Page 32

Siobhan

It’s been the better part of a decade—longer, really—since I’ve been in Lyari. With the highest concentration of C?n Annwn and nobles in the capital city, it’s the one place in Threshold my identity is truly a liability.

Now it doesn’t really matter.

We anchor off the coast and swim to shore just as the sun touches the horizon. Most of the island is settled in residential areas, with a decreasing amount of space for farming as the years go on. It forces the population to be dependent on trade to get food, and somehow that food never quite makes it outside the city walls—at least not without having the prices marked up first. It means that folks have started leaving Lyari behind for smaller communities on different islands.

It’s a problem that will need solving if we want the future to be as hopeful as we’ve all dreamed. I hate knowing I won’t be here for that outreach, for those changes.

The house we take temporary shelter in has the appearance of being abandoned for years—decades, even. The door hangs half off its hinges, wood swollen by the sea air, and even Bowen has a difficult time wedging it open. Inside, it smells faintly of mildew, mold sprouting in the corners where walls meet ceiling.

“Great,” Lizzie mutters. “Now we have to worry about black mold.”

No one bothers to respond. Nox pulls the water from our clothes. I dig out some food from the bag the Yothians gave us and pass it around.

“Time to go over the plan,” Bastian says. He pulls a rotted wooden table to the center of the room and sets out a handful of rocks that are apparently supposed to represent Lyari. “The Council’s building is right here.” He points to a triangular rock. “If we time it correctly, we can slip through when they change shifts.”

Maeve nibbles on her bottom lip. “We’re just going to…walk in? Aren’t there guards inside?”

“Yes.” Bastian sets two smaller rocks next to the triangular one. I’m not sure what these are supposed to represent. Guards? “The Council keeps normal hours. By the time we make it to the city, it will be late—later yet when we reach the library. I’ll use my glamour to keep us hidden. Nox and Lizzie will incapacitate the guards as we come across them. Once we reach the library, Evelyn will neutralize the magic on the case around the horn and Bowen will break it. We blow the horn and then this is over.”

It does sound too simple to work. A thousand things could go wrong…

It’s still the best plan we have.

Lizzie looks like she wants to jump out of her skin at the state the house is in, but she’s not so distracted that she misses the chance to say, “Why are we doing this alone? Don’t you have a network of rebels that stretches the span of Threshold? They could get us up-to-date information and actually, you know, help?”

I’m already shaking my head. “Unfortunately, that’s not possible.”

She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean, that’s not possible?”

“We don’t have many people on Lyari.” Bastian glances up from his crouched position. “And the ones here are high-risk, so they are roughly three degrees removed from Siobhan and the rest of us. If we go to them for help, they won’t know or trust us. It will just waste time we can’t afford to lose—and amplifies the risk of being caught.”

Guilt and frustration are live things inside me. It wouldn’t matter if we had other people to help because I’m the only one who can do what needs to be done. I can’t say that without explaining what Dia told me. Instead, I focus on Lizzie’s suggestion. “The only reason we’ve been able to work for so long is because the network is just that—a network. I only have direct contact with a handful of people. That wasn’t always the case, but it became necessary as the number of people in the rebellion grew. It protects everyone. If one person is caught, they can only draw a connection to one or two of the others.”

Lizzie makes a face. “It does make sense when you put it like that. It’s still inconvenient.”

“Yes.” We would have had to change things dramatically to draw people together to fight. I’m not even certain it would work.

Thankfully, that’s not something I have to worry about any longer. I just have to get to the horn.

“I won’t know if I can neutralize the magic until I see it,” Evelyn says quietly. “If you’re betting on me, it might be for nothing. This is a serious risk.”

Bastian looks at the increasingly chaotic layout of rocks, his brows pulled together. “The current Council is the one who brought the horn out to display instead of keeping it locked in a vault somewhere. Enough of the old members had died off that the younger ones decided to change the way they handle artifacts. The magic will be ritual, and even if the flavor is different than yours, you should be able to find a way around it.”

“?‘Should’ is not a guarantee,” Evelyn counters.

“It’s not. But it’s an educated guess and you’re an excellent witch. I have faith in your abilities.”

Evelyn blushes a little, and though it seems like she still wants to argue, we really have reached the point of no return. I motion to Bastian. “Can you hold the glamour over that many people?” When he hid us on First Sister, they were all on my back, which essentially made us one figure—if a large one.

“As long as everyone is within my eyesight, yes.” His jaw is set, his eyes harder than I’ve ever seen them. He’s shown what he’s capable of, time and time again. I believe him when he says he can do it.

