Page 17 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

But that was what I had been quietly working on.

Getting to the heart of what they knew was our only hope.

“Did anyone hear anything?” Lyr asked urgently. “Morgs?” Were we too loud? Are we safe?

I glared at Lyr before I closed my eyes, wincing and bracing my hands against the bed. I spent so much time trying to block out the voices, to silence the noise, I rarely opened myself up to hear them. Every time I openly listened, I nearly blacked out from pain and suffered a migraine for days. And since my vorakh felt extra sensitive, a part of me balked at the task.

But it had to be done. I imagined a black wall in my mind, onyx and thick, holding the sounds out, keeping the voices away. It never fully did. It only blurred the speech, softened the volume.

Only one thing in this world so far had brought me true silence. But I had to wait for that.

I imagined a crease in the wall of my mind, light shining through it as the onyx groaned and pulled apart. The light grew brighter, and immediately, the influx of thoughts attacked me.

About time we got new blood on the Seat.

That Batavia bitch looks too weak to hold a stave. The fuck was she going to rule?

One hour till he notices I’ve abandoned post.

I winced, gagging from the volume of the voices. Some were in the Great Hall, some downstairs, close to the Seating Room. My skull felt like it was splitting into two, but I kept pressing further.

Owes me a silver coin.

From this exact angle, he really does look like a dog….

Shekar arkasva!

“Morgana!” Lyr shouted. “Did anyone—?”

“Shut up,” I seethed from gritted teeth. “I’m listening.”

“Sorry,” Lyr said, her voice shaking with hurt.

“Partner.” Rhyan squeezed her shoulder. “Give her a second.”

I glared at Rhyan. “No one asked you.”

His jaw tensed, but he lowered his chin, bringing his gaze back to Lyr. He continued rubbing her shoulder until she leaned back against him.

I closed my eyes, tilting my head back on the bed pillows, my knuckles numb as I gripped the blanket, listening further, trying to pull out Arianna’s voice or that of a soturion from Ka Kormac—those would be the most concerning if they’d heard anything amiss. Wind howled outside the fortress, and I retreated deeper into my mind, straining to listen for what I’d spent more than a year trying to shut out.

But I couldn’t make out a single coherent thought that felt relevant.

Wonder if Arianna will remarry at last.

The Imperator’s definitely fucking her.

Blue rhymes with shoe, and you, and two, and….

I winced at each new voice that came into my mind. All self-absorbed idiots—all Lumerians either thinking absolutely mindless, unimportant thoughts, or completely focused on how tonight’s events benefitted them. Pulling myself back, I listened for any signs of anyone in our wing, anyone on the stairs, anyone close enough to be dangerous. But we were alone.

“We got lucky.” I opened my eyes. “No one seems to have heard a thing—all wrapped up in their own gryphon-shit or too far away.”

“By the Gods,” Lyr groaned in relief. She sat on the edge of the bed and pushed back Meera’s hair while pulling more blankets over her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Meera only shivered in response. She went cold after visions. Goosebumps ran down my arms as well.

“No, she doesn’t,” I snapped.