“In an effort to kill Thaan? He’d rip out a vein.”
“A code,” Cebrinne repeated.
“Yes.” Vouri shifted, thinking. “If anything feels off, one of us will say,gray flecks in the shell.And the other will answer—"
“Calcium carbonate,” I finished, amusement playing with my mouth.
Cebrinne’s brows lifted in question.
“Pheolix’s observation,” Vouri clarified for her. She looked even more bewildered, but Vouri glanced at me. “How many drones does Thaan keep?”
“We don’t know. Pheolix guesses upwards of thirty.” A silky green leaf brushed my waist, and I stole a small step out of its reach. “Thaan rarely keeps them here unless he has missions for them. We’d see one in the palace every so often. They all wear hooded cloaks. I didn’t realize they were drones until Pheolix joined our assignment.”
A damp scent hung in the air, perspiration gathering delicately across Vouri’s forehead. “He uses them to infiltrate small colonies. Drones can’t be tracked, and when they enter a territory, they go unnoticed by aVidere.”
Under the quiet moonlight, Cebrinne and I met eyes. We’d spent weeks in the north, tracing vulnerable Naiad colonies in the mountain lakes and rivers to hand over to Thaan. Had Pheolix carried out any of the captures?
It had all been to gather what we needed to stop him. All for good.
At least that’s what I’d told myself when we wrote names and locations, handing over a parchment full of lives for Thaan to take.
“So,” Vouri said, sensing the chilling thoughts that swung from Cebrinne and myself.
“Deimos is one of Thaan’sOculoses. Avoid him whenever you can.” I crossed my arms. Warmth draped over the solarium, even now in early spring. But a draft floated across my shoulders and down my spine whenever I remembered the scars Thaan carved into my soul. I swallowed, determined to shake it off.
Across from me, Ceba stared at Vouri’s notes, her expression hard.
“The other is a Naiad called Oberon,” I continued. “He’s stationed with the Rivean emissary, but Thaan intends to move him south after Cebacordaeswith your brother.”
Vouri stiffened.
“That’s his plan,” I said, waving the thought casually away. “Ceba doesn’t want tocordaewith anyone.”
“Is that true?” Vouri asked, green eyes pensive.
Ceba’s mouth parted. She glanced at me and then back to Vouri, a tightness in her gaze, as though surprised the Venusian even had to ask. “Yes.”
Vouri nodded once. “Oberon,” she said, returning to her parchment.
My eyes lingered a moment more on Cebrinne, curious at her hesitation, then I pulled myself away to point at Vouri’s sketch of the office. “Deimos and Oberon will likely be briefed with the plans for Aegir’s demise before we will be. We could position you with the envoy who plays courier in the Aalton temple, but that takes you out of the palace. Try to secure a deskwith Thaan’s Rivean envoy and intercept his messages there. Watch for red wax seals stamped by a scorpion.”
Vouri tilted her head. “And what if my own messages are intercepted?”
Ceba and I met eyes. “Cypher,” she said. I nicked a blank parchment from Vouri’s pile and began marking down the Cyprillic alphabet we’d created years ago. “Keep it on your body until you memorize it. Then burn it.”
A soft click came from the back of the solarium. We froze, ears scanning for the presence of heartbeats nearby. The maze of tropical emeralds stared back, leaves dazzling and full as they drank the streaming starlight.
“The plants stretch and shift,” I murmured, catching the soft rustle of one such green offender, leaves shaking slowly as it settled into stillness.
“Would a drone be able to hide a heartbeat from our ears?” Vouri mused.
“I don’t know.” I chewed my lip in thought. “I heard Pheolix’s just fine when we were in Venusia, but I didn’t think to listen when he nullified our power.”
“It’s called an eclipse,” Vouri supplied in a whisper. The small sound had only been a plant’s dance under the moon, but it had stolen a chink in the armor of our confidence. “Heeclipsedyou. And me. And my brother.” She paused to study both of us. “Drones aren’t natural. They aren’t what Theia intended. I know Pheolix is involved in Thaan’s scheme, and if we pull this off, Aegir won’t touch him. But I would caution you against lowering your own defenses around him. How close are you both with Pheolix?”
“Not at all,” I said slowly. Cebrinne watched me carefully, and I avoided her eyes.
“Good. My advice is to keep it that way.”
