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The first girl gripped her arm and tried to pull her away. “Gwyneth!”
Lily looked to the second girl. She was the one. According to her aunt, she simply disappeared from Zaitrerin. It was speculated she was sold off to Reatia for her soul to be destroyed. Kyer promised he’d keep an eye out for her, and after Novak spent some time snooping around the estate, he thought he may have found her here and informed Kyer.
“Estelle! It’s a woman! See!” Gwyneth waved a hand toward Lily. “Rin was far too boxy. Where is he? He’s been our guard for a while now. I liked him. He was the most respectable among the bunch, and I—”
“I don’t know why I am replacing him this afternoon, but I imagine it’s temporary,” Lily said.
“Good!” Gwyneth exclaimed. “I don’t like when they change up the guards here. Some of them get a little handsy.”
“Oh, give it a rest.” Estelle wrangled her companion and pulled her to her side as they strolled down the hall together.
Lily wavered, her stomach twisting in knots.
Damn Dabria's darkness. There were two of them.
And so young... Younger than me.
“Hello?” Gwyneth singsonged “Are you coming?”
The girls waited a few strides away. Lily forced her feet to follow, deliberately slow. They continued, not straying far from her watch.
The only one she was sent for was Gwyneth. Kyer never mentioned any other Ashin women, but it was possible he didn’t know.
She still cursed him for sending her, because he knew she couldn’t say no. And now that there were two, there was no way she could leave one behind.
But how was she supposed to get them out of here? Was it possible to convince them? Would they listen to her? If they were trafficked here before, then they might not trust anyone. If Lily was in their place, she wouldn’t.
Stress swirled around her gut like a storm. The banquet was tomorrow night. She didn’t have time to get to know these girls enough to gain their trust. Was their rescue worth compromising the weapons’ job?
Kyer seemed to think so. And he was rarely ever wrong.
Lily glanced at the bruise on Estelle’s cheek. It was a place to start. “Do you need a cold compress?” she asked. Both girls looked over at her. “For your face.”
Estelle flushed, pulling her hair in front of the mark. “No… thank you.”
Gwyneth smiled again. “But it is so kind of you to ask.”
“I would like to be a good replacement for Rin if it comes to it,” Lily said. She dug through the information she could wrangle in the here and now, latching onto the flowing grace weaved into Gwyneth’s voice. “If it’s not too forward, can I ask if you’re from Zaitrerin?”
Gwyneth beamed. “How did you know?”
“Gwyn…” Estelle warned.
“Your accent,” Lily said.
“You’re the first guard to point it out.” Gwyneth tipped her head. “But you don’t have one.”
“I’ve been in the company of many Terins.” Lily paused. “I lived in the capital, actually.”
Gwyneth gasped. “Which part? I grew up in the lands outside of the Allay’s walls. The south side, near the river.”
Estelle looked back, a little more alert.
“If you’d believe it, I worked just outside of the palace.”
Gwyneth was facing Lily now, walking backwards. “You’re lying!”
Completely. “I kept watch over Halgrove Park.”
