“Too many,” she says. “And without Eban and Gin it would have been more.”
He sighs deeply. “Right. Eban, we are on the same side here. Here’s the truth. I was in Lacon, yes, but as I said, I was spying on the enemy. Speaking to sources who are deeply embedded in the estates.”
“And?”
“I know the location of the Ophir relics and how to get them back.”
Gin told me why he had gone to Lacon, but I’m still stunned.
“The Blackcoat Marshal, Lord Talavera of House Dominant, holds them in his vault. He has the contents of almost the entire reliquary. Apparently two of the most powerful relics are still missing, but the rest are accounted for. More importantly, they know what they have. Our only saving grace is that they have no idea how to harness that power. Yet. There’s no telling when they might, however. That’s the only thing standing in their way.”
“What do we do?” Gin asks, glancing between the two of us. “We have to do something.”
“Of course we will,” I assure her, at the same time Darius says, “I plan on it.”
Darius continues: “I’m putting together a team to recover the relics.” He looks at me. “And I was hoping you would join me, Eban. I hear you’re quite good at retrieving things that don’t belong to you.”
“I was the best, actually.”
“Good. We need the best.”
“I’ll go, too,” Gin offers immediately. She steps up next to Darius.
He shakes his head. “Far too dangerous. You’ll be safer here.”
Gin is indignant. She puts her hands on her hips and scowls up at him. “I’ve been in plenty of dangerous situations, thank you very much.”
“I need you here as leader while we’re gone,” Darius insists, with a playful smile on his lips.
“Hold on, I’m not leaving her here alone,” I say, annoyed at the way Darius is acting toward Gin, as if he knows her better than I do. “She’ll be safer with me.” I can keep her safe, I think. I’ve kept her safe so far.
“That settles it,” says Gin. “They can’t have our relics. What if they figure out how to use them? Then what? You saw what one of them can do. Imagine dozens unleashed on the other side.”
Darius furrows his brow. “You saw a relic unleashed?” he asks. “When? How?”
Gin keeps silent but exchanges a worried glance with me.
“No, she didn’t,” I say firmly. “Gin just assumes we saw someone using Ophir magic back in the Sleeve, but it wasn’t. It was just an accident.”
“Right,” she says slowly.
Darius raises his eyebrows and studies the two of us.
“I’ll steal back the relic, but I don’t work alone. Gin comes with me.”
“I already told you…,” Darius starts.
“With all due respect, Darius, it’s not your decision to make,” she snaps. “I’m going with Eban.”
I smile at that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONEGIN
There’s no time to waste, and as soon as Darius gets a team together, we are off on a schooner for Lacon. Eban keeps to the deck while I linger in the cabin.
Darius’s ship is well equipped, with private quarters belowdecks and plenty of emergency provisions on board, a far cry from the dinky fishing vessel we’d arrived in. This boat reminds me of all the luxuries at House Eternal, as it’s clear a lot of thought went into providing convenience and comforts. The beds are lush, covered in soft linens and plump pillows, and each room has a full tea service in polished silver, a small table to be used for eating or writing, and a large trunk for storage. It’s much more Laconian in style than Ophir, which Darius explained was something of a cover to blend in when he does business on the mainland. I’m still a bit irritated with Darius for wanting to leave me behind, even though I know he was just trying to protect me. He likes me, I can tell. I’m not sure what I feel about him, though. It’s flattering, but I’ve only just met him.
I know Eban is wary of him, which worries me. I trust Eban. We’re each other’s only friend in the world now. Vergel’s dead, Aris is dead, and somehow, even without voicing it, we understand that at least we have each other. Aside from Aris, I’ve never had a friend in the Sleeve. Eban understands me in a way that even Rollo never did, because we grew up in the same place, practically had the same awful childhood. Eban could have killed me and taken all the loot for himself; instead he saved my life. Not by lying to his mother like Rollo did, but with his own strength and skill.
