Page 33 of Duskbound

"Sir—" Vexa began, but Urkin's hand shot up, cutting her off.

"Do you know what I see?" He stopped directly in front of me, close enough that I could see the anger burning in his eyes. "I see a spy. A potential threat. Someone who could very well be playingall of you for fools while her realm continues to drain ours dry." His lip curled.

"With all due respect, sir," Aether's voice cut through the tension, deadly calm. "If she were a spy, she's the worst one I've ever seen."

Urkin's attention snapped to where Aether stood in the shadows. "And you've all grown quite attached, haven't you?" His words dripped with contempt. "Taking her to the stables, showing her the city. Did you forget what she is? Where she comes from?" He turned back to me, eyes boring into mine. "Tell me, girl, how many of my soldiers have you killed?"

The question knocked the air from my lungs.

"I was fighting for what I believed in," I managed, my voice steadier than I felt. "Just like your soldiers."

"And now?" His eyes narrowed to slits. "What do you believe in now?"

"I believe there's more to this war than I was told." The words felt inadequate, but they were true. "I've seen what's happening to your realm. But I also believe there might be a way to stop it without more bloodshed."

Urkin's laugh was like steel scraping bone. "Naive. Completely naive." He turned to Aether, disgust evident in every line of his face. "This is what you've brought me? A girl with idealistic dreams of peace?"

"I've brought you a Duskbound," Aether said, stepping forward. His voice carried an edge I'd never heard before, and shadows seemed to pulse around him. "The first one born in over a century outside of the royal line."

"So you keep saying." Urkin moved to the table, his hands bracing against its surface hard enough to make the metal markers rattle. "You know how delicate things are right now. I don't have time for this. The Council has been swayed?—"

"Who on the Council would agree to his terms?" Effieinterrupted, genuine fear breaking through her carefully maintained facade. "I know my parents wouldn't."

"It's divided," Urkin said, shooting her a warning look that made her step back. "As things worsen, people become more... open to extreme solutions."

"The Queen would never allow it," Rethlyn said quietly. "Not if she was in her right mind."

Something passed between them then, a current of unspoken meaning that made the air feel thick enough to choke on. I looked between their faces, trying to piece together what I was missing.

"We have an alternative," Aether stepped closer, his golden eyes fixed on Urkin. "I can sense it in her. The shadows respond to her in a way I've never seen before."

"And you want to take her to the void? Now?" Urkin's voice dripped with skepticism. "With everything else happening?"

"Now is exactly when we need to do this."

"You're asking me to trust the word of a foreign spy?—"

"I'm asking you to trust mine." Aether's words cut through the air like steel, carrying enough weight to make even Urkin pause. The two men stared at each other, some silent battle of wills playing out between them.

Finally, Urkin straightened, his face settling into something cold and calculating. "Fine. You want to prove she's a Duskbound? Then let her prove herself to the realm as well." He turned back to me, and the look in his eyes made my blood run cold. "You'll enter the Void during the Strykka."

"The trials?" Vexa's eyebrows shot up, genuine shock breaking through her composure. "But sir?—"

"If she survives all three trials." Urkin's lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Then perhaps I'll believe you." His eyes locked with mine, filled with challenge and something darker. "That is, if you're willing to risk everything for a realm you claim to suddenly care about."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Well that went better than expected,"Vexa drawled, her shoulders visibly relaxing as we walked.

"Did it?" My eyebrow peaked, genuine surprise coloring my tone.

"I mean, considering he didn't demand torture and execution, I'd say yes." She adjusted her leather vest with practiced nonchalance.

"I wasn't aware that was a possibility," I shot back, a tinge of relief pinching me, my hands unconsciously clutching at my sides.

"He's being cautious,” Aether muttered, “it's understandable."

As we walked the streets, I began noticing familiar architecture. The weathered stone buildings rose around us. I looked to see my tower in the distance, slicing holes in the misty clouds, its dark silhouette a looming reminder of my confinement. A shudder ran through me, dreading the thought of spending the rest of the day locked away in those cold walls.

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