A slow realization dawned on his face, a recognition of sorts. “You’re the girl Ryder died to protect.”
She gulped. “I am. And I watched your final fight with the bandit.”
Brandt’s face twisted into excitement then. “You know who I fought? You were there?”
“I was.”
“Who was it?”
Alena looked around. The street was empty, but there were too many corners and shadows. “Is there a place we can go where we won’t be overheard?”
A look passed between Brandt and his companion. She nodded and led them all to an inn. They climbed two flights of stairs to the top room, where the three of them locked themselves in what was apparently the couple’s room.
Alena made herself comfortable in a chair, then answered Brandt’s questions.
She told him all that she knew, leaving nothing out. She confessed to stealing the stone from Zane Arrowood, to being involved in the fight in the street that sent Brandt’s friends to the gates.
And she told him how Kye was the bandit they had all been searching for.
Brandt let out a string of curses that lasted for several heartbeats. Ana, now introduced formally, also looked shaken. Alena didn’t understand what worried them so much about the governor’s secret identity.
Then Brandt told his side of the story, from the loss of his memory to the training and learning he had undertaken in the monastery. By the time he finished, the sun was setting.
“So the man responsible for informing the emperor and calling for reinforcements is the very man who seems to be aiding the Lolani,” Alena concluded.
Brandt nodded, and Alena saw the full extent of the problem before them.
There wouldn’t be any help coming.
Every effort they had made thus far was meaningless. If Kye wanted to bring the Lolani into the city, no doubt he would have ample opportunity to do so. Brandt and Ana might be able to summon help, but any attempt would take weeks, if not longer.
The Lolani were near, and they had the help of the strongest warrior any of them had ever faced.
Alena asked the question they were all wondering. “So, what do we do now?”
Silence answered her question. She looked between the two warriors, hoping to find an answer there, but they had none. Brandt turned and stared out the window of his room while Ana fidgeted with her fingers.
Alena had hoped to find not just answers, but a solution here. Their lack of strategy struck her hard.
Then she realized part of their answer had been in front of them ever since they had met. They didn’t need to find the gate, or the Lolani. They knew the identity of Brandt’s mysterious agent. All they needed to do was follow Kye. In time, he would lead them where they needed to go. She presented the idea.
“It’s a start,” Brandt admitted, “but it still doesn’t help us once we’ve found the gate. Against the Lolani and Kye, we don’t stand a chance.”
“Then we need to think of something before they get to the gate,” Alena replied. “It’s far better than doing nothing.”
The two warriors were reluctant, but they agreed.
Only when Alena looked out at the darkening streets did she realize she had forgotten about Azaleth. Quickly, she told them she had brought an Etari. After their initial confusion abated, she convinced them to help her smuggle him in.
With Brandt and Ana’s help, getting Azaleth into town was easy. The former wolfblades were known at the gate, and under their escort, Azaleth was allowed in without question.
As they stabled the horses and settled into the inn, Alena thought she saw the flash of a cloak in the street. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she thought someone had been watching them.
She didn’t want to dismiss the possibility, but after their long travel and the days ahead of them, she didn’t pay much attention to it.
It had to be a figment of her imagination.
Because she thought she had seen a brief glimpse of a face.
Jace’s.
55
The next morning Brandt and Ana returned to the wall. The group had argued about the decision for a bit. Brandt hated the idea of returning to a task that was almost certainly a waste of his time. If Kye had given them the duty, it seemed reasonable to assume the Lolani would not be coming through the main gate into town.
Alena argued against him, and he’d eventually come to see the strength of her logic. Kye’s decision to have Jace frequently accompanying them held more ominous overtones than before. If they deviated too much from their stated plans, Kye would soon know, and they would lose the one advantage they currently enjoyed. Thanks to Alena, they knew more than Kye suspected.
Brandt paced the wall quickly. Ana watched him with a hint of a smile on her face. When Brandt noticed he stopped and turned on her. “What?”
The word came out harsher than he intended, but it only caused Ana’s smile to widen. “You never had this much trouble letting the wolfblades out of your sight.”
“Those kids aren’t wolfblades.”
“Those kids are older than we were when we fought here. If even half of what Alena told us last night was true, she’s been through more than most.”
“She doesn’t have the training we had.”
“And yet she’s still alive and helping us.”
Brandt shook his head and resumed pacing. He should be out there following Kye, not Alena. The danger was too great.
“You’re going to exhaust yourself before we even find the Lolani.” Brandt heard the sliver of laughter in her voice.
Brandt glared at her but continued pacing. Stopping now would acknowledge that Ana was right.
She wisely said nothing further. Brandt knew she meant well, but pacing helped keep him calm. If he tried to stand still, he felt as though he would jump off the wall and run toward the governor’s offices.
Doing nothing simply wasn’t in his nature. Kye’s strength frightened him. How much stronger would the man be after years of training? And if he still
