I woke up with a jolt; sleeping so long and deeply was still very uncomfortable. More uncomfortable, though, was the hand that had jolted me awake. Sleep dulled my senses, and I was slow to respond. Fortunate for the hand since that torpor saved the girl’s life.
“Are you alright?”
Right, she isn’t a threat to me.
I pulled my hand back and away from the knife that I had hidden the night before. Had Dollany seen it? My brain was slowly coming back to full functionality. In reality, it only took a few minutes to wake up fully, far better than most people. But those few minutes were agony as all I could do during that time was wait.
“...Yea, is something wrong?” Talking when my brain wasn’t fully operational was risky; it would be effortless to say something that I should not. To betray information or to somehow alert to my ruse. But not talking would only engender suspicion of a different variety.
Dollany needed to believe that I was still functional. Damaged, but still able to work. Carrying baggage, but not so heavy as to make life impossible.
“You were whimpering in your sleep.” She fixed me with a look. Not accusing, but sympathetic.
That nine times damned dream.
Even after waking up, I could remember it, at least for a few hours. By the time I went to bed again, the details would invariably be faded, but it was always the same. Of that, I was sure.
“Was I…? I don’t remember much.” For now, it was best to deflect while alluding to something bigger.
Dollany bought my lie hook, line, and sinker, “Well, if you ever want to talk about it…”
Now would be the time to create some distance, and force her to cross the gap.
“Sorry, but, who are you exactly? I mean like, I am extremely grateful for everything, but I don’t really…”
She looked hurt for a moment, but that quickly faded into a rueful smirk, “Right, we didn’t meet under the best circumstances, huh?” Dollany extended her hand in an exaggerated mockery of what a noblewoman might, then tilted her head to look down her nose at me in a mockery of the same, “I am Dollany, daughter of Hilgan. I am honored to make your acquaintance.”
Pretending to be swayed by her insulting mannerisms, I adopted a false grin and grasped the offered hand, “My name is Delilah, I’m… well, I don’t really know who my mother was, which is loosely connected to how you found me… I don’t really want to talk about it.” Then, before she had a chance to pressure me, or to drive the conversation in a way I didn’t want it to go, I took charge, “But, that’s just me; an unfortunate existence with no luck, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why were you there? Not that I’m ungrateful, just, you don’t seem the kind of person to go to a place like that.”
Dollany nodded, “Yea, that part of the city is pretty bad, though it's not awful if you avoid going off the main thoroughfare and don’t go near after dark. For me, it's the only way to get home within any reasonable timeframe. …And, people know better than to mess with me anyway.”
Because your work clothes mark you as someone from the chair’s estate.
But it wasn’t enough for me to know that; I needed Dollany to tell me, to open the door to further questions.
She’s been pretty easy to lead and manipulate so far, just a bit more guidance should get me what I need.
“Oh? You must be pretty strong then. Must be nice, to be able to defend yourself.”
She shook her head and waved her hands in an emphatic “no,” “No, not like that! Gods, I don’t think I’d even know which end of a sword to hold! No, I work for Chair Zesten as one of his estate’s maid staff. Money, dirty or not, can get you a lot in this city, but everyone knows not to cross the chair.”
…And she just went and said it. Well, I suppose that is common knowledge based on her clothes, so no reason for her to hide it. Still, that was too easy.
“Wait, you work for the chair!?” I feigned surprise.
Dollany pulled back slightly, the vigor of my response seeming to have made her withdraw, “...Yea, I do. It isn’t all that glamorous though, just another job.”
“But, you just told me it wasn’t? Like, you can go out in the city and be safe…”
“Really, it isn’t all that, I mean, yea, there are perks, but at the end of the day, I’m just a servant. If someone does decide they don’t care about crossing the chair, I don’t actually have anything protecting me. I have no real authority, and they don’t provide me any magic tools or combat training; only the soldiers get that stuff.”
I suppressed a grin; that last bit had been the first bit of real intel Dollany had given me.
So I only really need to worry about the soldiers and guards; there shouldn’t be any surprises coming from the serving staff.
Zesten could always have a secret order like Drakas’ Shadows, with agents hidden among the servants, but I thought that rather doubtful.
“Well, at least you can generally feel safe walking home at night.” Pulling up my knees to my chin, I wrapped my arms around my legs.
