Deckard’s hand brushed hers on the table. “What is it?” he whispered in her ear.
Magic prickled at her senses as he leaned in, but the feeling floated away. “Nothing,” she murmured.
His fingers wrapped around hers, brow rising knowingly.
A sad smile tugged at her lips. How well he knew her moods now. “Just thinking of Hewitt,” she explained.
Deckard’s chin dipped, his eyes darting across the table before meeting hers again. “I can let you see him again,” he said. “So long as I have the Night Relic, I am strong enough now.”
Her heart pattered hopefully. “I would like that. Very much.”
“Tomorrow,” he promised.
Evylin’s smile grew, and she opened her mouth to thank him when the bell rang again. The chatter quieted as the attendees shifted in their seats, turning to the front of the hall. A man stood from the far-right table, moving to stand at a small writing desk. His orange hair flashed in the lamplight as he opened a book and rattled off an opening speech.
Once the clerk had finished announcing the start of the meeting, he lifted a pen from the desk. “Now, we shall proceed with the agenda,” he said in his nasal Waulden tone. “We are here to receive the account of Highlord and Highlady Calder on their mission to retrieve the Ateri Relics of Allore. With your permission, Archminister Fishere, we will have Highlord Calder bring forth the report now.”
The gray-haired gentleman who’d welcomed them before the meal nodded his assent.
The clerk gestured toward Auden. “Highlord Calder, if you please.”
Pushing back his chair, Auden stood, clasping his hands before him. “Good evening, all,” he said, his accent thicker than usual. “It’s a pleasure to be back, enjoying the companionship of like-minded men and women such as yourselves. During our time in Ephria, I was in regular contact with Lord Carlile, but since our return to Wauld, our communication has been impeded. While I assume he forwarded my updates to you, I take it you’d like me to give an account of my sister’s and my entire journey.”
The archminister lifted his hand in an approving wave.
Auden cleared his throat and began his recounting. “As you know, Ilain and I took the Fire Relic from Doorstunds Reach on the thirty-ninth of Terraen, and we fled to Ephria thereafter. Upon our arrival in Ephria City nearly two weeks later, we stayed hidden on Lord Carlile’s estate while he was away with Prince Caspar Ephren, intending to enact his staged kidnapping.”
Deckard shifted in his seat. Evylin didn’t have to guess at his discomfort. The kidnapping could hardly be considered “staged” when the prince was, in fact, kidnapped, and the lives of several men were lost in the process. However, she also recognized there had been no true danger to the prince’s life in the plot, as it was only intended to scare the king into action.
Auden went on to explain the change to the ploy’s enactment due to the arrival of the Ephrian Army’s Third Volunteer Company at Banbury, led by the then-Captain Deckard. Upon meeting Deckard and Evylin, Lord Carlile knew the kidnapping would not succeed. Not while a dedicated military officer was in the area. But as they couldn’t stop the plot, they’d have to shift it.
Beyond that, Carlile had recognized Evylin as a Warrior during their dinner and wanted to confirm his suspicions. While Auden didn’t explain how Carlile had known, Blount had also recognized Evylin’s magic purely upon looking at her. She made a note to ask Ilain about that in the future.
“Upon Lord Carlile’s return to Ephria City,” Auden continued, “he informed us of his revised plan, then introduced us to King Ephren. Through careful manipulation of the king’s ego, Carlile and our story convinced him of the necessity of retrieving the Relics and stopping the war, lest the Waulden king be successful in killing his heir in the future. At which point, King Ephren formed what he called the Order of the King.”
A smattering of derisive laughter passed through the room.
Ilain grinned smugly as Auden continued, “He assigned these fine soldiers,” he swept his hand toward the Ephrians, “to act asour personal guards, assisting us in reclaiming the Relics. Shall I introduce them?”
At the archminister’s nod, Auden went down the line.
The woman to the archminister’s immediate left sat forward to ask, “Didn’t Carlile’s report list six soldiers?”
Auden’s gaze flickered to Evylin. “Yes, Minister Birde,” he confirmed. “Unfortunately, we lost him at the hands of Prince Blount’s ambush.”
A collective rumble passed through the room.
“This was how you discovered the prince’s involvement?” another female minister at the far end asked.
“It was.”
Archminister Fishere took the lead. “Blount attacked you himself?”
“No, Archminister.”
“Then how did you come to this conclusion?”
Auden told them of their experience in the Water Keep, the discovery of Blount’s identity, his torture resulting in the divestment of the Relics’ locations, and their escape. “When he informed them of how Rafferty stole the Day and Fire Relics from an ignorant Blount, the weasel piped up.
