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“We can put the word out and discover if anyone will be heading that way,” Fiala offers. “Meantime, Lady Isavelle should question this person from Joryan. It sounds as if it’s a promising lead.”
My chest feels tight, and I try to smile at them, but I think I must look like I’m in pain.
“Lady Isavelle?” Dusan asks with a frown.
“You’re both on my side? Just like that?”
“Whose side would we be on?” Fiala asks, a baffled expression on her face.
Dusan slings a friendly arm around my shoulders. “Good news, Lady Isavelle. We’re on your side. In fact, every Maledinni is on your side. But especially the two of us.”
“Ma’lendoesn’t want your stink all over his mate,” Fiala scolds, knocking his arm away again.
I find myself laughing as we head through the gates and into the city. With the sun shining and two companions walking by my side, there’s hope in my heart. I ask my bodyguards where the tanner’s district is, and we head for the western part of Lenhale.
“Tell me about this barrier you mentioned,” I ask as we walk.
Fiala’s serious expression grows even more serious. “It’s a magical barrier that has appeared near the southern border, and nothing from our side can pass through it. All the enemy soldiers have fled that way, and we fear they are regrouping for a fresh attack on Maledin.”
“We don’t even know who their leader is. I don’t know if you heard, Lady Isavelle, but their former king is dead.”
“Oh, I heard,” I say, and tell them about my up-close experience with the dead king.
Dusan brandishes his weapon in both hands as if he’s prepared to fight the memory of my brush with death. “How dare they attempt to sacrifice a Maledinni to their god. It’s obscene, and they all deserve to die for such an offense.”
“Zabriel and the other dragonriders killed most of them,” I tell him, and he and Fiala both nod in approval.
“They must be serving someone,” Fiala muses. “A powerful wizard, if that magical barrier is anything to go by.”
“The Brethren call him the Shadow King,” I tell them.
They both stare at me in surprise. “The who?”
“While you were all asleep beneath the mountain, I was forced to be in service to the Brethren. I heard rumors that the true ruler of Maledin wasn’t our king, but someone powerful who lived in the southern mountains. I think he’s called the Shadow King because he pulled on King Alaster’s strings like a puppet master. The High Priest said he was taking me to him.”
“Well, whatever he’s called, he’s a pain in our asses,” Dusan grumbles. “We’ll know more when we’ve breached the barrier and discovered what’s on the other side.”
He holds out his arm and directs me around a wagon that’s stopped in the street, and he and Fiala chat about how the city has changed in five hundred years. Apparently, it’s a lot muddier and dirtier, and many of the houses are in shambles compared to their time. It’s pleasant to listen to them talk.
“You both seem quite normal for Maledinni. I’ve mostly been around my people, and you both feel like you’re my people.”
Dusan brightens. “Thank you for saying so, Lady Isavelle. It’s because we’re Betas. Most of the Maledinni you will meet are Betas.”
“What’s a Beta?”
“We’re the sane ones,” Dusan says, and from his grin, I know he’s not being totally serious. “We’re the Maledinni who get things done and don’t create a fuss over nothing.”
Fiala clears her throat meaningfully, and Dusan stops talking.
“Most people? Even Captain Ashton and Sir Godric? They seem more like Zabriel to me,” I say.
Dusan nods. “They’re Betas, though pretty high up on the chain, as close as a Beta can get to being an Alpha.”
“Are there more Alphas around here? Have I met any?” I glance around, wondering if I can spot one right this moment.
“You’ll know an Alpha when you meet them,” Fiala says with a sour twist to her mouth, which tells me all I need to know about what she thinks of Alphas.
As we cross a square, a figure comes hurrying toward us. She’s holding on to her skirts and her eyes are fixed on me, and my heart lightens when I realize it’s Odanna.