Dollany realized what she had been implying just now, who she was saying what to, and quickly began to backpedal, stumbling over herself as she went, “Well that's… I mean, in your situation, I didn’t… No, it isn’t like that, just that…”
I grinned, a rare genuine one. I didn’t derive any enjoyment from manipulating people like this, but her pure innocent reaction was infectiously sweet. Besides, it was time to throw her a bit of a bone and let up the pressure.
“It’s fine; I know what you meant; I’m just a bit bitter after everything. Besides, it isn’t like anyone is particularly safe at the moment, what with the Drakans on our doorstep… Is, is the chair going to do anything?”
Dollany trailed off from her sputtering, “...I wouldn’t know; I don’t serve him directly, just clean things and occasionally bring the soldiers their food rations.”
“Well, that’s something. Did the soldiers seem at all concerned?”
“Ha!” She laughed dryly, “After seeing a spell like that? Of course they’re concerned! Was it true? That the Queen was the only one casting?”
“...I don’t know, I only saw the lights shining over the wall.”
Was that a spark of hope I saw just now?
Two significant bits of information had been gleaned just now, though neither was relevant to my mission at hand. The first was about the culture of the city; the establishment had failed to control the narrative. It would be very easy to deny that a single mage had cast such a massive spell; simply say that all the mages in our force had pooled their mana. That would be far more believable to even a layperson, and would naturally quash rumors that my lady had been the only one. The fact that the truth had made it off the wall and into the public consciousness, even as a rumor, and was even being entertained as a possibility… It indicated a fairly deep distrust of the chair.
The second thing had been about Dollany herself; she hadn’t seemed afraid or surprised, or really anything else that one might expect. Instead, when asking about the casting, she had seemed… excited. It was possible she might have a few grudges of her own, or perhaps an interest in magic theory, or she might fancy tales of adventure. Regardless, if I could put a finger on it, I could leverage it.
Regarding the first, it was possible that the rumor was only circulating the Estate, but my lady had told Emmanuel to win over the people. Spreading the truth would be a great way to go about that, especially if the truth made the establishment look bad.
But none of that falls within the scope of my mission. For now, I need to continue gathering information.
Grrrr! my stomach announced itself, interjecting into my plans.
Dollany looked down at it and grinned, “You did sleep for a while, come on and get up; it's almost mid-morning.
I lost so much time!
I climbed quickly out of bed, taking care to keep various things hidden. Regardless of my ongoing struggles with sleep, I did need to eat something. Dollany led me into the kitchen, which was devoid of anyone else, and began setting out a table spread for two.
“Mom is going to market before this war drives prices up too high, and Emmet has his apprenticeship still, so it’s just the two of us.”
I nodded absentmindedly and took a seat. Dollanyh finished her preparations, then sat down opposite of me, “Nothing fancy, but it will give you some energy back.”
After taking a moment to thank her, I started to eat the flat cakes without pretending to hold back. I needed the food, and appearing hungry would help things along.
Now I need to learn where things are in the manor house, and what the chair’s schedule is. How to lead the conversation there though?
After a moment’s consideration, I decided to start prodding at Dollany’s earlier revelation, “Do you like magic?”
Two nights later, the day of assassins.
As it turned out, Dollany did not have any particular interest nor inclination toward magic. Nor was she secretly sympathetic to the Drakan cause. Further still, none of my other theories proved to be the case; she was simply wondering at what was presently the current thing. Perhaps my perceptions had become a bit skewed by all of the fantastical people who worked for my lady, to say nothing of my lady herself.
At the very least, I should make sure to avoid causing Dollany undue harm or hardship, it would make my lady quite sad. What’s more, her innocence seems to be affecting me a bit.
Earnest. That was the best word for Dollany. Earnest, like a puppy. Or perhaps a small spider, alone in its web.
Though, in this analogy, is it better to call her the grasshopper, unwittingly flying into a trap? other than loneliness, I certainly am the more spider-like.
Certainly, she could not be trusted and definitely, not brought with us. But after everything she had done for me the past two days, wittingly or not, I did not think she deserved to be silenced. That already was a great departure from how I might have thought only a year ago and was not entirely comfortable for me. Especially given what I was about to do.
That is to say, I was about to murder Dollany’s boss. My lady was currently creating a distraction, though what that was I did not know. What I did know was that the personnel of the estate was currently running around frantically, with seemingly very little guidance. Even without my skill and talent-bolstered stealth, I would likely have been able to find my way back into the manor easily.
