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“No good ever came from that king’s plans,” Martin said, mirroring my thoughts. He shrugged. “Maybe it has something to do with a new weapon?”
“Maybe, but whatever it is,” Lyra said, “Corvo is likely involved too.”
Despite how hard Princess Delphinia had tried to convince me the queen had changed her tyrannical ways ten years ago, and despite her promise to leave us alone, the queen had done what, in my heart, I had known she would do—exterminate my entire village.
I’d been the idealistic idiot who thought that after all that transpired between Del and me, of all the lies we’d uncovered and the truces that were made, we’d secured at least a temporary safety for my people. But I’d been deathly wrong, and my village—my sister—had paid the price.
Did Del know what had happened and how bad things were? Was she still fighting for good? A part of me had to believe she was still the rebel princess I remembered. But then, I wasn’t as young and idealistic as I once was, so I doubted she was either. By marrying into King Eduart’s family, Del had aligned herself with the Sierra Kingdom, combining the reach of both their realms.
So, no, I wasn’t sure what to think about Princess Delphinia. Not anymore.
I looked at Martin. “Stay here and stay sharp. If anything changes, alert Callon immediately.”
Martin nodded, he and Lyra looking at me for additional orders.
“I’m sending Tick out to sniff around, see what she can discover. We need to learn all we can before they head out again. If they’ve come once, they’ll likely come again, and next time, they won’t be collecting samples.” I nodded to Lyra. “You, come with me.”
I squinted out at the workers below, already sheening with sweat. The longer I thought about it, the more my resentment and anger grabbed hold of me. I was tired of anticipating the enemy, of running from the Corvo queen—from all the kingdoms that ruled with greed and fear.
But I knew living this life was an endless battle for freedom, for the right to live, and I would fight that battle until my dying breath. It was what my ancestors—my direct ancestors Dani and Jason—had to do centuries ago, alongside Jake, Zoe, Becca, and so many others after the virus spread. Together they learned to survive what was left of the world warped by Ability-amped chaos and to protect those they loved. And it was Becca, Jake’s sister and the Oracle who prophesied it would come to this, who helped give them a fighting chance.
Meeting Lyra’s expectant gaze, I knew what had to be done. Fighting to survive was in my blood and what Jake had been training me for, even if it felt like I’d been treading water for the last twenty-nine years.
“What’s the plan then, boss?” Lyra asked.
I pushed off the boulder. “Whether it’s on behalf of Corvo or King Eduart is acting alone, we haveto know what they are searching for. If that means following them back to Mantis, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
2
Del
“In addition to his usual debauchery, Alastor has been meeting with an inordinate number of dignitaries in Mantis,” Garath said, his voice a gentle rumble from across the breakfast table. “From the Seven Kingdoms, and from elsewhere.”
I continued to gaze out the sitting-room window, staring at the Tower of Solitude as I trailed a fingertip back and forth over the two-inch-long pink scar on the back of my wrist. The forbidding stone tower stood all alone on that tiny island near the eastern edge of the moat, and a lone castle guard stationed at the door at the tower’s base was just visible through the thinning morning fog.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t recall who was imprisoned in the tower. Someone, obviously, or there wouldn’t have been a guard stationed at the door. Butwho?
“My eyes in Mantis suggest Maylar may have been among the visitors,” Garath added.
My focus snapped to Garath. His amber eyes were glassy and slightly bloodshot, like he had been up late into the night. That, on top of his several days’ worth of stubble, made him appear positively roguish. A fleeting thought crossed my mind, prodding me to tease him about his usual nocturnal activities and his current lady-of-the-month, but I didn’t have the energy for it.
Garath wasn’t the only one who had been up most of the night, though my lost sleep stemmed from far less pleasant roots. Liam’s tenth birthday was approaching, when he would be tested and officially placed in his Ability Class. It should have been simple in his case, little more than ceremony, since both of his parents descended from pure Empath lines. But his strong thread of telepathy told a different hereditary story.
There was no question that I was Liam’s mother. His paternity, however, was another matter entirely. Which meant the kingdom would finally know the truth I had kept hidden all this time.
And Liam’s life would be in grave danger.
I shook my head, dispelling the troublesome thoughts. “Maylarmayhave been among the visitors?” I said, repeating Garath’s words back to him to confirm I had heard him right. I raised my eyebrows.
Garath nodded solemnly.
Dread coiled in my gut. Calling Maylar a snake would have been cruel—to snakes. He was snake excrement, always sniveling and scurrying around. Mother had dismissed him from his post as spymaster nearly a decade ago. I found out after the fact that she had intended to assassinate him since he knew too many of the kingdom’s secrets, but Mother’s attempts failed, and he escaped. We had heard whispers of him every few years since, but there was nothing concrete enough to track him down.
“But you’re not certain?” I clarified. I wondered if Mother had already heard, if she had already directed her people to follow the trail.
“No,” Garath said. “We’re not certain.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And these other dignitaries, the ones fromelsewhere,” I said. “Are you suggesting they came fromoutsidethe Seven Kingdoms?”
