“Do not look at me like that!” he growled. “I am not mad. She is here. Cyrene is here. And we will find her!”
Elea nodded mutely. “I believe you. But…why would she be here?”
“That is what we will find out if it takes every guard in this castle to discover her hideout,” he decreed and then brushed past her down the hallway.
13
The Favor
Cyrene stared at Kael across the divide.
She had felt an awareness of him almost as soon as she returned from the Domina court. She’d hoped it was just a coincidence, but when she’d heard the knocking on the wall, she’d rushed down the hallway to find him standing there. She could see him clear as day. Dressed in nothing but trousers and a night shirt. His dark hair tousled. Those perfect Dremylon blue-gray eyes staring straight through her.
Except that he couldn’t see her.
Or at least, she hoped that he couldn’t see her.
The more he fumbled around, the more certain she was that Serafina’s spell still held.
Now, Kael stormed off with the insistence that he would find her. That he’d tear the castle apart to get to her. She knew that he couldn’t reach her here, but she had no food or water. She wouldn’t last very long, cooped up.
Then she felt Elea’s eyes on her. She hadn’t left with Kael. She was still staring at the wall. It hurt Cyrene’s heart to see her younger sister. That she had been there to try to calm Kael down, even as he raved like a madman. And the pain that had flashed on her face when Kael reacted so poorly to her.
It was enough to prove that, against all odds, Elea still felt something for Kael. She had been in love with him a year ago when Cyrene was made Consort just in time for Elea’s Presenting ceremony. Cyrene had hoped since Elea was spying on him for the Network that it meant she was no longer under his spell. No such luck.
When she finally turned away, Cyrene sighed in frustration. What was she going to do?
As far as she knew, there were no other entrances to the chamber. Or at least, none that had survived the last two thousand years. This chamber butted up against the base of the mountain. Serafina would have told her how to access it if there were another way.
She had three options before her. She could call Sarielle, which sounded catastrophic. She could use the portal coin that Vera had given her. But that meant she would end up in Tenchala, leagues and leagues away from Sarielle. Or…she could try to flee from here.
The portal seemed the safest option. But it also meant that she had to return to the Network and Gwynora and the army long before she was ready to see them.
She would have to wait until nightfall again in hopes that Kael wouldn’t notice her slipping out. Or…face him if he did notice. She was a member of the Society, a dragon rider, and now, the Domina. If today was the day that she faced Kael Dremylon, then so be it.
And so, she prepared the best she could and waited for nightfall.
Hours later, a lone figure appeared at the entrance to the chamber once more. Patrols had been running more frequently through this hallway after Kael made his huge spectacle there that morning. Cyrene had counted the patrols and measured the times in between when they were there. She hoped that they would be less frequent at night, but she wasn’t sure.
And she definitely hadn’t been anticipating another visit from Elea.
Elea looked furtively down the hallway. She had come at precisely the end of the last patrol, giving her the longest amount of time to stand exactly where she was without being discovered. As if she, too, had been measuring the patrol schedule.
“Well,” Elea said, clearly uncomfortable with talking to a wall, “are you there, Cyrene? Kael isn’t actually crazy. Though everyone is saying that he is growing more and more insane as the days pass. But where you are concerned, he is always most certain. So…is it you? Have you returned to Byern?”
Cyrene stared at her sister. Took in her appearance. The flawless features that so mirrored her own. Though Elea was taller. The dark brown tresses and blue eyes. The clear, pale complexion. But there was also weight loss, circles under her eyes that she tried to hide with cosmetics, and a general unease in her typical featherlight demeanor. As if she had seen too much for someone so young. She was no longer the innocent and naive girl that Cyrene had left behind.
And she debated on showing herself to Elea. Was it a trap?
It didn’t seem like one. That wasn’t Kael’s style. He was much more direct. As he had been when he stood in front of the entrance for an hour, demanding for the door to reveal itself even though he could not see its existence.
She bit her lip and then trusted her gut as she had so many times before.
She stepped through the spelled entrance and stood before her stunned sister.
“Creator!” Elea gasped.
“Hello, Elea.”
“Cyrene! You can walk through walls now?”
Cyrene couldn’t help it. She laughed. “No. It’s complicated.”
“So, Kael was right. You’ve somehow been here the whole time.”
“He was. Though I suspect we do not have much time.”
Elea nodded. “We don’t. How are you going to get out now that the whole castle is looking for you?”
“Probably something rash,” she told her.
“As if you know how to do anything else,” Elea said with a quick smile. Then it faded. “I can help you get out. It will take some…persuasion on my part with Kael.”
“What does that mean?” Cyrene asked warily.
“Leave that to me. I have a tonic that I can slip into his drink at night. He won’t even taste it.”
“You speak of poisoning your king?”
Elea blanched. “Do you want my help or not?”
“I do. However, I don’t want you to do anything that could put you in danger.”
“I will not be in danger.” Elea shrugged. “He does not suspect me.”
“He can enter your mind. He could find out what you did.”
Elea shook her head. “He cannot see that from me. He only sees what I want him to.”
Cyrene considered that statement. Could Elea shield herself from Kael? Someone without magic mastering that was incredible. She’d have to think on it later.
“Why exactly are you helping me?”
“You’re my sister,” Elea said instantly. “I don’t know why you’re back, but Rhea explained as much about you as she was able when we were working together. I wish you had told me what you were dealing with.”
“Me too,” Cyrene admitted. “And more so, I wish I had gotten you out the first time.”
“I am where I am supposed to be,” Elea said confidently.
Cyrene could see the change that had overcome her sister so clearly in that moment. Before, she might have been petty about Kael coming to search for Cyrene, but now, she felt, either way, that this was her place to be. She could see that Elea had grown over the last year, just as Cyrene had.
“Thank you,” Cyrene said, pulling her sister in for a hug.
“I’ll come to collect you as soon as he is asleep,” she whispered. “Be ready.”