I shouldn’t be surprised that whatever plan she came up with worked this well. Hells, she’ll probably also manage to do it without anyone dying either.
It was not lost on me that the only reason two days and nights had been specified was to give Emmanuel a chance to win the people's hearts and to foment some public sentiment in support of overthrowing the current leader. My mission would have been far easier if I had simply killed Chair Zesten immediately upon spiriting myself into the estate instead of first bonding with Dollany.
I slipped out of my alcove and began power-walking through the rooms toward the chair’s study; with all of the chaos, there was no need for me to actually go through the motions of sneaking. My skills and Talents would suffice. Dollany had, with some light guidance, described the location of my target in detail. Of course, in her mind, she had only been waxing breathlessly about how beautiful she thought the entrance was. Regardless of her intentions, she had been most helpful.
Now then, it should be just through here…
I walked boldly past a soldier going in the opposite direction and passed over one more threshold. This brought me into a bedroom with a large canopy bed whose silk sheets lay in disheveled heaps on the floor. There were no other personnel present, but neither was my target. That being said, he should be in the next room; his study, which was adjoined to the bedroom.
Though his being in the study was only a guess on my part, based partially on stories extracted from my unwitting informant. Given the ongoing activities, it was possible that Chair Zesten had scampered off into some other hole somewhere. The entrance which Dollany had described in so much detail was located in the large decorative fireplace on the far side from the bed. What kind of eccentric would use a hidden door for something so commonly used as a study was beyond me, but it was also beyond my concern.
I should also thank whatever maid was showing Dollany around places she herself wasn’t supposed to go.
So resolved, I cast about the emplacement in search of the mechanism. Familiar with constructions like this, it did not take me too long to find it. The fireplace itself was large; just the burn chamber was big enough that I could walk through it without crouching or bending over. That was my first clue, as it made the location of the door itself rather obvious.
The second clue came in the form of the engravings adorning the frame. What at first glance had seemed to be errant linework and eclectic patterns of flowing water resolved themselves to be a number of nude female figures in various poses. Despite the remarkable flexibility, there was not much else of note to them. Their presence did shed some light on why my target might have favored placing this in his quarters, though not why it was being used as a door.
Regardless, it was these women that keyed me in as to the location of the switch; they were all looking in the same direction, at the same corner of the structure. I hovered my hand over the corner and took a deep breath to clear my mind; once this door opened, my presence would be immediately given away. Unfortunately, I was unaware of any alternative routes into the study proper, despite having spent a bit of time probing the subject.
I exhaled, and pressed the button. A moment later, the door swung open with a soft click. From inside the room, a man’s voice called out in a resigned manner, “Yes, what now? I thought I told you not to come back without news, and it hasn’t been that long.”
He must think I’m that soldier from a moment ago.
“...Hello?” He called out again, a bit unsure after not receiving an immediate answer.
Just because he knew I was here didn’t mean he could see me. In a way, it was kind of similar to Eris’ ability, an observation I found sickening. Not that I was going to dwell on it, or give him any time to realize the danger he was in. In three bold strides, the distance weas closed, and my blade was buried in Chair Zesten’s neck. Unlike his son, he was a small man with a few small rolls; he died quickly, and without making any sounds. For the sake of Emmanuel and my lady’s alliance, I did my best in that regard.
No Grave Oil, and a single clean strike. His death was painless.
With my mission accomplished, it was time to withdraw and rejoin my lady’s side.
It was only by chance that I noticed it. As I was turning to leave, an inkwell rolling across the table and onto the floor made a sound, and I spun around. There was nobody there of course, but that didn’t mean I was alone.
Eris.
There was, after all, no way I had disturbed that inkwell in my strike. Then I saw what it had come to rest on; a small sheaf of papers. Warily, I picked it up, and read the single line on the first one.
“To Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris. From Fourth Seat, Queen of Envy Leviathan. Via Eris and with the assistance of ‘Delilah’ and Dollany.”
That one line informed me that, contrary to getting lucky, Eris had been watching my every move since I arrived. And I had been allowed to carry them out, acting as I pleased.
We played right into their hands.
My lady would need to see this letter, even if that was clearly what our enemy wanted. I clutched it close to my chest, and made my way back to my lady’s side.
