Page 165 of Duskbound

"Yes—her. The corridors of the castle were filled with Kalfar in mourning clothes. And Vilda—she was walking out of a room… looking quite shaken, or angry, maybe even sad. It was difficult to tell."

Aether nodded, digesting the information.

"As soon as she left and blended into the crowd, I looked into the chamber to see the King laying on the floor. He wasn't moving."

Aether's eyes were on me now, his brow furrowed. "The King did die on the day of Lord Skalvindr's funeral," he said, "perhaps she was the one to discover him."

"Perhaps," I echoed just as towers broke through the clouds in the distance. We dropped down, finding a place to land the Vördr in a thick brush of trees.

I scanned the perimeter as we moved through the dense growth. We'd flown for most of the day, only landing every few hours when the Vördr needed a break.

The sun was setting in the distance, in the West just beyond Stormshire. It had been too far to make out clearly, but it was Stormshire alright. Another hour of traversing the woods, after leaving the Vördr tucked into the forest at the base of the mountain, and we'd be there.

My fingers trembled slightly as I pulled out the scroll I'd stolen from Laryk's office, spreading it across a fallen log. I needed to find his quarters first, then figure out where team V would be stationed after that. The thought of seeing him again had my stomach in knots, especially after last night.

I glanced over at Aether, who was adjusting the saddle on Nihr. His hair fell into his face as he worked, and suddenly memories from the inn came rushing back—how that same hair had felt twisted in my fingers, how his golden eyes had?—

Focus.

I forced my attention back to the layout. Each General had their own wing of the fortress, though they weren't labeled by name. My eyes found the smallest section, and I knew it must behis. Laryk's unit was deadly, not for the sheer size of it, but for the powerful focuses it housed. There were around fifty soldiers in faction venom, if memory served me, hundreds less than the others—it had to be his wing.

The fortress itself was a nightmare—corridors that doubled back on themselves, hidden passages between wings, multiple escape routes from every major chamber. The outer walls alone were twice as thick as any I'd seen before.

"This isn't going to be like breaking into the Compound," I sighed, turning back to Aether. "We're basically walking into the most heavily defended, most lethal part of Sídhe. Laryk's unit is..." I paused, swallowing hard. "Well, let's just say we cannot afford to be seen. Especially you."

Aether moved away from Nihr, coming to stand beside me. His presence felt different now, intimate in a way that made my face flush, and I had to force myself to focus on the map between us.

"Tell me about his unit," he said, his voice was that of a soldier again.

"If we ran into the wrong people, it could be catastrophic." I traced the path to Laryk's wing. "Mostly elemental abilities—fire, water, air, lightning even." I hesitated, remembering the ones I'd heard about when I joined the guard. "One has blood that can melt straight through flesh."

"And Laryk?"

Something in his tone made me look up. His expression was unreadable, but he seemed to have lost that edge of concern from the day before.

"He can anticipate people's movements even before they know their next step, whether it's in battle or negotiation." I turned back to the map, unable to hold his gaze. "He's never lost a fight."

"Until now." The words were quiet, almost to himself.

"Aether. We are not here to fight Laryk. We're not here to fight anyone."

I rolled my eyes, focusing instead on the task ahead. "The problem isn't just getting in. It's navigating the fortress without alerting them. One wrong move and?—"

"Then we don't move wrong." His hand found the small of my back, the touch sending warmth through me despite the gravity of our situation.

"Soleil said that the Generals would be in a conference for most of the evening. And since there have been no attacks in months, they might have dropped their guard. We'll have to take advantage of that. They're not going to be expecting any infiltration. If anything, those on patrols will be most heavily stationed around the arcanite towers."

"And what's the likelihood they've moved things around since this map was drawn?" Aether asked, his fingers tracing the corridors.

"I don't know." The confirmation tasted bitter. "But the basic structure has to stay the same. The middle of war isn't exactly the time for renovations." I pointed to several marked passages. "These have the greatest chance of being empty. They're on the Northwestern side, furthest from the training yards and the arcanite."

A rustling in the trees had us both tensing, but it was just a bird taking flight. Still, the interruption served as a reminder of how exposed we were, even in the deepening twilight.

"We should move closer," Aether said, already rolling up the map. "Get a better view of the guard rotations before dark."

I nodded, but something was nagging at me. "There's another thing we need to consider." I caught his arm before he could turn away. "If we do run into anyone... you can't kill them."

His golden eyes narrowed slightly. "Fia?—"

---