Bastion gave a curt nod and shut the door, perhaps a bit too forcefully.He rubbed his eyes and splashed some water on his face before dressing.When he stepped into the silent hallway, he almost gave in to the temptation to go left.He could still smell the saltwater, feel Ulla’s hand in his.He wanted to chase the peace he’d felt as the tide lapped at their legs… but Minato’s words hounded him.
With a grimace, he turned away.
On the second floor, he paused before a pair of wide, double doors.They’d been closed every time he’d passed them before, but now, they yawned open.
The room beyond felt more like a museum than a library.It spanned the width of the keep and far more weapons and artifacts filled the shelves than books.Across from the doors, a floor-to-ceiling window of paned glass looked west over the sea, sparkling with early morning light.
“Sir Bastion,” a voice boomed.“Join us.”
Four people sat at a gaming table near the window.On a silver tray between them was a decanter and crystal glasses, untouched.
Lord Kyrith sat where he could see the doors and window.Dark, calculating eyes watched him from a face the color of obsidian.His hair was styled in thick braids, tied into a wolf tail.Grey shot from his temples and through his full beard.Even sitting, the way he held himself made it clear he was a leader.
He gestured at a vacant chair beside Lawrence.Bastion’s expression turned to stone when he saw Minato, but he didn’t say anything as he crossed the room and sat.Bastion reached for the decanter and poured himself two fingers.Across the table, Nesrin’s brow pinched in the barest hint of a wrinkle.
Lord Kyrith’s mouth quirked.
“How’s your arm?”he asked.
Bastion downed his drink, then lifted the arm in question and turned it back and forth.The bone protested with a dull ache, and the muscle was tender.
“Not broken,” he answered dryly.“How are the villages?”
Kyrith nodded, as if he approved of skipping the pleasantries.The closest approximation of a smile Bastion had ever seen curved his lips.
“Some are better than others,” he said.“I’ve sent a raven to Tynamara requesting provisions, not only for them, but for Moonwatch, as well.Cutthroat Buck and his depraved crew certainly made a mess of things.”
Bastion mirrored his nod.He poured himself another drink, but only sipped it, ignoring the penetrating look Minato threw at him.
“Do you know what they were after?”Bastion asked.
Kyrith’s chest puffed up as he inhaled, slow and deep.His eyes skipped between the others at the table.When they settled back on Bastion, he said, “No.There are few treasures here, and none are worthy of such a complex strategy.”
Bastion sighed.The trail was all but cold, then.
Lawrence took the decanter from Bastion, saying, “The larger picture is a brilliant study in strategy and precision.”
“How so?”Bastion asked.
“Moonwatch is synonymous with defense,” Kyrith said.“They needed to reduce our forces.The attacks on the villages–inland and coastal–drew us away.It worked so well that no one questioned the need to investigate.Then, they just needed a way to get inside.”
“The weapon,” Bastion stated.
“Yes,” Kyrith said.“With our diminished numbers, they expected an easy capture, especially with men planted among the townsfolk to let them in once we were disabled.”
“Except they didn’t anticipate Ulla,” Minato said.He stared at Bastion, his expression unreadable.
“Yes,” Lawrence agreed.He tilted his glass, swirling the amber liquid.“The weapon didn’t work on her, and somehow, she woke us all up.”
“We owe her our lives,” Nesrin said.A round of nods followed, and Bastion suppressed a shiver as he thought about what could have happened if she hadn’t been there.
He recalled the strange feeling of seeing through her eyes.The complete absence of all sound.That place they’d visited in Minato’s mind.It was little more than flashes in his memory, and he wondered if Minato recalled more.His eyes flicked to the Yvri, and caught there, waiting for him to speak, but Minato said nothing.
A servant arrived with a tray of food.It was a modest meal of fresh, crusty bread, cold chicken, and hard-boiled eggs.Bastion ate, his mind wandering to questions that had yet to be answered.
“Did you recover Buck’s body?”
Nesrin shook her head.“He belongs to the sea now.”
