“Goodbye, Silas,” I whisper and turn for the door.
I walk down the stairs and bid the place one last farewell. The King of Wands rises from the deck Kaelis made for me, its crimson ink shimmering nearly golden in the first light of dawn.
It bursts with a shower of sparks, and the whole house is ablaze in a blink. I visualize that journal, resting on the bed, as the epicenter of the fire. I’m two blocks away when enforcers rush to the scene.
I lurk in an alleyway, making sure it all burns—that their magic can’t put it out. That’s how I overhear one saying, “It’s her. Fan out. Find her!”
I turn, sinking deeper into the shadows shrinking with the dawn. I need to get back, and I’d rather not use one of the precious cards Silas gave me. Two enforcers come down my alley, and I quickly turn in another direction before they see me, pressing into an alcove and holding my breath. Deck at the ready. But luck is on my side; they completely overlook this narrow gap between buildings.
“This is futile. We’re not going to find her if Emilia Ventall and the Stellis couldn’t,” one says grimly. The lack of hope fills me with pride.
“Just look at what happened to them.” I can hear the wince in his voice.
“Exactly. So, no point in exhausting ourselves. I hear Prince Ravin’s bringing someone new in, someone he’s confident can find her.”
“Who?”
“How would I know? Whoever he is, I hear he’ll sniff her out like a dog.”
“Lord Moreus Ventall? Bring in the father where the daughter failed?”
They’re growing distant now; I strain my ears and hold my breath.
“Not him. Someone else coming…but not…”
“…about time…”
The two enforcers are gone, and suddenly the balmy morning air is cold. Cold as the ice in my veins. Ravin is bringing someone in who can sniff me out “like a dog.”
Fuck.I dare not speak it. I turn on my heel and slink toward thenearest entrance to the tunnels. I speed back to the academy through cramped and dimly lit passages, emerging only to make my way through the graveyard before plunging into the bridge once more.
I quickly stop to see Arina and leave a note for Gregor, explaining I’ll be gone a bit longer. Then, I make my way to Kaelis’s apartments. He’s asleep in his bed, and I stand at his bedside.
“Kaelis,” I say firmly.
He jolts awake. Several cards hover instantly—rising from different points around his bed. The man’s armed to the teeth even when asleep.
“By the Twenty, Clara,” he groans. “What?”
“We’ve made a mistake.”
Chapter 22
Kaelis sits up, instantly alert, sheets pooled around his waist. The first light of dawn outlines his lean chest in red and gold.
“We overlooked something important: the Hierophant.” Two words and his eyes widen slightly with the same realization that I had. A Major under King Naethor’s command with a power that could be my undoing, regardless of what face I wear.
“The Hierophant needs to be physically close to a Major to identify them,” Kaelis says. It’s reminiscent of what Ravin said to Glavstone, and the reminder has me even angrier at myself for not thinking of this sooner. “Unless he’s—”
“Ravin is bringing him here. I just overheard it from enforcers in the city.”
A tug of his lips downward. “What were you doing in the city?”
“Your concern is sweet, but let’s focus on the primary problem.” I sit on the edge of the bed, folding my legs and grabbing my knee. “We need to kill the Hierophant.”
Kaelis falls back with a groan, rubbing his hands over his face as hesays a muffled “It’s too early to be plotting murder. That is very much an after-at-least-one-cup-of-tea discussion.”
“As long as he lives, he’s going to be a problem. We know where he is now, I assume.”
