The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 16

Kye

I jerk awake, breathing heavily, panic coursing through my veins. It's that gods-damned dream again, of being chased through a castle's halls, emerging outside into blood and smoke-filled chaos, then looking toward the castle's highest tower with a tight knot of dread coiling in my stomach.

"Nightmare?" someone asks from the doorway. My head whips toward Zyair, who grins lazily.

"What the hell are you doing?"

His taunting grin only widens. "Good morning to you too, Kye."

I look out the window to see blue sky peeking out from behind thick gray clouds, and I realize that I must have slept in. I slide out of bed with a groan, glaring at Zyair. "What do you want?"

He frowns. "Why are you always so grumpy?"

"I'm not grumpy," I snap, dragging a hand through my hair. "But in my defense, I just woke up."

"Were you having a nightmare?" he asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.

I nod. "I've been having a lot of those lately."

"Me too," he says quietly. Something odd crosses his face, but it's gone in a minute. "I just wanted to tell you that Neve is awake. Talking with Quinn."

Quinn. She seems nice. More importantly, she saved Neve's life. Because of that, along with the fact that I really don't care, she's allowed to stay here for however long she wants. There's also the part about how she is wanted by the Rurikan spies, which I'm sure will make for more than a few close encounters.

But I like danger, don't I? It's just that now....it's realer than ever. And closer. And deadlier. At least we have Quinn now. She should keep us all from dying.

I head toward the doorway, but Zyair blocks my path. "Quinn told Lake and I a few things last night, things I think you should know."

So he tells me. About how the spy network was capturing the Gifted and taking them to Trivette. About how Quinn is the only one left in the entire kingdom. How the men will be coming for her any day now, but she won't be there. When he finishes explaining the last part, he pauses, looking at me expectantly.

"What?"

Zyair sighs. "Don't you know what this means?"

"That we're in even more danger than before?" I offer, unsure what he's talking about.

"Well, yes," he says. "But that's not what I have been thinking about."

"Then what is it?"

"When the spies come for Quinn, we should be there. Follow them back to wherever the network is based," he explains.

Oh. Oh. That is a good idea. A great one, actually. No fighting required, just stealth. It sounds doable.

"But we don't know when, exactly, they will come for Quinn," I tell him, knowing he has probably already thought of that and has a solution.

"Two or three of us could go each day this week and watch from nearby." Zyair says simply. "Probably from an alleyway, because the streets aren't very crowded due to all this rain. Or we could even climb up to a rooftop."

"Then," he continues, "if the men come, we follow them."

"That sounds—"

He cuts me off. "Brilliant?"

I roll my eyes. "Sure. It sounds brilliant."

"That's what I thought," he grins, green eyes sparkling. "Now go greet our dear friend Neve, and congratulate her on not dying." With that, he leaves, heading down the hallway and descending the steps. Voices float up from downstairs, and I recognize Val's cold tone immediately. Then I hear Lake. Zyair calls out a hello to them rather loudly