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I snatched one from the surface, my eyes scanning the longhand as I turned to face her.

“Is this the letter you received from No—” I stopped myself, my eyes flashing to Dukovich. “From your informant?”

“Yes,” she sighed, leaning a shoulder against the stone wall. “There has been a rise in activity in The Silliands since I metwith him last month. All he would say in the letter is that a Drow General was taken to The Silliands. We already knew that the war leaders of Redelvtum were training the Marzog and Hanth armies under duress, but taking them out of Rahval—it seems like an escalation.” I nodded as a lump began to form in my throat.

“I am sure there is more that he did not feel was safe to write,” Pri added, pushing from the wall striding behind her desk. I watched as she bent down and rummaged through a few drawers.

Pri pulled a stack of parchments from the bottom drawer, dropping them onto the desk with a thud. She spread them out, revealing intricately drawn maps of The Silliands. Dukovich leaned forward in his chair, eyes widening as he took in the vast network of tunnels and caverns snaking beneath the surface.

“These are incredible,” Dukovich murmured. “May I?” he asked, standing and gesturing to the maps. Pri nodded in silent confirmation and he approached the desk. “The level of detail is astounding.” He traced a finger along one of the winding paths. “How did you come by these?”

“Andrues and Landers have been drawing them for centuries, adding in new details when they come across something they have not seen before. Wren has helped them fill in the gaps over the last year or so,” Pri said, a small, proud smile brushing over her lips.

Dukovich nodded, tucking strands of hair behind his ear before pushing his hands into his pockets and looking up at us.

“If I may offer a suggestion,” he began cautiously, glancing between Pri and me. “I have a trusted friend, high in The Silliands political hierarchy, who may be able to provide us with more detailed information about these recent developments.”

Pri’s back straightened, her eyes narrowing on him as I cut in.

“If you’ve had someone inside The Silliands that could help this entire time, why are you only now bringing it to our attention?” The words were sharp as they left my mouth.

“I was not willing to put him at risk before knowing you lot could be trusted. Now that some trust has been extended to me, I am giving some in return by telling you this information,” Dukovich said, his voice low as if he was trying to contain his annoyance.

“Who is he?” I snapped, folding my arms over my chest and leaning against the edge of the desk.

“He sits on The Silliands War Council.”

“And his name?” Pri asked, lifting a brow toward Dukovich.

I watched as his muscles tensed, his jaw feathering as he let out a sharp breath. I could see the struggle in him, the reluctance to give up the name, knowing that it could get him killed.

“Malik,” he finally said and the room fell silent.

“You can’t possibly mean—”

“I do,” Dukovich said, the words clipped as he cut Pri off. She stared back at him in horror as she brought a hand to her mouth.

My eyes flickered between them. “Should I know who that is?”

Dukovich swallowed before turning to me and answering. “He is The Silliands new High Priest.”

Chapter thirteen

ATALIIA

Isatontheroof of an abandoned brewhouse in the slums, watching as patrons stumbled in and out of the taverns and brothels lining Folkvein Street, the main road that led to the House of High.

Sethros was split into three distinct boundaries. The highest point, closest to the House of High, was the richest, where most of the nobles or those that worked inside the House of High lived. It was bathed in gems, with brass and gold roofs set along marble and limestone structures that were perfectly symmetrical with intricate lattice detailing. The streets in this section were heavily guarded and always clean.

The center of the city came next and was covered in darkness from the House of High’s spires placed perfectly to shadow the lower half of the city, as if to hide it. Merchants sold their goods on these streets, the open market a mess of hagglers and villagers looking to sell anything they could to replenish their coppers after nights spent in the brothels and taverns. Mostnobles did not come here unless they were looking to acquire specific services that the witches in the highest point refused to provide. The shops in the center were more or less built with the same architecture, just watered down with the scraps used to build the wealthy areas.

The slums sat at the lowest point and they were, personally, my favorite part of the city. Guards hardly ventured there unless forced and nobles looked down their nose at it. Though it was wracked with poverty and abandoned crumbling buildings, the people here were kinder than any other section of Sethros. They took care of their own. It may also have something to do with the fact that the black market resided here, which brought troves of secrets and information.

The three of us had arrived at the safe house early this morning and Pri had only stayed long enough to drop her bag before tethering off to meet with Nox. I followed quickly after, not because I had somewhere specific to be, but because there was not a chance in hell I would stay in that house alone with Dukovich.

The only assignments Wren had sent me on since I started working as an Intelligence Officer had been in Ammord. He would never say it, but I knew it was because he didn’t trust me not to do something stupid in Redelvtum or The Silliands.

I wasn’t sure I trusted myself, either.