Page 125 of Stormvein

And just like that, my body relaxes, my eyes close, and a dreamless sleep overtakes me.

When I wake, it’s to chaos.

Shouts pierce the pre-dawn darkness. I bolt upright, and roll to my feet before I’m truly awake, heart hammering, half-expecting to see Authority soldiers surrounding us.

“She’s gone,” someone calls from across the camp. “Lisandra has gone.”

It takes a moment for the words to make sense.

Lisandra? What? How?

“Search the area. She can’t have gone far.”

I spin to find Sacha standing behind me. His eyes meet mine briefly before he lifts his palm and calls his familiar. The raven forms from darkness itself, wings spreading wide before launching skyward.

“How did she get free?” My voice is thin, shocked.

“She managed to cut her bonds on the tree bark.” One of the fighters crouches beside where Lisandra had been sitting, examining the frayed wraps that had been used to bind her hands. “She must have worked on them all night.”

“Why would she wait until now to escape? Why not while we were closer to Stonehaven, where she might have found support?”

“We’re closer to Blackstone Ridge than Stonehaven.” A muscle ticks in Sacha’s jaw.

“You think she’s going to warn him?”

“I don’t know. But we should find her before that becomes a reality.”

As the group of men hurry around removing evidence of the camp, I feel the first real flickering of fear. Our plans for Blackstone Ridge depend on the element of surprise. On Lisandra delivering Sacha’s message under our control. With her free and likely heading straight to the High Commander, that advantage is lost.

I’m checking the straps on my horse when I notice something tucked into the saddle. A folded piece of paper that wasn’t there the night before. I pull it free and unfold it. There’s a message scribbled on it.

He’s sending everyone to their deaths at Blackstone Ridge. The way he looks at you. It’s the only reason you might survive. Get away while you can. This isn’t your war, and your death will not serve any purpose.

Lisandra must have left this for me to find. Is it a final attempt to sow discord, to separate me from Sacha? To isolate him?

“Are you ready to go?” Sacha’s voice, close behind me, makes me jump.

This isn’t your war …

I spin around and hold out the note for him to see. If she expected me to keep it from him, she seriously misjudged me. “Lisandra left this.”

He takes it, eyes scanning the message. His expression doesn’t change, but he crumples the paper in his fist.

“A predictable tactic. She hopes to divide us.”

“Is it true?” I don’t believe it, but I need to hear him say it.

His eyes meet mine. “No. I have never sacrificed people to save myself.”

His answer should reassure me, yet something in his tone lifts the hairs on the back of my neck. I don’t think he’s lying about the safety of our little group, but about his own. He might not be planning to sacrifice his people, but is he planning to sacrifice himself?

“We need to leave. Blackstone Ridge is still a day’s ride, and unless we find Lisandra, there’s every chance we will lose the element of surprise.”

Mounting my horse, my eyes rise to the sky darkening above us. Dark clouds are forming, likely in response to my mood. I focus on controlling them, on preventing the storm from manifesting fully.

“Ellie.” Sacha’s voice snaps my attention back to my surroundings just in time to duck before a tree branch hits my face. “Pay attention.”

My thoughts keep returning to Lisandra’s note as we ride.