Page 37 of When Sisters Collide
She stilled. The shift in his tone made something coil in her gut.
“There’s something you need to know before you leave.”
He drew in a breath and exhaled slowly, as if the weight of what he was about to say pressed down on him.
“I protected you from Tyrrhenus. I called in every favour, pulled rank, made promises I’ll probably regret.” He met her gaze, something sharp flickering in his eyes. “But Tyrrhenus still wrote to the Emperor.”
A cold knot of dread settled in her stomach.
“And your loyalty has been called into question.”
She stiffened. “My loyalty? I’m loyal to you, to the Sixth?—”
He cut her off with a shake of his head. “I know. But you still attacked a legate.” He paused, the silence between them thickening. “Emperor Caius has ordered you to go to Tiryns in Achaea,” he said at last. “The city is under siege, and the Emperor wantsyouto help the Twelfth Legion find a way inside.” His jaw worked, biting back something else. “I suppose he wants to see if you’ll help bring down the Megarian rebels hiding there—after they bested you last summer.”
Her chest tightened. Out of all the consequences she’d braced for, being sent away hadn’t crossed her mind. And Achaea was halfway across the Empire. It would take weeks to get there.
“When?” she asked.
“You leave first thing tomorrow morning.” Dorias retrieved a scroll from his tunic, his eyes never leaving her face. “I wish it could be different, but it was the only way to keep you safe. Romilda will take you to the furthest outpost on the Achaean border, and then Tiryns is a few more days’ ride.”
Using Romilda’s Gift would cut her travel time to mere days, but it was unusual. Legates didn’t leave the front lines lightly. “Are you really going to spare her just for me?”
A faint smile tugged at his lips. “She was supposed to whisk Tyrrhenus and his praefect back to Kisra, but your mission comes first.” Dorias smirked. “Tyrrhenus will be travelling the old-fashioned way.”
It made sense to use Romilda’s Gift for speed, but it all seemed so sudden.
The knot in her gut tightened. She took the scroll, glimpsing the Emperor’s broken seal before tucking it away. She’d ask Pinaria to read it to her later. “And you?”
A shadow crossed Dorias’ face. “I can’t go with you. I must see to the men here and make sure the command holds.”
Her heart sank, but she didn’t look away.
He reached for her, his calloused fingers brushing a lock of hair behind her ear with surprising tenderness. “But once you’re done in Tiryns,” he murmured, “we’ll meet again. In Kisra.”
The infamous Emperor Tarquinius would want to meet with her then, and though Katell had no inclination to do so, she would try—for Dorias.
“Am I to go alone?” she asked.
“Romilda’s Gift allows her to send three people at most through her shadows over such great distances.”
“I want Arnza and Pinaria with me,” she said without hesitation.
Dorias’ brow furrowed. “Tia’s Gift could be more useful for infiltrating the city?—”
“No.” Her tone brooked no argument. “Arnza and Pinaria. We work best together.”
His jaw worked for a moment before he dipped his head in acceptance. “As you wish. They’ll leave with you tomorrow.”
Some of the tension in her chest eased. Having them beside her made the looming mission seem more manageable.
“The Twelfth Legion is expecting you,” Dorias went on, his voice shifting into the clipped cadence of command. “I trust you’ll find a way into Tiryns. Once the city is breached, the legion will take over, and you’ll continue on to Kisra. We’ll get answers about your Gifts, about all of it.”
He meant to reassure her, but the words only reminded her of the ominous black smoke she’d summoned—the hissing voices, the ground trembling beneath her feet. A chill licked up her spine, her skin crawling with the memory.
She’d heard those voices before. Back in the forest in the Freefolk Lands, urging her to kill. And again in the arena. But they’d never asked to be set free before.
“That black smoke… Tyrrhenus seemed to recognise it.”
