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"Why?" she asked.
"Omega," I said softly, trying to pick my words carefully. "We can’t trust him. For all we know, he’s going to get more guards and then march us off to our deaths. We need to leave."
Tzidal opened her mouth to argue, but her body trembled slightly, her wolf not allowing her to speak out against me. She closed her eyes as if to steady herself. I fucking hated myself for what I did to her. I should have never forced her to submit. I really was a piece of shit.
I just needed to give her wolf time to calm down, and even out, then she’d be back to normal. Until then, I had to be careful with what I said and how I said it to keep from making the situation any worse.
"Please," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder, wanting to give her time even though we didn’t have it. "Say whatever you want."
She looked up at me, a pained grimace on her face, but her body slowly relaxed as she spoke. "If he was going to turn us over, he would have done it at the gates. Not lie to his friend and drag us all the way here."
"I think he wants to help," Lex said. We both turned to look at him. "I can taste what you feel, remember? That wolf is consumed by regret and fear. And I’ll admit, regret is a hard one to figure out. I mean, when you’re happy, your heart and mind tend to both agree. But with regret, it’s usually because your mind told you to do something, and now your heart hates you for it.
"The risk is you never know how someone will use their regret," he continued. "Will they make the same mistakes again? Or did they actually learn something from it? But I think he means it. At least that’s how the air around him feels." Lex shrugged. "I really do hate regret. It’s so damn bitter."
"Well, I don’t give a shit how he feels, and I don’t think we should wait to find out," I said, carefully taking Tzidal’s small hand in mine. I held it loosely to give her the option of pulling away should she choose. "Let’s go."
We moved toward the end of the alleyway, but before turning the corner, I slammed right into Byriel. He held a black guard’s uniform in one hand and heavily embroidered green and gold robes in the other.
"Everything okay?" he asked me, shoving the uniform into my arms.
I glanced back at Tzidal, who was looking at her feet, her hand still in mine. "Yes," I said, letting her go and looking over the black garments.
"I thought it would be safer to have you two dress as valets rather than companions," he said to Tzidal and Lex as he handed them the robes. "Just bow your head at everyone and don’t make any eye contact."
"I’m good," Lex said, waving the clothes away. "I’ll just project once I see what it looks like on our little wolf here." He gently bumped his shoulder against Tzidal’s, making her smile. "I don’t like the feel of real clothes."
"Are those not real?" Byriel asked, looking over Lex’s long and intricate robes.
"No," he laughed. "They’re a figment of your imagination. Just like me."
"You are a fascinating creature, Siren," Byriel nodded, looking him up and down as his clothes melted away, replaced by the vibrant ones Tzidal currently wore.
I pulled on the stiff leather pants and loose black shirt as Tzidal secured her dagger in the belt loop under her garment. I nodded to Byriel once we were ready.
Whether I liked it or not, Tzidal trusted Byriel, and I trusted her. Or maybe I just wanted to make the Omega happy, and being agreeable was the next best thing right now. But if I had to die to fix what I had done, I’d gladly do so.
The Castle Tunnels
Tzidal
The senseof unease within me grew the closer we got to the castle. Joon might be right about Byriel, but I needed to trust my gut, and it was too late to turn back now. Byriel would help us find Hida quickly, otherwise, it could take us days to figure out where he was, assuming he hadn't left the city already. But if he was in the castle, there was no way we'd be able to sneak in undetected. There were just too many things that could go wrong. We simply needed Byriel.
This was easier and safer. I hoped.
Byriel motioned for us to follow him into a tunnel off the coast, leading us into the castle's belly. The black entryway in the rock was difficult to see at night and I wondered why it wasn’t guarded.
“Pay attention," Byriel said. "This is the way you'll go to get back out."
I glanced at Joon. His eyes moved over every passageway as we moved deeper into the dark tunnels beneath the city. The paved ground became more narrow as a waterway came into view, flowing quickly next to us. A distant crack and loud splash made Lex startle, and he flung his arms around me, making me jump as well.
"You're the most terrifying thing down here," I said, feeling his arms shake slightly. "Why are you scared?"
"I hate the water," he squeaked, startling again when the rustling of something in the dark echoed through the tunnel. "What was that?"
"Calm down," Joon hissed.
"There may be a few guards down here," Byriel warned. "It would be best to keep it down."
