Page 106 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

Laughter filled the room again, but my thoughts kept circling back to the blanket—and what message Solei had left behind.

“I’m just going to go for a walk. I’m still a little unsettled.” My squadmates simply nodded as I exited the room.

The air outside was crisp, the ocean mist clinging to the castle walls. I walked toward the gate, wrapping my arms around myself as the cold nipped at my fingers. My boots scuffed softly against the stone path. The guards were at their usual posts, speaking quietly to one another. I kept my head down.

Just as I neared the gate, an arm snaked around my waist, and a hand clamped over my mouth.

Panic hit like a hammer. My pulse roared in my ears, and I twisted violently, reaching for the dagger at my waist.

“Relax,” a familiar voice whispered against my ear. “It’s me.”

I froze, my breath still caught in my throat.Solei.

She released me, and I spun to face her, pushing her shoulder harder than I meant to. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Quiet,” she hissed, tugging me into the shadows. We moved quickly to the corner of the courtyard where the guards couldn’t see us. Only then did she relax.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, voice low but sharp.

“Cyran wants to know what’s happening inside the castle,” she said. “This is a reconnaissance mission. Nobody’s getting hurt.”

I crossed my arms. “Then why send an assassin?”

Solei grinned, cocky and confident. “Because I’m good at everything.” Her expression darkened. “Besides, our father suspects someone in our organization is feeding information to the royals.”

I blinked. “We spy on them, they spy on us. It’s always been that way.”

“Something’s changed,” she said, her tone cold. “People are dying, Ashe. People both the Order and the royals need. I want you to keep an eye on the guilds—let me know if anything seems off.”

“I don’t interact with the other guilds much. Despite being in the same compound, we train at different times and have separate dining slots. It’s pretty well segregated.”

“Yeah,” she muttered. “That’s part of the problem.”

I exhaled slowly, my thoughts still spinning. “Why did you even let me know you were here?”

“I wanted to know if you’ve learned anything about the recent attacks.”

“My squad and I encountered the Blood Fae in Thubia,” I said quietly.

Solei’s face twisted in shock. “Youfoughtthem?” she hissed. “Are you insane?”

“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” I muttered. “They’re powerful, and if it wasn’t for Zander…” I swallowed hard. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have survived.”

Her sharp eyes narrowed. “What’s his power?”

My body went rigid. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Excuse me?” Her voice dropped lower, colder. “Cyran needs all the information he can get if?—”

“Not on my squad,” I snapped. “I won’t betray them.”

“Ashe,” she growled. “Cyran is our father.”

I barked a bitter laugh. “The man who sold me the first chance he got? He lost my loyalty years ago. I’ll help you find a traitor, Solei, but it’snotin my squad.”

“Zander Rayne isn’t a Thrall,” she shot back. “He’s Crownwatch.”

“He’s the closest thing to a squad leader we’ve got,” I said. “He trains us when no one else will. He’s risking his reputation just by working with us.”