I woke up with a jolt; sleeping so long and deeply was still very uncomfortable. More uncomfortable, though, was the hand that had jolted me awake. Sleep dulled my senses, and I was slow to respond. Fortunate for the hand since that torpor saved the girl’s life.
“Are you alright?”
Right, she isn’t a threat to me.
I pulled my hand back and away from the knife that I had hidden the night before. Had Dollany seen it? My brain was slowly coming back to full functionality. In reality, it only took a few minutes to wake up fully, far better than most people. But those few minutes were agony as all I could do during that time was wait.
“...Yea, is something wrong?” Talking when my brain wasn’t fully operational was risky; it would be effortless to say something that I should not. To betray information or to somehow alert to my ruse. But not talking would only engender suspicion of a different variety.
Dollany needed to believe that I was still functional. Damaged, but still able to work. Carrying baggage, but not so heavy as to make life impossible.
“You were whimpering in your sleep.” She fixed me with a look. Not accusing, but sympathetic.
That nine times damned dream.
Even after waking up, I could remember it, at least for a few hours. By the time I went to bed again, the details would invariably be faded, but it was always the same. Of that, I was sure.
“Was I…? I don’t remember much.” For now, it was best to deflect while alluding to something bigger.
Dollany bought my lie hook, line, and sinker, “Well, if you ever want to talk about it…”
Now would be the time to create some distance, and force her to cross the gap.
“Sorry, but, who are you exactly? I mean like, I am extremely grateful for everything, but I don’t really…”
She looked hurt for a moment, but that quickly faded into a rueful smirk, “Right, we didn’t meet under the best circumstances, huh?” Dollany extended her hand in an exaggerated mockery of what a noblewoman might, then tilted her head to look down her nose at me in a mockery of the same, “I am Dollany, daughter of Hilgan. I am honored to make your acquaintance.”
Pretending to be swayed by her insulting mannerisms, I adopted a false grin and grasped the offered hand, “My name is Delilah, I’m… well, I don’t really know who my mother was, which is loosely connected to how you found me… I don’t really want to talk about it.” Then, before she had a chance to pressure me, or to drive the conversation in a way I didn’t want it to go, I took charge, “But, that’s just me; an unfortunate existence with no luck, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why were you there? Not that I’m ungrateful, just, you don’t seem the kind of person to go to a place like that.”
Dollany nodded, “Yea, that part of the city is pretty bad, though it's not awful if you avoid going off the main thoroughfare and don’t go near after dark. For me, it's the only way to get home within any reasonable timeframe. …And, people know better than to mess with me anyway.”
Because your work clothes mark you as someone from the chair’s estate.
But it wasn’t enough for me to know that; I needed Dollany to tell me, to open the door to further questions.
She’s been pretty easy to lead and manipulate so far, just a bit more guidance should get me what I need.
“Oh? You must be pretty strong then. Must be nice, to be able to defend yourself.”
She shook her head and waved her hands in an emphatic “no,” “No, not like that! Gods, I don’t think I’d even know which end of a sword to hold! No, I work for Chair Zesten as one of his estate’s maid staff. Money, dirty or not, can get you a lot in this city, but everyone knows not to cross the chair.”
…And she just went and said it. Well, I suppose that is common knowledge based on her clothes, so no reason for her to hide it. Still, that was too easy.
“Wait, you work for the chair!?” I feigned surprise.
Dollany pulled back slightly, the vigor of my response seeming to have made her withdraw, “...Yea, I do. It isn’t all that glamorous though, just another job.”
“But, you just told me it wasn’t? Like, you can go out in the city and be safe…”
“Really, it isn’t all that, I mean, yea, there are perks, but at the end of the day, I’m just a servant. If someone does decide they don’t care about crossing the chair, I don’t actually have anything protecting me. I have no real authority, and they don’t provide me any magic tools or combat training; only the soldiers get that stuff.”
I suppressed a grin; that last bit had been the first bit of real intel Dollany had given me.
So I only really need to worry about the soldiers and guards; there shouldn’t be any surprises coming from the serving staff.
Zesten could always have a secret order like Drakas’ Shadows, with agents hidden among the servants, but I thought that rather doubtful.
“Well, at least you can generally feel safe walking home at night.” Pulling up my knees to my chin, I wrapped my arms around my legs.
