Page 30 of Pawns of Fate

LYLA

T he last time she traveled to Uddedin, Lyla assassinated a wealthy merchant who was causing problems for a client.

It was part of why she didn’t pitch a fit when Nicholas and Syzman presented her with the ridiculous bonnet and gloves she was currently wearing.

It didn’t hurt her to go unnoticed in this city.

She glanced over at Rose, digging through shelves of books with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step, and Ava, pretending also to enjoy spending time in the Uddedin library.

The two noblewomen certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed since their arrival in the city weeks ago.

Citizens gawked at the women and their heavy, restrictive dresses everywhere they went.

Lyla couldn’t help but side with the Ojoh on this.

She missed the light, flexible material of the shadow mage uniforms and the breathable leather armor.

Still, the maid’s uniform wasn’t bad for storing knives. It had plenty of pockets. She’d worried about hiding her weapons when Nicholas had assigned her to this job. But that had proved irrelevant.

“Do you need any help, miss?” an Ojoh scholar, dressed in light robes and holding at least a dozen books, asked.

“No, I’m fine. Just helping my mistresses.” She motioned to Ava, then noticed that Rose had disappeared around yet another shelf of books. Lyla began the task of finding her. She didn’t like having either lady out of her sight, but especially not Rose.

“ Lyla ,” a faint male voice tugged on the back of her mind.

She focused on the flow of mana through her body, directing it to the rune that allowed for direct communication between shadow mages.

“ Syzman, now isn’t a great time. ” She turned around a shelf of encyclopedias, still not finding Rose.

“ Well, when can you teleport here? ”

Her stomach sank. “What? You can’t be serious.”

“You’re not giving me enough credit. I can think of at least half a dozen times I’ve been serious in just the last week.”

“Syzman.” Lyla turned another corner and found Rose happily perusing a stack of academic studies of magic. She should have guessed .

Lyla let out a sigh of relief.

“ Why do you need me in the swamps? ”

“ Well, there are a few things you’ll want to see.

” Lyla knew that he wouldn’t elaborate more than that while they talked using runes of the mage tower.

It was impossible to know that no one else was listening.

“ And things have changed quite a bit. Nicholas is here because we encountered significantly more monsters than originally anticipated. ”

“ Marquess Sharp hasn’t sent both of his heirs out in ages !” Lyla tried to maintain a neutral tone, but it was hard with the telepathic link.

“Exactly. Things are going better with Nicholas here; he’s a far better strategist than York… which is why he wants to know how much you can help with communication.”

“I can teleport. I can’t be in two places at once.”

“I know. But I also know you’ve warded whatever accommodations the Ojoh have provided, or you wouldn’t have slept for this past month .”

“ I don’t see your point. ”

“ Tell the girls not to leave the house for a few hours. Come and pay us a visit in the swamp. Then teleport back. Easy enough. Quick enough. ”

“ No. I’m not leaving Ava and Rose. ”

“ They’ll be fine. Have you even sensed the shadow mage Rose saw in the garden? And we still don’t know that they wanted Rose and not Nicholas. ”

Lyla looked at the subject of their conversation, who had selected a particularly dull-looking tome about elemental magic and was now thumbing through it.

Lyla had been doing her own research on Rose’s inherited aural abilities, and she was convinced of two things.

First, Hector Robson’s greatest crime was denying his niece access to her own magic abilities.

Second, somebody at the mage tower was interested in Rose, not Nicholas.

Lyla had lived as a tower member long enough to know being of interest wasn’t a good thing for anyone, especially not a certain gentle, shy, pink-haired noble lady. The thought made Lyla grind her teeth.

“Just because I haven’t sensed anything doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. Besides, there have been some strange monster attacks here,” she replied.

“What?”

“They’ve been trying to keep it hidden, but the Ojoh have been dealing with an uptick in monster attacks. I can’t ward against that. I’d have to be physically here to protect them from a monster. Nicholas was right to send me here.”

“You just don’t want to stand in this muddy swamp water with me. Or is that genuine concern for your friends I hear?”

Lyla huffed. “Is it so bad to use our skills to protect every once in a while? Friendship has nothing to do with it. You know that shadow mages can’t develop attachments. It’s too risky.”

Syzman went quiet, and Lyla wondered if she’d inadvertently poked at an old wound, though he should understand her desire to stay unattached more than anyone.

“ I’ll come to see you and Nicholas. But tell him I don’t like this arrangement.

