Or…Did Eza used to report to Kaelis, too? The relief I’d first felt at the sight of him dulls. The blood on the Oricalis symbol still gripped in my palm is a reminder of everything I stood for—and still stand for.It reminds me of everything he is…and yet also is not. My instincts try to tell me I cannot trust him, almost in defiance of what is before me: the man who is risking it all to rescue me.
I shift my feet and drag my attention back to him. I keep expecting him to explain or plead with me.
But this man does neither.
Without a word, he turns for the door. As he pulls it open, he barks a short and simple command: “Do it.”
Instantaneous movement on the other side of the door. The sounds of clanking armor, a brief scuffle, and then the sizzle of magic.
I’ve no idea what Kaelis is playing at, but I will not be caught off guard. I drop to Glavstone’s side. He keeps his deck in a holster attached to his belt. I undo the whole thing, slip the belt off him, and cinch it around my waist. As Kaelis opens the door wider, I reach into the card holster. The moment my fingers come into contact with the deck, a surge of magic races through me like a gust of wind. Instantly, I know every card. And it’s not a moment too soon.
Plated Stellis rush inside the office. A hulking knight dashes toward me, arms out, as though he means to tackle me. I summon a card. Glavstone’s inking is clunky and awkward. The magic doesn’t flow nearly as smoothly as I’m accustomed to. If I wasn’t as good at wielding as I am, I might not have managed to summon the Five of Swords at all.
Before I can actually cast it, however, the Stellis rips off his helmet. My eyes widen. The card I’d nearly used falls to the floor harmlessly, its magic dissipating.
Gregor crushes me in a bear hug. It’s particularly spiky thanks to all the plate he’s wearing.
“Wh-what?” I’m unable to form a cohesive thought.
Kaelis drags the bodies of the Halazar guards into the office with the help of two other Stellis.
“A bit of help here?” Kaelis snaps at Gregor.
“Right. Sorry.” Gregor releases me with a sheepish grin.
Then a fourth Stellis with a slight but all-too-familiar limp enters.
“Twino?” I meet familiar eyes as Twino pulls off his helmet.
“Ren? Jura?” As I say their names, each Stellis straightens away from the bodies they were hauling in with Gregor’s help. Ren lifts his visor, and even though I can’t see his face, I can see the smile in his eyes. Jura removes her helmet entirely and tosses it aside.
“You’ll want your helmets to get out of here,” Kaelis cautions.
“But itstinks.” Jura scrunches her nose.
Kaelis barely refrains from rolling his eyes.
I’m not sure where to look. Gregor’s beaming face. Jura and Kaelis looking surprisingly at ease with each other.
Or Twino, who comes to a stop in front of me. His palm lands gently on my cheek. “You look like you’ve been chewed up and spit out.”
“You look…alive.” I throw my arms around my friend’s shoulders. I don’t think he can feel my embrace through the armor. But it doesn’t matter; we’re so relieved to see each other we heave a simultaneous sigh of relief. “How did you all get in here?”
“Him.” Twino steps away and nods in Kaelis’s direction.
My eyes meet the prince’s once more. “You…How did you even find them?”
“I made it so your friends wanted to find me.” Kaelis looks smug, and judging from the way my friends all scatter their gazes and press their mouths into hard lines, it must have indeed involved skillful manipulation on the prince’s part.
“However it happened, thank you. Though I wonder if I should feel offended you let me rot for a year the last time if you were able to break in all along,” I say, mostly in jest.
“We couldn’t have pulled this off without him.” Twino taps his Stellis breastplate, and I give a knowing nod.
Reunions and further questions can wait. “We need to get to the dungeons,” I say.
“You already know, then?” Kaelis asks.
Something about the question makes time grind to a halt. A part ofme has already connected the dots between everything I know, but I chose to ignore the truth he hints at until this moment. “Know what?”