“Let’s go. We’re wasting time.” I head for the door, moving slowly enough that I’m sure they’re all following by the time I press the creaking wood open to the outside. It’s significantly cooler here than on Yoth, but we’re still well into the summer in this part of Threshold. I tilt my head back and study the stars.

When I’m among the Wild Hunt, will I be able to take moments like this to appreciate the beauty all around me? Or will it be an eternity of constant, churning motion? Of never-ending hunger? I shiver.

“Siobhan?”

I drag my eyes from the sky to Nox. The others have passed us by, following Bastian. I’m proud of him for his initiative here. He’s shown plenty of leadership qualities over the years, but he’s always been content to hold a second-in-command position. It’s a good sign that he’s evolving; I won’t be around to take a lead from in the future. Someone has to ensure Lyari doesn’t set up another Council to replace the first and perpetuate the harm done by past generations. Bastian will do right by the people and the mission. He’ll be a good leader.

I wish I could be there to see it.

“Siobhan.” Nox slips their hand into mine and pulls me to a stop. “This will work.”

Ironic that they’re trying to comfort me when I should be doing it for them. “I know.” I survey the sky one last time and then let Nox tug me into the trees after the others.

We stick to the trees where we can, and utilize a combination of Bastian’s glamour and the dark where we can’t. The trip is unremarkable, which is exactly as we’d hoped. The city is too perfectly placed to worry about a large attack from the land side. There’s cover for a small group like ours, but not for an army. And who has a standing army in Threshold, realm of the seas? Any attack would be from a navy, and Lyari is well protected against that . They have a stranglehold on the bay the city squats in the center of, massive forts on either side of the mouth that ensure only those who are invited successfully enter their waters.

Even slipping into the city itself is easy enough. We scale the short wall in the darkest section we can find. Nox scrunches their nose when we land in an alley filled with refuse and things best left unexamined. “I hate cities.”

“We all do,” Bowen murmurs.

“Speak for yourself.” Lizzie lifts one foot and squints at it. “Though I prefer to hunt in cleaner areas.” She turns and sweeps Maeve into her arms. “No point in getting your feet dirty. You’ll never clean the stench off.”

Maeve murmurs something into Lizzie’s ear that I do my very best not to hear. The dark covers my blush as I weave through our small group to come even with Bastian. “Let’s keep moving.”

“A moment.” He closes his eyes, breathes deep, and exhales on a cough. “Right, that was a mistake. Give me a second to get the glamour in place. It will cover the sounds of our walking as long as no one makes too much noise. You’ll be able to see through the glamour, but no one will see you.”

“Nifty,” Evelyn murmurs. “That’s a trick I’d love to learn.”

“Sorry, love. He’s one of a kind,” Nox answers just as quietly. They’re smiling, but their gray eyes are serious. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Bastian confirms.

Then we’re off again, slipping through the dark streets with an ease that sets my teeth on edge. There are guards patrolling here and there, but they never realize how close we are. I know Bastian’s magic is formidable, but this feels too damned easy. Right as the horologists are calling one in the morning, we reach the Council’s seat of power.

A couple generations ago, it was a normal-sized building. Now it’s a monstrosity, bulging oddly and stretching strangely with new additions. Whatever beauty there was in its construction has long since been perverted with the need for more . I shudder at the sight, just like I always did as a child being forced to visit this place.

“Is it…supposed to look like that?” Evelyn whispers, her eyes wide.

“Apt, don’t you think?” Nox answers. They nudge her with their shoulder. “Want to burn it down as we leave?”

“I do like a good fire on occasion.” Evelyn flicks a glance to Lizzie, some unspoken history there. I know they used to be in a relationship before Evelyn arrived in Threshold, but there seem to be no hard feelings on either side now. “Just like that time we went gambling in Monte Carlo.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes and finally allows Maeve to stand on her own. “It was only a small fire. It hardly counts.”

I inhale deeply, sorting through the scents to find what I’m looking for. “Two people patrolling. The last scent trail is old enough that they should be coming… there .”

Nox and Lizzie move in coordinated perfection. As the guards come around the corner, each dressed in the Council’s crimson, they crumple, one’s eyes rolling back in their head and one with a small trail of blood coming from their nose. Bowen reaches out at the same moment, catching them before they can hit the ground and floating them over to us. Evelyn and Maeve quickly rifle through the guards’ coats, the latter coming up with a key and handing it to me.

Nox surveys the building. “No door on this side. Which way?”

Bastian sweats lightly, a small line between his brows as he concentrates. “Left.”

We go left. The building may have started as a perfect square, but that was a long time ago. Now its perimeter is as haphazardly designed as its walls. We round four corners before reaching the promised door. The key fits perfectly, and it opens soundlessly, revealing a rectangle of darkness.

