Page 139 of The Trials of Ophelia

Stepping forward, Malakai scanned the door, lifting a hand to inspect the lock. “It’s funny,” he said. “You have stronger locks down here than they ever did on my cage. The bars on mine weren’t even this sturdy.”

We were all silent for a moment. He never spoke about his imprisonment. We hadn’t pushed him to, and though it might seem like an inconsequential fact to offer now, it wasn’t.

Tolek clapped a hand to Malakai’s shoulder. “They knew your sword work had gotten sloppy.”

“I can put you on your ass.” Malakai elbowed Tolek in the ribs, smiling, and the atmosphere in the room lifted as if all six of us exhaled at once.

“With the way he’s been training,” Cyph said, “I think he might be able to, Tol.”

Tol’s jaw dropped. “No way?—”

“Boys!” Santorina said as Jezebel and I opened our mouths to join. “We have something important to do.”

I turned to Ricordan and Zaina who had been silently observing the whole exchange, amused smirks on their faces. “Sorry. Where did you find the prisoner?”

“He was near one of the tunnel entrances to the Labyrinth, at the convergence of the Mindshaper, Bodymelder, and Mystique borders.”

“That’s not far from where we entered,” Tolek said.

“Close enough that he could be tied to the one Mila killed,” Malakai continued, crossing his arms. Tension wormed between us all, a bubble expanding in my chest. My fingers twitched at my sides with the need to grab my weapons. To search the Labyrinth. To do something to alleviate the threat.

“Was he alone?” Cyph asked.

“Yes,” Zaina said, her lips twisting to the side. “Which is more worrisome than if he wasn’t.”

“Why?” Jez crossed her arms.

“You think he may have been bait,” I answered for the Mindshapers, forcing my nerves to focus on the challenge before me.

Zaina nodded. “We’ve reinforced patrols on nearby entrances, but there aren’t enough of us to man all of them.”

Lack of warriors. It was a problem we were facing on all sides of the war. I couldn’t promise them assistance—didn’t know if Lyria had the soldiers to spare to guard the Labyrinth.

“Once we end this war it won’t matter,” I swore. “Let’s get one step closer.” I threw my hair behind my shoulders and stepped forward.

“Wait!” Vale’s voice drifted down the tunnel. She skidded to a stop before us, her Mindshaper boots and thick layers looking out of place on her usually chiffon-clad frame. “I think I should come with you.”

There was more color in her cheeks than there had been in days, a determined brightness to her eyes.

“Why?” Cypherion asked, eyes narrowed.

She lifted her chin. “Because real life experience with this magic might make my readings stronger.”

“Or give you information?—”

Tolek hit Cyph in the back of the head to stop that sentence from forming, but not before hurt bloomed in Vale’s eyes. Regret darkened Cyph’s expression, but he said nothing.

The Starsearcher turned to me. “I promise, Ophelia. I won’t sabotage your effort.”

I looked between Cypherion and Vale. Despite his words, he cast a heavy glance at her, and it didn’t feel angry. It felt like a stare that wanted to speak a thousand words—with a touch of hatred for that wanting.

Vale’s readings had been endangering her lately—perhaps that was where Cyph’s uncertainty was rooted—but I trusted her with whatever information we heard in there. And she deserved to make her own decisions regarding her sessions.

“How many can we have?” I asked Zaina and Ric.

“Four would be best.” Zaina placed a hand to her chest. “Five counting me. The cell isn’t large.”

I pursed my lips, looking back to my friends.

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