“Of course,” Tavros said quickly.
“Did you say farewell to Raff already?” Asking the question revealed that she didn’t know as much as she wished.
They might know I’m fishing.
In all honesty, Thalia wasn’t even sure where Raff had gone. This was the second day that she’d woken without him and it was starting to set her teeth on edge, not least because she was normally a light sleeper. Yet somehow, that rogue wolf could vanish without rousing her. If he had any consideration, he’d leave a note informing her of his plans for the day. Instead, she was sleuthing among his own people, hoping not to make a fool of herself.
“Yes, we saw him on his way out,” Bibi said.
That told her nothing. Janek and Skylett stood nearby; they’d decided to remain with Raff for the remainder of his time at Daruvar. With any luck, she’d have a better grip on Eldritch leadership and they’d have put Ruark Gilbraith down like a rabid pig by the time she was supposed to go spend time at pack headquarters.
“Take care on the way home.” Thalia rose and bowed to each wolf emissary in turn.
Tavros scrambled to return the gesture while the seer remained impassive. Finally, Bibi dipped her head in acknowledgment. “We’ll see you soon.”
Once those two wolves left, she relaxed a little. Something about the seer made her feel like she’d turned up for a formal meeting in her underwear. Thalia rubbed her hands up her arms, conscious of a chill that permeated down to her bones, cold that couldn’t be countered with scarves or blankets.
“She doesn’t like you,” Skylett noted.
“I hadn’t noticed,” she lied.
You don’t, either.
Janek was a true diplomat; he changed the subject. “Raff should be back from setting the mines and programming the drones soon.”
When the elder wolf threw her a wink, that made his intentions clear. Totally clueing me in. Thalia pretended not to notice. Now she remembered Raff saying he intended to get on that first thing, and relief swelled through her on a warm tide, like stories she’d heard of tropical seas in human lands.
“Are the mines safe for wildlife?” she asked.
Skylett nodded. “They have different settings. Raff will use the shock feature, so if an animal gets too close, it’ll be stunned, not killed. When a mine goes off, a drone is dispatched. Measures will differ depending on what’s been caught in our traps.”
“No action for a hart or a hill cat,” Thalia guessed. “But if you find an Eldritch spy—”
“The drone will deploy a tranq dart, so we can take the intruder alive,” Janek said.
That worked. Better for intel if they could interrogate those creeping around Daruvar’s borders. Now she needed to identify the traitor who had murdered Lileth and then she’d go after Ruark Gilbraith.
Ferith had been waiting quietly during the discussion and she cleared her throat, drawing Thalia’s attention. “If I could have a moment, once you’re finished?”
“Of course.” She turned to Janek and Skylett. “Would you excuse me?”
“Certainly. Let’s go look for Raff, little pup.”
“Don’t call me that,” the young wolf snarled.
After the wolves left, Ferith shut the door firmly. “It’s not that I don’t trust our new allies, but it seems best to share this information with you first. If you decide to disseminate further, that’s up to you.”
Shit. This must be bad news.
“Don’t be dramatic. Tell me already.”
“I really don’t know how to say this because it’s such a tremendous Noxblade failure. It would be easy for me to blame Gavriel, as he was in charge when we arrived, but I’ve had security for a while now, and I just noticed the problem.”
“Which is?” Thalia snapped.
“There’s a secret tunnel in and out of Daruvar. We didn’t notice it at first because it leads to the portion of the fortress that we condemned as uninhabitable.”
The implications hit her at once. “Then it’s possible that someone slipped in and poisoned the food and drink for our table?”
“Possible,” Ferith allowed, “but not probable. I still think inside help would be required to execute the op with such precision. None of the other samples came back tainted. Which likely means the toxins were added after the food was plated.”
Thalia considered, then nodded. “That’s a small window of opportunity. They needed to be fast and accurate.”
“That’s why I think the escape route is being used for another purpose.”
“I’m listening.”
“You won’t like this,” Ferith warned.
Thalia twisted her mouth in a bitter smile. “When have I liked anything since my father set off a bunch of bombs in Ash Valley?”
“Point taken. Well, if someone inside our walls was transmitting intel to Ruark, we’d have spotted it by now. Between our tech and what the wolves have added, we’re essentially a locked data fortress. I’m jamming all non-official comms and scanning everything that comes in or goes out. Let me say, the wolves weren’t thrilled.”
She waved that away, following the thought to its logical conclusion. “Then you suspect low-tech espionage. Someone’s slipping out the back and rendezvousing with Gilbraith’s forces.”
“Whoever it is, they’re also responsible for Lileth’s death,” Ferith said.
Nodding, she tapped her fingers against the wooden arm of her chair, pensive. There were two ways to handle this. Part of her wanted to plug the hole quickly, so no more information could leak out, but she could also see the merit in setting surveillance on the tunnel. Anyone who used it instead of the front gate—well, that was tantamount to an admission of guilt. While risky, setting a trap might be the best and quickest way to catch the traitor in the ranks.
“What do you think?” she finally asked.
“It’s hard to get to with all the ruined walls and fallen stairs, so simply reaching the access point requires a certain fitness level.”
“Understood.” There was one solution, and she didn’t hesitate at the hard choice. “I’ll check it out. Alone. You stay hidden, keep me in sight at all times.”
“You’re playing bait? Your Highness, that’s—”
“Objection noted. Unless
