Kade nodded. “Ilithya was very wise.”
“I disagreed,” Sev said, smiling slightly. “I said it made us into fools.”
Kade chuckled, a warm sound that filled the space between them. “You aren’t wrong.”
Sev’s smile slipped. “We need her. I’m no Trix. I’m no Shadowheart.”
“That’s okay,” Kade said kindly, and Sev shook his head.
“No, it’s not. We lost a spymaster and got stuck with me instead. I have to be better—I have to do what she would have done. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise what? You don’t deserve to be here—to be alive? You don’t mean that.”
Sev shrugged, avoiding Kade’s eye. “What happened to you?” he asked, wanting to change the subject and curious to know how Kade had survived this mess as well.
Kade’s eyes narrowed, and Sev suspected he noticed the deflection but allowed it. “I lost those two soldiers that chased me,” Kade began. “I got as much of a head start as I could, then climbed one of the trees and hid.” Sev thought about the time Trix had convinced him to climb a tree, and his lips twitched into a sad smile. “But when the sun rose, the soldiers started sweeping the forest—I could hear them—and I knew I had to make a run for it. They caught me near the river and rounded me up with the others. They chained us together—I didn’t know any of them, though. The others must have escaped or…” He trailed off. Escaped or been killed. “Then they left us there, in the caves. I thought…” Kade swallowed, his eyes dark. “I thought that we might die there, chained together. Then, when I heard sounds the next day, I hoped the Riders might find us.” He laughed bitterly. “But it was a group of soldiers who’d fled the battle when it was clear they would lose. They fetched us and whatever supplies they could carry and headed back down the mountain.”
Sev had since learned that while there had been only a few dozen survivors combined from the main attacking force, there had been a third regiment made up of bandits and mercenaries that had been charged with the diversionary tactics at the Pyraean villages. From what Sev had heard, they had fled into the wilds of Pyra or through the Foothills into Arboria North and had yet to return.
“I can’t believe Ilithya’s gone,” Kade said sadly, staring unseeing at the low table between them.
Sev hesitated. “There was something she said, right—right before,” he said, struggling to find the words. “She said that Avalkyra Ashfire lived.”
Kade didn’t seem shocked or surprised. He just sighed heavily, expelling a breath through his nostrils. “There was a time when I believed her—when her promises of the dead queen’s resurgence gave me hope. But now? If she truly does live and she’s left us all to this fate… then I’m not sure she’s a queen I’d want to bow to.”
Sev hadn’t thought about it like that. If she was indeed alive, where was she now? Unless the Riders were hiding her? But Sev had told the commander Ilithya’s words…. He had seemed genuinely startled, and even a little bit disturbed. Sev doubted she was with them. If Avalkyra Ashfire was alive, she must be somewhere else. Meanwhile, the last breath of the Phoenix Riders continued to fight her war. Kade was right…. That wasn’t a leader worth following.
“So, Rolan has you assigned to the estate?” Sev asked, unable to keep the hopeful note from his voice.
“In my old post,” he said, a soft smile lighting his face. “His dogs love me.”
“Of course they do,” Sev said with a smirk. The weight that had been pressing on him since his arrival eased somewhat. He wasn’t alone in this; he had Kade.
And this time they were on the same side from the beginning.
“What’re you—” Kade began, then froze, tilting his head slightly to listen. He stared at the window, where a second later, a pigeon landed on the ledge, a scroll tied to its foot.
“It must be from the commander,” Sev said, getting to his feet. He took the scroll from the bird’s leg, and it began to stroll along the sill, pecking hungrily. “Sorry, little one. I haven’t—”
But then Kade was there, drawing a biscuit from his pocket. He cracked off a corner and left the pieces for the pigeon, who cooed happily.
“What’s it say, then?” he prodded.
“Oh, right,” Sev muttered, withdrawing his attention from Kade and returning to the sitting room, where the lantern light was brightest. Reclaiming his seat, he unfurled the letter onto the short wooden table at its center, while Kade stood above him. “It’s written in code. One of Trix’s old ciphers.”
Kade’s eyes roved the page. “So you need…”
“The key,” Sev said, getting onto his knees and lifting the corner of the rug to reveal his hidden compartment. Kade looked impressed, watching with interest as Sev opened the lockbox and revealed the supplies within, including a copy of an ancient Pyraean Epic poem. The commander said it was in use during Avalkyra Ashfire’s rebellion, and it was a code Ilithya would have been familiar with. Though utilizing an existing cipher was somewhat of a risk in case others in the empire had already cracked it, he thought it would be valuable to Sev in case he found any of her old contacts or materials. Besides, copies of The Pyraean Epics were extremely rare ever since the council’s purge of phoenix-related art and artifacts.
Together they bent over the letter, transcribing it onto a fresh sheet of paper. Kade helped, pointing to words when Sev had trouble finding them. Finally they leaned back, the translated message sitting on the table next to the coded original.
Sev frowned. “He’s sent me new orders,” he said, before clearing his throat and reading aloud. He wasn’t the best reader, though his mother had taught him when he was young. He hadn’t had much use for reading on the streets of Aura Nova, and it wasn’t until he became a soldier that his ability to read had become an asset again. Many soldiers couldn’t, and merely learned how to recognize their names on duty rosters or to sign out weapons and supplies. Sev’s ability to read had afforded him some measure of control—and his ability to gather information had been the thing that drew Trix’s notice in the first place.
“ ‘In light of the Grand Council meeting,’ ” he began self-consciously, aware of Kade watching him, “ ‘forget your original mission and focus instead on learning more about the governor’s next moves.’ ”
“The Grand Council…?” Kade asked. “What’s that?”
“It’s a meeting of the full Council of Governors—all fifty members,” Sev answered. “The commander sent me here to find evidence against Rolan; his attack on the Phoenix Riders wasn’t sanctioned by the council. But now that Rolan’s called the Grand Council, he’s obviously not intending to hide the fact that he attacked, but instead convince them all that the attack was necessary—that the Phoenix Riders are a danger to the empire. That they must be destroyed. Only, he wants the council to help him do it.”
“He wants war,” Kade said, voice hushed.
Sev nodded distractedly. He’d thought it was going to be hard enough finding evidence for what Rolan had already done, but learning what he had yet to do… How would Sev manage that?