *
Instead of the tunnel leading back to the palace, Lora’s feet led her to a familiar clearing on the outskirts of Chrysa. She hadn’t been here since Eyden had brought her to meet Ilario at the black market underground. That had been more than a month ago. Through the giant trees, she glimpsed the faint indigo shimmer of the portal back to Earth. It was so close; she could make a run for it and step back into her world if it wasn’t for her bargain with Karwyn.
Her heart squeezed tight at the thought of her family and Maja on the other side. Did they ever go to the beach in Bournchester to watch the border to Liraen shimmer like she was doing now?
Biting her lip to keep herself from screaming, Lora lowered herself to the ground. This was where the door to the black market had appeared out of thin air. If she could get a WiFi cube, then she could at least talk to her family.
Her hands brushed the cold, dry ground. What was the password to make the door appear? She had to get in. There was no other way. Today had been a failure. She wasn’t achieving anything. At the end of the day, wasn’t she responsible for her own doom? Her mother’s? She was alone in this, there was no one coming to her rescue, only she could save herself, but she still had no ideahow.
Her fingernails dug into the dry earth as if she could dig her own path underground. “Let me in,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Please.”
Forming fists, her hands beat the hard ground. She couldn’t stop the tears any longer, turning her vision blurry. Her arms felt like deadweights as she pulled them to her lap, dirt covering her satin dress. Why couldn’t fortune ever be on her side?
A twig broke in the distance, and Lora hastily scrambled up, running back to the tunnel. To the palace. Her doom.
Her head felt hollow as she hurried through the tunnel and reentered the palace walls. She was lost in thought when she reached her room—no guard at her door, thankfully. Tired, Lora pulled the door open and was surprised to find her oil lamp on, faint light flooding her room.
Layken sat on the edge of her bed.
All excuses left Lora’s brain. She was keenly aware of her dirty dress, which wasn’t the one she’d left her room in earlier that evening, and her dark-coloured hair that she would have washed out right now if it wasn’t for Layken sitting in front of her.
“Nice disguise,” Layken said.
“It’s not a disguise,” Lora said seriously. “It’s an outfit.”
Layken chuckled, his lazuli eyes amused. “Don’t even try to lie, Adelway. I know all about disguises.”
She was too tired to try and come up with a better lie, and she sensed Layken wouldn’t buy any of it if she did. “Fine. Will you tell on me?”
Layken stood up. His guard uniform was wrinkled. “I’ll make a deal with you. You stop looking into me,followingme, and I’ll keep my mouth shut. For now.”
So he knew they had trailed him.Bloody hell.
“You won’t tell Karwyn?” she asked, unsure if she could believe anything he said.
“It wouldn’t do any good.” Layken moved to the door, apparently done with their conversation.
Lora’s mind flew into overdrive. Why would Layken keep this from Karwyn? Why do her any favors? She thought back on the time Karwyn had choked her and Layken had interrupted. Had it been good timing, or was there a hidden layer to Layken? A part of him that didn’t want to follow Karwyn’s every command?
“Why are you working for Karwyn?” she blurted before he could leave. His back was turned towards her, but she saw the tension in his body as he froze. “Isn’t a guard’s uniform just another disguise?”
Layken’s hand moved to the door handle as if he wasn’t going to answer her, but then he said, “Sometimes a disguise is all you have left.”
He stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him, giving her no chance to respond.
Chapter30
Elyssa
Elyssa squeezed Amira’s hand as she dragged the princess deeper into Pyria, into the crowd of fae storming the lively market. Voices mixed together with the wind rustling in her ears, drowning out any coherent sound. Cheerful fae hurried along the stalls filled with clothes, delicious-smelling food, and books on display. Surrounded by fae, the guards would have a hard time tracking them.
Afraid Amira would pull back, Elyssa gripped Amira’s hand tighter. The guards were fast on their heels. Seeking them out had cost Elyssa a precious second, and when she turned back to the front, she smacked right into a sheet hanging from one of the stalls. Amira pushed it aside, her eyes shining with adrenaline and freedom as she shuffled on.
Spying a wooden booth ahead of them, displaying delicious treats, with no trader in sight, Elyssa quickly changed course, dragging Amira with her. She focused on another booth close by with a sheet hanging between two wooden pillars, merchandise stashed in it.
As they dashed through the crowd, Elyssa removed a dagger from her sleeve, never slowing down. When they crossed the booth, she cut the string, and the sheet fell behind them. She didn’t fully hear the chaos that followed, but she could imagine it.
