But Gideon hadalsoproven himself sympathetic to witches. So they couldn’t exactly trust him, either.
Hence the chains.
And the guards.
“You need to leave within the hour, sir.” Aila Woods, the former minister of public safety, looked haggard from nights spent trying to organize their scattered numbers and get them to a safer location. They’d decided on the Rookery—an old citadel on the island’s western coast. It had been abandoned half a century ago, but was still heavily fortified. “Prince Nord’s army has ransacked the estates closer to the capital. They’ll come for Wintersea any day now.”
“Yes, yes, I’m aware.” Noah looked equally tired, his face lit by the dim glow of a lantern.
Reports of executions came daily, and morale was lower than ever. They’d lost a lot of soldiers, and the only weapons and ammunition in their possession were what they’d carried out. If they had any hope of stopping what was coming, they needed to regroup, acquire more arms, and launch a counterattack.
Which was why they were retreating to the coast.
“I’ll make sure my brother gets out in time,” Laila told Aila. She stood to the side, arms crossed as she glanced at the map of the Rookery laid out across the table. “You all should leavenow. Take the back roads. Soren’s soldiers have been spotted twenty miles up the main one.”
Thump!
Gideon looked to the ceiling, where the sound had come from. From his previous visits to Wintersea, he knew the bedrooms lay directly above them.
“Did you hear that?” he asked his guards.
They exchanged a look between them.
“Hear what, sir?” said Felix.
Both were younger than him and clearly nervous. He wasGideon Sharpe, after all. Former Blood Guard captain, not to mention a hero of the Republic who’d killed two witch queens in the revolt.
Gideon glanced at the emergency meeting happening around the table, but the conversation continued unabated. Neither Noah nor his ministers had heard the sound.
Laila, however, glanced his way.
So I’m not hearing things.
He raised an eyebrow, motioning with his chin toward the ceiling.
Going to check that out?
Perhaps it was a clumsy soldier packing Noah’s belongings.
Or perhaps it was something more insidious.
Grabbing a lantern, Laila crossed the room to him. “That noise—did you hear it too?” She looked to the ceiling. But no sounds were forthcoming.
He nodded. “Could be a bandit.”
In the aftermath of Cressida’s attack, estates had been ransacked, not just by Soren’s army but by thieves hoping to fill their pockets with valuables. From the frown creasing her brow, though, Laila wasn’t worried about bandits. She was worried about something worse.
“I know this house better than you do,” he said. “Take me up with you.”
Laila studied Gideon in the glow of her lantern. She might trust him more than the other soldiers, but not by much.
“I’m not going to run off and join Cressida,” he told her. “I’d rather drown myself in the sea.”
Laila breathed in. “Fine.” She turned to Felix and held out her hand. “I’m borrowing the prisoner. Give me his keys.”
Since Laila was acting captain, Felix did as she said. He seemed relieved to hand Gideon over, honestly.
After Laila removed his manacles, Gideon followed her out of the room and up the staircase to the second floor. The gaslights were off, plunging the main hallway into darkness.
