Page 30 of The City Of Fractured Memory

I go to say as much, but Xavier whips his head back to me and I fall silent, anticipating his next words.

“So…” he starts, picking up the locket and slowly pacing over to stand in front of me with his eyes narrowed. “My turn. Do you care to explain why you’re harbouring an Irithys, before I decide to arrest both you and Riven today?”

I take a step back, shock coursing through me. “You know she’s an Irithys?”

“They are exceptionally rare, but yes, I recognise that form. I saw one once as a child,” he says quietly. “I started to get suspicious the night you collapsed at the crime scene. The Irithys opened the door and when she saw you in my arms, her illusion flickered. I thought I was seeing things, but clearly not.”

I stiffen. “She has a name, you know,” I reply coldly, anxiety building at Xavier’s fierce expression. I know his resentment for the Echofae runs deep, but he’s a good man, and my friend. Surely he’ll side with me when he realises how much she means to me? We’ve certainly had conflicting views in all our years by each other’s side, but nothing’s truly managed to come between us yet.

He huffs an exasperated sigh. “You know what I mean. It’s against Division law. Against every principle we swore to uphold. If the Chief finds out⁠—”

“She’ll be killed,” I snap, my voice cracking with the words. I turn away, fists curling against my sides. “I found her starving in an alley. Skin and bones. And yes, I know I should have dragged her to the Division, shackled her, handed her over like the law demands. But I couldn’t. It felt…wrong.” I swallow hard, the memories pricking like paper cuts. “Because it is wrong, Xavier. It’s all wrong.”

His gaze softens, and the room stretches into silence, heavy with the weight of my confession. Then the faint creak of the door breaks it. Both our heads turn as Stryx pads into the room, still barefoot, her silver hair falling down into her face. Her eyes dart between us, uncertain.

I step towards her, my voice gentler now. “It’s all right. You can trust him,” I decide, hoping to the Gods I don’t regret those words.

Stryx hesitates, then draws a slow, shuddering breath. Her shape ripples, her humanoid form sloughing away in tendrils of shimmering light as scales appear, glimmering like frost. Her tail unfurls with a whisper and the cramped apartment seems to shrink around her until she floats, revealed in her true form.

Xavier staggers back as though struck, his hand trembling as though he is touching divinity itself. His eyes shine with unshed tears, looking upon her with raw, unguarded awe. “By the Gods…” he whispers.

My breath catches and relief floods me. Despite our words thrown in anger, I see only the man I call my friend undone by wonder, and my heart lifts. Finally, someone sees her for what she is, like I do.

He reaches out a trembling hand, voice breaking with softness. “She’s…magnificent.”

A faint, relieved smile touches my lips. “I knew you’d understand.”

But Stryx’s eyes narrow and she draws back, away from his hand. The fine scales at her temples ripple, a flicker of unease running through her like a tremor. I notice her tension and place a reassuring hand on her clawed paws as she floats by my side.

“It’s all right,” I murmur, taking her wariness for nerves. “I told you, he’s on our side.”

Stryx’s eyes dart to me, but she says nothing. She only returns to watching Xavier, her gaze softer, but her haunches remain tense.

Xavier steps back with a smile, wiping the last trace of moisture from his eyes and drawing in a slow breath. “No one can know,” he says firmly, his gaze flicking between Stryx and me. “Not the Division. Not the council. Not a soul. If they find out what you’ve been hiding here…” His jaw clenches. “I’ll help you keep her secret. But it has to stay between us.”

I feel my shoulders loosen, just a fraction. “Thank you,” I say earnestly, meaning it more than I expected. “I knew you’d see she isn’t a threat. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you with this sooner.”

Xavier doesn’t answer right away. His eyes linger on Stryx, unreadable, before he turns back to me. “It’s okay, I get why you didn’t. But our real problem right now is Riven.”

The name sours the air between us and my lips thin. “Do you think he’ll reveal her secret?”

He shakes his head firmly. “No. He’s not the sort to go ratting people out like that, he’s too clever. He’ll sit on this, try to think of a way to use it against us somehow.”

The thought is more than unsettling, but at least it means she’s safe for now. We’ve got enough on our plate without having to borrow tomorrow’s troubles. My thoughts wander back to my poor friend, still laying dead back in the Archives, and something occurs to me.

“The wardens said Starling’s in Riven’s pocket. If that’s true, then everything we do, every step we take, he’ll already know. Telling the Chief could put us in more danger, not less.”

Xavier’s eyes widen before he nods slowly, his expression grim. “Riven’s built a web throughout the city, and if the Chief’s truly part of it, then he’s only one strand. If we move against Riven openly, he’ll crush us before we’ve even made a dent. Cyril isn’t the only victim of Riven’s wrath, I can assure you, and he won’t be the last.”

“So we play carefully, gather irrefutable proof against him,” I say, my voice sharp with resolve, though my stomach twists at the thought of allowing him to walk free without justice for Cyril’s murder, even if it is only temporary. “We need evidence. Gather what we can, keep our heads down, and wait for the right moment. If he is as untouchable as they say, we’ll have to find the one thread that unravels him. Everyone has a weakness.”

Xavier smiles faintly in agreement, though it is a bitter thing, an acceptance we both begrudgingly share. “Then we’ll just have to be patient. Prove we are smarter than he is.”

I glance at Stryx, who floats silently in her draconic glow, still quietly wary of Xavier. I give her arm a reassuring squeeze and she shifts back into her humanoid form, wrapping her arms tight around herself.

“We’ll be careful,” I promise softly. “We have to be.”

But in the quiet that follows, I can’t shake the image of Riven’s piercing green eyes, the whisper of his warning still writhing in my ear.