Dollany realized what she had been implying just now, who she was saying what to, and quickly began to backpedal, stumbling over herself as she went, “Well that's… I mean, in your situation, I didn’t… No, it isn’t like that, just that…”
I grinned, a rare genuine one. I didn’t derive any enjoyment from manipulating people like this, but her pure innocent reaction was infectiously sweet. Besides, it was time to throw her a bit of a bone and let up the pressure.
“It’s fine; I know what you meant; I’m just a bit bitter after everything. Besides, it isn’t like anyone is particularly safe at the moment, what with the Drakans on our doorstep… Is, is the chair going to do anything?”
Dollany trailed off from her sputtering, “...I wouldn’t know; I don’t serve him directly, just clean things and occasionally bring the soldiers their food rations.”
“Well, that’s something. Did the soldiers seem at all concerned?”
“Ha!” She laughed dryly, “After seeing a spell like that? Of course they’re concerned! Was it true? That the Queen was the only one casting?”
“...I don’t know, I only saw the lights shining over the wall.”
Was that a spark of hope I saw just now?
Two significant bits of information had been gleaned just now, though neither was relevant to my mission at hand. The first was about the culture of the city; the establishment had failed to control the narrative. It would be very easy to deny that a single mage had cast such a massive spell; simply say that all the mages in our force had pooled their mana. That would be far more believable to even a layperson, and would naturally quash rumors that my lady had been the only one. The fact that the truth had made it off the wall and into the public consciousness, even as a rumor, and was even being entertained as a possibility… It indicated a fairly deep distrust of the chair.
The second thing had been about Dollany herself; she hadn’t seemed afraid or surprised, or really anything else that one might expect. Instead, when asking about the casting, she had seemed… excited. It was possible she might have a few grudges of her own, or perhaps an interest in magic theory, or she might fancy tales of adventure. Regardless, if I could put a finger on it, I could leverage it.
Regarding the first, it was possible that the rumor was only circulating the Estate, but my lady had told Emmanuel to win over the people. Spreading the truth would be a great way to go about that, especially if the truth made the establishment look bad.
But none of that falls within the scope of my mission. For now, I need to continue gathering information.
Grrrr! my stomach announced itself, interjecting into my plans.
Dollany looked down at it and grinned, “You did sleep for a while, come on and get up; it's almost mid-morning.
I lost so much time!
I climbed quickly out of bed, taking care to keep various things hidden. Regardless of my ongoing struggles with sleep, I did need to eat something. Dollany led me into the kitchen, which was devoid of anyone else, and began setting out a table spread for two.
“Mom is going to market before this war drives prices up too high, and Emmet has his apprenticeship still, so it’s just the two of us.”
I nodded absentmindedly and took a seat. Dollanyh finished her preparations, then sat down opposite of me, “Nothing fancy, but it will give you some energy back.”
After taking a moment to thank her, I started to eat the flat cakes without pretending to hold back. I needed the food, and appearing hungry would help things along.
Now I need to learn where things are in the manor house, and what the chair’s schedule is. How to lead the conversation there though?
After a moment’s consideration, I decided to start prodding at Dollany’s earlier revelation, “Do you like magic?”
Two nights later, the day of assassins.
As it turned out, Dollany did not have any particular interest nor inclination toward magic. Nor was she secretly sympathetic to the Drakan cause. Further still, none of my other theories proved to be the case; she was simply wondering at what was presently the current thing. Perhaps my perceptions had become a bit skewed by all of the fantastical people who worked for my lady, to say nothing of my lady herself.
At the very least, I should make sure to avoid causing Dollany undue harm or hardship, it would make my lady quite sad. What’s more, her innocence seems to be affecting me a bit.
Earnest. That was the best word for Dollany. Earnest, like a puppy. Or perhaps a small spider, alone in its web.
Though, in this analogy, is it better to call her the grasshopper, unwittingly flying into a trap? other than loneliness, I certainly am the more spider-like.
Certainly, she could not be trusted and definitely, not brought with us. But after everything she had done for me the past two days, wittingly or not, I did not think she deserved to be silenced. That already was a great departure from how I might have thought only a year ago and was not entirely comfortable for me. Especially given what I was about to do.
That is to say, I was about to murder Dollany’s boss. My lady was currently creating a distraction, though what that was I did not know. What I did know was that the personnel of the estate was currently running around frantically, with seemingly very little guidance. Even without my skill and talent-bolstered stealth, I would likely have been able to find my way back into the manor easily.
