Another reason to test Zhek for magic. “You didn’t say anything.”
He shrugged. “You’d been stabbed. My pain could wait.”
Typical. She snuggled in closer. “I missed you.”
“Being apart was torture.”
“Good,” she said.
He looked at her. “Good?”
“Yes. That ensures you won’t do it again.”
“I won’t.”
When she woke, Rendor was gone. Not that she was surprised, but it still caused a brief moment of panic despite his promise. She understood why he’d left before and, without his efforts to recruit the guards, she’d be dead right now and not just feeling as if she’d died.
Standing required extra effort. She wobbled as her legs adjusted to bearing weight. Good thing no one witnessed her ungainly extrication from the fur and sleeping cushion. When she was steady, she went looking for Rendor.
The servants and guards that she passed eyed her with curiosity and not animosity. Still, she braced for someone to call out in alarm. Each intersection she fully expected to be tackled and arrested. She kept her distance from everyone out of habit, but it soon became clear she’d no idea where Rendor might be in the vast complex.
Shyla asked a passing servant, who escorted her to a conference room. Rendor sat around a low stone table with Ximen, Mojag, and Gurice. A number of torques and deacon robes were piled on the table. A sense of urgency rumbled through the low intense tones of their discussion. Mojag spotted her first. He sprang to his feet and almost knocked her over with his strong, enthusiastic hug. The rest smiled at her with hugs in their gazes.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said. His voice sounded young and vulnerable. But then he pulled away and with clear annoyance asked, “Can you tell them that I know the city better than anyone else?”
“I’ll agree you know the city well,” she said. “But I won’t go so far as to say better than anyone.”
He made a disgusted noise and flopped back to his cushion.
“Strategy session?” she asked.
“Yes,” Ximen said.
Gurice gestured to the empty seat. “Sit down before you fall down. Mojag, go tell someone to fetch her something to eat and drink.”
“Hey. I’m a magic wielder now, and—”
“Are still the youngest and the fastest. Go now so you don’t miss anything.”
Shyla hid her smile as Mojag rushed from the room. Folding her legs under her, she sank gratefully into the square of softness. The short walk from Rendor’s office had drained most of her strength. He shot her a concerned look, but she gave him an I’m fine shake of her head. No doubt food and water would revive her. She hoped.
“How long was I asleep?” she asked. She had lost all track of time since her capture.
Rendor frowned. “About three hundred angles. Zhek ordered that no one disturb you.”
No wonder she was starving. “He’s here?”
“Everyone’s here,” Gurice said. “Good thing we have the entire level at our disposal to house everyone. We have recovering prisoners, Invisible Swords, and all the guards. Once they learned that nothing is going to change with the new regime, well besides no more torture, killings, and corruption, they were happy to work for us.”
“Not all are here,” Rendor corrected. “About four dozen are in the city on patrol. And those that relished carrying out the prince’s bloody orders have been arrested.”
Ah. “And how is the prince enjoying his new accommodations?”
“He’s not.”
She shared a smirk with Rendor. Then she considered Gurice’s report. “Did you release all the prisoners?”
“No. We freed the Invisible Swords and the vagrants, but we need to go through the prince’s records about the rest. We don’t want to free a dangerous criminal by mistake.”
Smart. “How many Invisible Swords survived?”
“Twenty-three!” Then she grudgingly admitted, “I guess Jayden did save lives.”
“Where are they?”
“In the empty rooms of the guards’ quarters,” Rendor said. “Timin’s been taking care of them.”
“Where are the guards’ quarters?” she asked.
“Their quarters are in the southwestern section of the prince’s level right above the prince’s special rooms.”
“What else did I miss?”
“Mojag just reported that the rumors about the priestess preparing for an attack are hot. His words not mine,” Ximen said. “We might not have as much time to get ready as we’d thought.”
“How soon?”
“Four, maybe five sun jumps at most.” Ximen picked up one of the torques and waved it in the air. “What we really need to know is how you countered this. Assuming that’s what happened. Timin was sketchy on the details. Did you wield magic?”
She explained what happened. “Once I realized the symbol on their torques didn’t match our new symbol, it no longer blocked my magic.”
“All you need is faith that it’ll work?” Gurice asked. “That seems, no offense, too easy.”
“At first, it did seem too easy. But think about it. When we swore our loyalty to the Invisible Sword, we sketched the symbol onto our bodies with magic. They’re connected. And even though the torques no longer worked when we swore with the new symbol, we thought they did and didn’t even try to use our magic. It was only when I was utterly desperate that I realized this.” She shuddered at the memory. Glancing at Rendor, she asked, “Did you know what was going on in the throne room when you arrived or was that an amazing coincidence?”
“A bit of both,” he said. “I had intel that the prince was going to try to wake The Eyes during that sun jump, but I didn’t know the exact time. I had to guess based on the activity around the throne room.”
Mojag returned with a servant in tow. The woman placed a tray down in front of her. Shyla stared at the meal in wonder until the spicy ginger aroma of roasted gamelu meat caused her stomach to roar. It was the first time she’d had real food in sun jumps. A glass of that pure clear water accompanied the feast. She’d groan in pleasure, but her mouth was full.
Ximen tapped his finger on the torque. “The good news is we can all bypass the protection.”
“We can?” Mojag asked.
Gurice updated her brother on what he’d missed. “As long as the symbol remains the same. If they find out the new symbol, we’re screwed.”
“Good thing we uncovered Jayden’s treachery before this discovery,” Ximen said.
A heavy silence filled the room. Shyla glanced at Mojag. The boy wrapped his arms around his chest. Hanif’s words about a person’s ability to change repeated in her mind. Perhaps it was worth the effort to revisit Jayden’s soul. And that reminded her.
“How long has it been since he…” She gestured with her fork, unable to say it.
“Sixteen sun jumps since we locked him up,” Ximen said.
He had plenty of supplies left. That also meant she’d been taken prisoner fourteen sun jumps ago.
“We do need to worry about the deacons who can wield magic.” Gurice picked up one of the platinum necklaces. “These can protect our people and some of the guards, but not all. Do we have any intel on how many deacons have power?”