“That’s not ominous or anything,” Evelyn murmurs.

Nox glances at me, prompting another deep inhale, which makes me sneeze. Magic is thick in the air. There are wards on the building, but they’ve been unlocked with the key, the same way the door has. It’s difficult to tell if anyone has come through here—aside from the guards. “I don’t know what we’re going to find.”

“Nothing to do but go in,” they finally say.

They start to step forward, but I shake my head. “I’ll go first. I see better in the dark than anyone here.”

“I see well enough,” Lizzie snaps, but it’s half-hearted, even for her. “I’ll bring up the rear so we don’t get ambushed.”

No one bothers to argue with the vampire. They file in after me, and Lizzie softly closes the door behind us. It’s even darker like this, dark enough that Bastian presses a hand to the middle of my back, and I can hear the others mirroring his motion behind him. It’s like a children’s game as we file deeper into the building, following the strangely curving hallways.

Nobles usually enter through the public door on the other side of the building. Even so, I finally start to pick up familiar scents after a few turns. Thank the gods. It takes several minutes to get my bearings, but I manage to lead us through another series of hallways until we reach a broad archway and the scent of dust. “Up ahead.”

“Don’t rush,” Bastian says. “I’ll keep the glamour in place until we’re inside.”

I go slowly, using every one of my senses to search for evidence of a trap. There must be a trap. I’m not one to believe in omens and the like, but this has been too blessedly easy. Yes, the Council is lazy and corrupt and overly confident in their power. The last attempted—failed—attack on Lyari was three hundred years ago. The warriors were cut down in the mouth of the bay; they never had a chance to reach the city, let alone this building. The citizens in the city don’t want to draw the attention of the Council, so aside from the random thief who’s too desperate to know better, locals avoid this space.

And the attempted thieves? They dangle from the nooses in Hangman’s Courtyard until they rot enough to become a hazard. A warning that people heed.

A warning we’re ignoring.

We file into the library. I’ve only been in here a handful of times, and not since I was a teenager, but I could swear little has changed. It’s a great dome of a room, with bookshelves running up the walls. Overhead, the curved ceiling has dozens of strange shapes hanging from it. They look like some kind of artifacts, but I can’t begin to guess their origins.

The carpet underneath our feet is ancient and faded to the point where I can’t figure out what the design originally was. The room curves away on the opposite side from where we entered, fading into deep darkness that not even my eyes can penetrate. That way will have more of what we have here, as well as an office for the person who oversees the collection.

After several long minutes of tension, Bastian drops the glamour. I had barely registered the magical weight of it against my skin, but I can’t help stretching the moment it’s gone. Everyone is silent as we look around. I very intentionally study the group instead of the large glass square in the center of the room. My fate lies in that case, and even if I have no intention of avoiding it, that doesn’t mean I have to stare at it a moment before strictly necessary.

Evelyn looks around with wide eyes. “So many books…”

“Don’t even think about it,” Lizzie and Bowen say at the same time. They exchange irritated looks, but there’s a thread of fondness growing between them despite themselves.

Bowen clears his throat. “Some of them will be trapped. It’s not worth risking touching anything but what we came for.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Siobhan, on the door.” Nox speaks softly but firmly. “Bastian, sit down and rest until it’s time to leave. Evelyn, the case.”

“Right. The case.” The blonde crosses to the case, Bowen a bare step behind. She glances over her shoulder. “You’re lurking. Give me a few moments.” Without waiting for an answer, she circles the case. And then does it again, even slower this time, her green eyes narrowed.

Impatience bites at me, but we can’t afford to rush. This is the only chance we’re going to have to pull this off.

On her third circuit, she stops and nods. “Okay. They tried to be tricky, but whoever put this together didn’t expect me .” She holds out a hand without looking at Bowen. He curses softly under his breath, but doesn’t hesitate to offer her a small knife. She pricks the meaty pad of her palm and then presses her bloodied hand to her tattooed chest. A beat where her eyes flare brilliant green, and then she grins. “Oh, yeah, I’ve got you. Give me five minutes and I’ll have it dismantled.”

I should be grateful that it won’t take long, that it’s surmountable, but instead my tension rides higher. Too easy. This is too damned easy.

“Almost there.” Something sizzles behind me, and Evelyn makes a satisfied noise. “Got it. Bowen, it’s safe to dismantle the glass now.”

The air in the hallway abruptly shifts, coursing toward us. I take a step back even before my brain catches up with what I’m smelling. “Oh, fuck.”

A low laugh emerges from the darkness a moment before my sister steps out. “Hello, Siobhan.”