Page 105 of The Awakening of Essensia

“She’s punch drunk,” Willem said.

Erryn nodded. “Looks like it.”

Vaelira frowned. “What’s that?”

“It’s when someone gets hit too hard on the head,” Willem said. “Usually happens to drunkards getting in fights.”

“I am a drunkard that got in a fight.”

Erryn laughed. If Vaelira didn’t feel like she’d been stabbed through the eye, she might have joined her. She managed a faint smile and closed her eyes, grateful for the darkness. “We should report this,” she mumbled, eyes still closed.

“No, we shouldn’t,” Elijah said flatly.

Vaelira’s eyes snapped open. She glared at him, but he didn’t look up from Axel’s arm.

“And why not?” she asked, pushing herself upright. “We were there, we saw the summonings, the relics, the demons. People will have to listen now.”

“They won’t,” he said, tying off the thread. “No one will believe demons were summoned inside a chapel. Many don’t believe they can be summoned inside the city at all.” His tone was bitter. “All it will do is expose you and put you in danger.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

Vaelira shoved her chair back and stood. The world shifted sideways, and she had to grip the table for balance.

“Sit,” Erryn said, guiding her back down with a hand on her shoulder. Vaelira didn’t resist.

“Even if the Gods had protected the city once,” Axel said, “anyone with half a lick of sense knows the First Three abandoned us a long time ago. People might listen.”

Elijah dropped the needle into the bowl. “I’ve made myself clear,” he said, turning to them all. “No one is to speak of this beyond these walls. Understood?”

Vaelira opened her mouth, but Erryn squeezed her shoulder. The pressure was gentle, but the message was clear. For all his talk of hating his title, of feeling powerless, he’d ordered them to stay silent. He claimed it was to protect her, but she was starting to find that hard to believe. It felt like he was protecting the plans he’d made for her, rather than caring about her safety or what she wanted. And what she wanted was to protect the innocent from this growing threat. Burying this information was not the right move, but what could she do? The Crown Prince had spoken.

“What do we say about the chapel?” Erryn asked.

“I can’t believe you brought down the whole damned thing,” Willem muttered, glancing at Vaelira.

“Nothing,” Elijah said, wrapping a fresh bandage around Axel’s arm. “We weren’t there. Let rumours spread until one sticks.”

Willem gave Vaelira a tight smile.

She slumped back in her chair, too tired to fight.

Vaelira walked through the empty streets of Old Town, her hood drawn low against a light drizzle, Elijah at her side. She’d wanted to return alone, but without him the barracks guards would never let her in after curfew. At least, not without questions. She hated that she’d allowed him to hold this power over her.

It quickly became clear that she wouldn’t have made it far without being stopped. Guards were posted at each corner and patrolled every street. Elijah kept his hood back and his chin high, his face enough to deter any guard from approaching.

They turned down the alley that led to the barracks gate, a glow of torchlight marking the guard post in the distance. Elijah stopped walking. She turned, arms folded tight across her chest. She wasn’t in the mood for whatever apology he was about to offer.

He stepped closer and reached for her face, but she turned away from the touch. He let his hand linger anyway. “I was worried about you,” he whispered.

“I’m fine.”

“What did the summoner mean?” His gaze searched hers. She frowned. “He said you were more than they’d hoped, like they’d been waiting for you.”

Vaelira shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“They weren’t trying to kill you,” he said quietly.