assumed they managed their own horses since there were so few of them.
It was dark and cool, and Sev helped ease Kade down onto a barrel before looking around. His eyes lit on an extra saddle on a rack, and he hastened toward it, fingers trembling slightly as he fidgeted with the fat, gleaming buckle on the flank cinch.
The metal was stronger than the prong on Kade’s belt, though, and Sev had to break the entire buckle by wedging the handle of a shovel inside and twisting. It worked in the end, but he was sweaty and panting by the time he managed it. Plus, he needed two—and so went to work on the next buckle.
When he finally whirled around, triumphant, it was to find Kade leaning back against the wall of the stables, arms pressed against his stomach.
Any good feeling Sev had at his victory evaporated.
“Kade,” Sev said in distress, tucking the strips of metal into his pocket and leaning forward. He put both hands on Kade’s shoulders.
“I’m fine,” Kade said again, though his eyes remained closed.
Sev’s heart clenched painfully. “Just rest a minute. I’ll…” He stopped. He heard something—distant voices. He darted across the stables to the window.
It was dark, but he could still make out the tower—where two Riders now perched. The second Rider had apparently returned from her nighttime errand.
And below, the courtyard was filling with people.
Sev’s stomach dropped.
He counted a dozen soldiers on horseback, but they didn’t approach the stables or dismount. Instead they’d taken up a sentry position around the prison building, facing south.
They must be an advance guard, and they were waiting for something.
Or someone.
Glancing down at himself, Sev began to peel off some of his supplies and extra baggage.
“What is it?” Kade asked, getting gingerly to his feet. “What’s happening?”
Sev continued to unload their supplies as Kade peered out the window. His expression was bleak. “How will we get out of here? Riella…”
“You’ll leave through the back door,” Sev said, nodding his chin toward the rear of the stables. “And I’ll figure out what’s going on.”
“Sev…,” Kade began, his expression tight. But what could he say? Sev was the soldier—and for now he was still a spy. That was the whole point of keeping his cover intact in the first place. For moments like this. He considered the idea that his role as a spy could be donned at will—not an identity, but a single aspect of his character. Something he chose to perform, not something that defined him.
Kade was a runaway bondservant, plus he was too injured to be of much use. If Sev didn’t ask these soldiers what was happening, right now, they might miss their chance to help Riella and Veronyka. He had to try.
“Wait until I draw their attention, then slip out the back. I’ll meet you behind that broken wall—same place we watched the tower from before.”
As Sev moved to leave, Kade gripped his arm. His eyes were wide and fearful. “Just—be careful.”
Sev nodded, laying his hand over Kade’s for a moment before gently dislodging it. Their gazes locked, and Sev had that familiar twinge that he got whenever they parted—the shadow of the time on the mountain, when Kade had disappeared into the trees and Sev didn’t know if he’d ever see him again.
“Stay hidden,” Sev added softly. “Please.”
Kade took up what he could carry of Sev’s abandoned supplies and nodded, moving to the back of the stables as Sev strode out the front. One of the soldiers hailed Sev as soon as he stepped out of the shadows.
Sev gave him a version of the truth—he’d been on prisoner-escort duty until their convoy had been attacked by Phoenix Riders and the prisoners freed. His story veered into fiction then as he explained that he’d been chased back into Ferro, but when he’d arrived here, hoping for safety, he’d found the place deserted and Phoenix Riders in residence. He’d just been looking for a horse when the others arrived.
Word had already reached Rolan—and therefore, these soldiers—about the attack and the Phoenix Riders occupying the tower, and so the man nodded gravely but without surprise.
“The situation is under control. The governor’s on his way with reinforcements.”
“Lord Rolan?” Sev pressed, wanting to be sure. He swallowed, wondering how on earth they were going to free Riella now—and how they could possibly help Veronyka.
The soldier nodded. “He’ll be here before midday.”
Such is your inheritance, my daughter.
A name. A legacy. An empire in ruin.
- CHAPTER 45 - VERONYKA
VERONYKA HARDLY SLEPT.
Sidra was