I shouldn’t be surprised that whatever plan she came up with worked this well. Hells, she’ll probably also manage to do it without anyone dying either.
It was not lost on me that the only reason two days and nights had been specified was to give Emmanuel a chance to win the people's hearts and to foment some public sentiment in support of overthrowing the current leader. My mission would have been far easier if I had simply killed Chair Zesten immediately upon spiriting myself into the estate instead of first bonding with Dollany.
I slipped out of my alcove and began power-walking through the rooms toward the chair’s study; with all of the chaos, there was no need for me to actually go through the motions of sneaking. My skills and Talents would suffice. Dollany had, with some light guidance, described the location of my target in detail. Of course, in her mind, she had only been waxing breathlessly about how beautiful she thought the entrance was. Regardless of her intentions, she had been most helpful.
Now then, it should be just through here…
I walked boldly past a soldier going in the opposite direction and passed over one more threshold. This brought me into a bedroom with a large canopy bed whose silk sheets lay in disheveled heaps on the floor. There were no other personnel present, but neither was my target. That being said, he should be in the next room; his study, which was adjoined to the bedroom.
Though his being in the study was only a guess on my part, based partially on stories extracted from my unwitting informant. Given the ongoing activities, it was possible that Chair Zesten had scampered off into some other hole somewhere. The entrance which Dollany had described in so much detail was located in the large decorative fireplace on the far side from the bed. What kind of eccentric would use a hidden door for something so commonly used as a study was beyond me, but it was also beyond my concern.
I should also thank whatever maid was showing Dollany around places she herself wasn’t supposed to go.
So resolved, I cast about the emplacement in search of the mechanism. Familiar with constructions like this, it did not take me too long to find it. The fireplace itself was large; just the burn chamber was big enough that I could walk through it without crouching or bending over. That was my first clue, as it made the location of the door itself rather obvious.
The second clue came in the form of the engravings adorning the frame. What at first glance had seemed to be errant linework and eclectic patterns of flowing water resolved themselves to be a number of nude female figures in various poses. Despite the remarkable flexibility, there was not much else of note to them. Their presence did shed some light on why my target might have favored placing this in his quarters, though not why it was being used as a door.
Regardless, it was these women that keyed me in as to the location of the switch; they were all looking in the same direction, at the same corner of the structure. I hovered my hand over the corner and took a deep breath to clear my mind; once this door opened, my presence would be immediately given away. Unfortunately, I was unaware of any alternative routes into the study proper, despite having spent a bit of time probing the subject.
I exhaled, and pressed the button. A moment later, the door swung open with a soft click. From inside the room, a man’s voice called out in a resigned manner, “Yes, what now? I thought I told you not to come back without news, and it hasn’t been that long.”
He must think I’m that soldier from a moment ago.
“...Hello?” He called out again, a bit unsure after not receiving an immediate answer.
Just because he knew I was here didn’t mean he could see me. In a way, it was kind of similar to Eris’ ability, an observation I found sickening. Not that I was going to dwell on it, or give him any time to realize the danger he was in. In three bold strides, the distance weas closed, and my blade was buried in Chair Zesten’s neck. Unlike his son, he was a small man with a few small rolls; he died quickly, and without making any sounds. For the sake of Emmanuel and my lady’s alliance, I did my best in that regard.
No Grave Oil, and a single clean strike. His death was painless.
With my mission accomplished, it was time to withdraw and rejoin my lady’s side.
It was only by chance that I noticed it. As I was turning to leave, an inkwell rolling across the table and onto the floor made a sound, and I spun around. There was nobody there of course, but that didn’t mean I was alone.
Eris.
There was, after all, no way I had disturbed that inkwell in my strike. Then I saw what it had come to rest on; a small sheaf of papers. Warily, I picked it up, and read the single line on the first one.
“To Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris. From Fourth Seat, Queen of Envy Leviathan. Via Eris and with the assistance of ‘Delilah’ and Dollany.”
That one line informed me that, contrary to getting lucky, Eris had been watching my every move since I arrived. And I had been allowed to carry them out, acting as I pleased.
We played right into their hands.
My lady would need to see this letter, even if that was clearly what our enemy wanted. I clutched it close to my chest, and made my way back to my lady’s side.