I’ll only stay for twenty minutes, and I can’t come till later. ”

“Right. I’ll tell him,” Syzman replied, then severed the connection.

Her heart twisted with an emotion that she couldn’t name.

“Lyla?” Rose’s voice drifted into her thoughts. “Is everything alright?”

“Sorry, I was daydreaming, my lady. Everything is fine, but we should return to the house if you’ve made your selections.”

Rose nodded, then picked up her stack of books and headed for the checkout counter.

ROSE

Lyla herded her and Ava back to the house as quickly as possible, then demanded they stay inside as soon as the door shut and the guards were out of earshot.

“Why?” Ava asked.

“I need to visit Syzman.”

Ava waggled her eyebrows. “Oh my!”

Lyla snapped. “Not like that.” Rose stifled a laugh. Lyla was usually unflappable, but Ava could always get a reaction when she mentioned Syzman.

“Far be it from me to stand in the way of love,” Ava replied, then dramatically fell on the couch.

Rose thought that Lyla would take the bait. Instead, the shadow mage busied herself with checking the wards.

“Why do we have to stay inside, Lyla?” Rose asked.

“The wards will protect you if I can’t.” She ran a finger along the script of a ward she’d hidden behind the pile of firewood. “But I won’t be gone long.”

“How are you going to see Syzman?” Rose thought Syzman had joined the swamp campaign. Was Lyla meeting him in town?

Lyla paused, head tilted and brow furrowed with concentration. “I’m a shadow mage, but my affinity is for metaphysical magic. I’m particularly gifted with teleportation.”

Rose tried not to overreact. She’d already thought Lyla was amazing. But knowing she could teleport? That was incredible.

“So stay inside. Please. The wards don’t extend beyond the house.” Lyla began a chant. A spell circle large enough to completely encircle the mage appeared at her feet.

“Fine, fine. If you’re not back in time for dinner, we’re eating without you!” Ava yelled as the spell disappeared, taking Lyla with it.

Lyla reappeared just as Ava put the finishing touches on their dinner. She unceremoniously handed each of them a letter.

Rose looked at the small parchment. It was addressed to her in Nicholas’s handwriting. Rose felt her breath catch for just an instant. She opened the letter, hands trembling .

My Dear Rose,

I hope this letter finds you as well as can be for the current situation. I myself have been traveling due to unforeseen circumstances and thus unable to write sooner.

Please be careful of monsters. Many reside in the deserted plains and hills of Ojoh territory. Stay with Lyla. She’ll protect you.

Your husband,

Nicholas Sharp

Rose sighed. She hadn’t expected a love sonnet, but the letter was… short. Nicholas did say he was traveling for unforeseen reasons, but perhaps the real reason was that he was still upset she’d volunteered for this trip.

“Lyla, was Nicholas at the swamp? Or did you teleport to Onanish, too?”

“Nicholas had to join York in the swamps,” Lyla replied, her voice grim.

Rose wondered what that implied. It was rare for noble families to send both of their heirs to the same battle.

But neither Nicholas’s letter nor Lyla’s short words gave her much information, and Lyla didn’t look keen to explain.

Rose glanced at her sister-in-law, who wasn’t poring over her letter with the intensity Rose had assumed she would.

“Was your letter nice, Rose? I know Nicholas was mad about you joining me, but he’s had a month to cool off,” Ava wondered aloud, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“My letter was fine. Is there something wrong with yours, Ava? You seem distracted.”

“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with it.” Ava smiled politely.

Lyla coughed into her hand and mumbled something. Ava shot her a glare. Lyla rolled her eyes in response.

“Ava can’t read,” the bodyguard said bluntly.

“Lyla!”

“She was going to find out sooner or later. Besides, you two have nothing but time on your hands. Why don’t you ask Rose to tutor you? She’ll be a hell of a lot more patient than me. Rose can read York’s letter to you today. I can’t stomach all of the sweetness.”

The mage strode up the stairs and disappeared into her bedroom. Ava’s face had turned bright red. She looked like she might cry.

“Some confidant!” she yelled after Lyla.

The words fell to an empty staircase.

Rose decided to use her aura to calm Ava down. A pink light enveloped the two women. Ava stopped sniveling and regained her composure.

“I’m mortified that you know my secret.”

Rose shrugged nonjudgmentally. “Most people can’t read. You’ve only lived with the Sharps for a year. I’m just surprised the Sharps didn’t hire you an adequate tutor.” The girls grabbed their dinners from the counter and sat at the table.