Page 141 of The Last Syphon

Yes. Inara believed that with her entire heart and soul, and she knew that if she told him not to utter a word, he would listen. Would die before revealing her secrets. If she needed any proof of that, the fact that he knew she was a Syphon for years and never said anything—not even to her—was all the proof she needed.

She dropped the beef jerky and clasped his hands tightly in hers. “I need your solemn vow that you will not repeat what I’m about to tell you.”

“Of course.” Concern flashed in his eyes. “What is going on? Tell me.”

She took a moment to answer, not to build suspense, but purely because once she voiced it out loud, it made it real to her. Made the danger real.

“The cursed land is spreading.”

A deep frown marred his brows. “What do you mean?”

“The cursed land of Tolanaa. The black rot. Over the last few years, it’s been slowly spreading into the Borderlands. Blackpeak, Holen, and Prector, the villages closest to the border of Tolanaa, they’re…gone.”

“Gone?” His voice rose. “What the fuck do you mean, gone?”

Inara explained everything she had learnt, including all the reports she’d seen and the clear progression of the rot with each report.

“What?!” Felix jumped to his feet, anger and fear swirling around him. “Well, we have to do something. Warn someone.”

She didn’t blame him for thinking it. Fates, she’d had the same idea.

“We can’t. Not yet. Felix, imagine the chaos this would bring to the realm. Imagine what would happen. What people would do if they thought they were going to die. The panic. The disarray. The realm would end far before the rot ever became the cause of it.”

“So, what? We do nothing?”

“Of course not.” Her heart beat erratically in her chest. From fear. From loss. It made it hard for her to gather her thoughts. “Prince Walder held a meeting with representatives from Pregon and Roylan at the ball tonight to fix the issue.”

“And?” he prompted.

“And they—” What? What was she supposed to say? “Lady Armanie of Roylan seemed to believe him and said she would take the matter to her king.”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And Pregon?”

“He…Lord Howling…He, well, had a different opinion.”

Felix stood still, momentarily shocked. “The bastard didn’t give a fuck, did he?”

“More like he didn’t think any of it was real. He didn’t believe any of it, or at least, that’s the impression he was trying to give off. He was definitely scared of something.”

Felix shook his head, waves of anger pouring off him. “We can’t just sit back and do nothing, Inara. Do you think these royals give a fuck about what happens to us? They don’t care. They don’t care about our people or what happens to us. They’re not going to do anything to save them. We have to.”

While Inara agreed with him, somewhat, she didn’t think the prince fell into that category. “Prince Walder has already started proceedings for an evacuation. He’s also conducting a meeting with the other High Council members to do something about it. Trust me, Felix, if nothing comes of it, you and I will fly out to the Borderlands ourselves. I don’t give a fuck about whatever contract is in place.”

Even though her words brought him comfort, Felix was far too wired to calm down. Much like she had been the first time she’d heard the news.

He sat down, folding his legs over one another. “Why is it spreading now?” he asked, concerned. “It’s been over 2,000 years. Why now?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” She shrugged. “From what I can gather, they’ve been patrolling the borderline since the Dark War, and then a few years ago, they noticed a significant shift. From that point on, every time they sent someone to investigate, they never returned.”

“I knew all those stories were fucking true,” he grumbled under his breath.

“Yes, yes. You’re almighty and wise beyond your years. What I care about is what is causing it, and more importantly, how we fucking stop it.”

Felix’s next words sent a cold chill down her spine. “What if we can’t?”

She didn’t have an answer for that.

No.