“Think you'll be able to sleep now?”
Chapter
Thirty-One
When I had collected myself, Sebastian and I packed up our belongings. The early hours of the morning had crept in, and to no surprise, I felt like I could sleep again.
Sebastian took my hand and guided me down the staircase. We made it to the second floor when he suddenly froze. He held his finger to his mouth, shushing me as he pulled us off of the staircase. I followed his pose and ducked alongside the balcony, keeping quiet to try and make out the hushed conversation below us.
“And what should I report back to King Beaumont in regard to the girl, sir?” a male voice asked his counterpart.
“Please inform Cyprian that last I've been told, Aldous has received his final offer. I believe he plans to decline, but we won't be certain until he does.”
My breathing quieted even more. They were talking about me.
“While we wait for his response, tell Cyprian to prepare the Draemornian troops to move in on Craterra. Should Aldous be a fool and reject the offer, we don't want to waste any time,” the same voice informed the first.
“As you wish.” The man paused, reducing his tone even lower. “And what of the prophecy?”
My heart stopped.
They know of the prophecy?I mouthed to Sebastian, who just held his finger up to his lips again.
“The prophecy is not common knowledge to most. As long as we get to the girl before the sacrifice is complete, there should be no complications.”
The voices trailed off, and we watched from the balcony as the cloaked figures came into view briefly before exiting the archives.
Nausea struck me viciously. I turned to Sebastian, my eyes wide and full of fear. He stroked my hair in silent affirmation that everything would be okay, and once we were sure they were gone, we stood from our crouch.
“Those must be the insiders giving information to Draemor,” Sebastian huffed, rubbing his forehead.
“Do you have any idea who they were?”
“No. Everything echoes in here, I couldn't recognize the voices.”
“How do they know about the sacrifice?” I asked him while I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach.
“I mean, it's possible they read the book of Blythe before you ripped the page out, but it's doubtful. I have no idea.” He took my hand again and I followed him down the rest of the staircase.
We reached the doors of the archives and he cracked one side open, peering out to make sure no one was in the corridor before we made our exit.
He didn't let go of my hand. He used it to practically drag me through the hall, bringing me back towards my room.
“What do we do?” I asked him, my nerves starting to take control.
“Wedon't do anything,” hesaid, turning a sharp corner and picking up his pace. “I’m bringing you back to your room, then going to inform my father of what I heard.”
I. Notwe. He didn't plan to tell his father that I was with him.
We hurried through the darkness. “I want to help.” This was partly my fault, after all.
He didn't look back at me. “You can help by keeping yourself safe. Don't go anywhere alone, stick to our plan.” The protectiveness in his tone threatened me to not argue with him, though I wanted to.
Sebastian threw open the door to the soldiers' corridors and we burst through. He slowed his pace a little when we were in the safety of the corridor, but I could tell his nerves were still in control.
We reached the staircase that led to our floor. Sebastian began climbing, but I stopped in front of the steps as I was met with an unwelcome thought.
“What if King Hawthorne decides to just hand me over when you tell him?” It wasn't an unreasonable question. “If giving me to Draemor prevents Craterra from being attacked, it would be in the best interest of our kingdom.”
