Page 95 of Stormvein

Chapter Twenty-Two

ELLIE

Magic without intention is grief without voice.

Writings of the Veinblood Masters

I’ve never felt so trappedbetween two people in my entire life. The air in the room is thick with tension, with unspoken threats, with secrets about to break the surface. My heart hammers against my ribs when Lisandra surges past me and drops to her knees beside Sacha’s bed, her sword discarded on the floor beside her.

“What happened at Ashenvale … It was my fault.”

The chamber feels small, the walls pressing in around me as Lisandra’s confession hangs in the air. I stand at the end of the bed, caught between wanting to intervene and needing to hear what she’s about to say.

Lisandra’s face is a map of conflicting emotions as she looks at Sacha’s seemingly unconscious form. Guilt, fear, resignation. I can see all three emotions moving across her face in quick succession from where I’m standing. Her hands shake where they rest on the edge of the bed, her fingers clutching the blanket.

The commander of Stonehaven, the woman who has led the Veinwardens here for years, the leader who refused to listen when I demanded we search for Sacha. I see none of those versions of the woman on her knees in front of me.

“I gave them everything.” Her words cut through the silence of the room. “Who was traveling with you. Your plan to retrieve your ring. Your meeting point once you had it. I handed it all to Sereven. He knew exactly where to find you becauseItold him.”

A gasp escapes me before I can stop it. The power inside me tries to burst free, and I have to fight to contain it, to keep it from striking her down. The significance of what she’s saying crashes over me all at once.

She betrayed Sacha to Sereven. She’s the reason the Authority knew where to find him at River Crossing. She’s the reason for everything that followed.

I want to speak, to demand explanations, to ask how she could do this to someone she claims to follow, but my voice is trapped in my throat. All I can do is stand here, a witness to this confession that changes everything I thought I knew about her.

Lisandra keeps going, as if she can’t stop now that she’s started. Her words flow faster, tumbling over each other in her haste to get them out. “He threatened to destroy Stonehaven. Said he’d level it to ash, kill everyone inside. I thought I was buying time. I thought if I gave you back to them, they would take you back to the tower … I didn’t know what they’d do to you.” Her voice chokes on the words, a strangled sound catching in her throat.

The tears that have been welling in her eyes begin to spill over. Her hands release the blanket only to clutch at it again, the repetitive movement betraying her agitation.

“I swear, I didn’t know what they’d do to you.” The horror in her voice seems genuine, but I can’t reconcile it with her betrayal.

Does she truly expect us to believe she thought the Authority would be merciful? That they would simply lock him away without any form of punishment? After everything the Veinwardens have witnessed, after everything they’ve fought against? How could anyone hand over a person to the Authority and not expect the worst?

EvenIknew, with my limited knowledge of them, what they would do to Sacha.

She’s crying now, full body shaking, tears streaming down her face. This isn’t the composed commander of Stonehaven anymore. This isn’t even the woman who drew a sword on me moments ago. This is someone broken by her own choices, by a secret carried too long. The façade of control has completely crumbled, leaving only guilt exposed.

“By the time I realized they intended to take you to Blackvault, I was trapped too deep in deceit and lies. I had no choice but to tell them about the attempted rescue.”

The admission stops me cold, and for a moment, I go dizzy while my mind races to process what she said. She knew all about the rescue plan for Glassfall Gap. She heard what the Authority captain told us they’d planned for Sacha at Blackvault. And shestillwarned Sereven.

All those Authority soldiers waiting for us, the trap that nearly cost Sacha his life … thatdidcost two fighters their lives … It wasn't bad luck or poor planning. It was her. She betrayed us all.

And not just one betrayal, but two that I know of. How many more are there? How many times in the past has she chosen to give the Authority information? How long would it have gone on if Sacha hadn’t survived? How many more fighters would have died because of information she fed to the enemy?

She swallows a sob, her shoulders shaking, and her body seems to collapse in on itself. She buries her head into theblanket beside Sacha’s hand and breaks down, missing the shift in the air.

But I don’t. The fine hairs on my arms and the back of my neck lift. The shadows in the corners draw in. The temperature drops. A chill runs up my spine. Even the torch flame seems to dim.

The illusion of death falls away from Sacha like water. It dissolves into wisps of darkness that curl and dissipate in the air. One moment he appears to be a dying man—gaunt, pale, barely breathing—and the next he’s sitting upright, eyes open and focused on Lisandra. The change is so sudden, so complete, that even I take a step back.

“You betrayed me.” His voice is cold, hard, and promises consequences.

Lisandra’s head snaps up, and she scrambles to her feet, stumbling back from the bed. Horror contorts her face as she stares at Sacha, fully healed and very much alive. Her sword remains on the floor where she discarded it, now out of reach. The sound of her back hitting the wall echoes around the room.

“You … You’re …” She stares at him, unable to complete the thought, her face drained of all color. She looks like she’s seen a ghost, which, in a way, she has. The man she believed was dying before her eyes is standing now, radiating power and fury.

“Not dead?” His voice is silky. “You would be correct.”