"Good morning, my lady," the young guard greeted Virelai when she opened her door. He was back in his position from the night before, as if he’d never left.

She eyed him for a moment before responding with a terse, "Morning."

"Heading to breakfast, my lady?"

She should have said yes and left it at that, but instead Virelai said, "You never brought my tea last night."

The guard shifted, eyes darting over her shoulder to the hall beyond.

He knew something, and she was going to find out what it was.

"Well?" she prodded. "Did you get lost on your way to the kitchens?"

"I didn't think you wanted the tea." His eyes met hers for a moment before darting away again. "It would have grown cold in your absence."

Virelai's heart stopped for a moment. "You knew? Why didn't you raise an alarm?"

Of course, she hadn’t gotten away with her nighttime adventure. It was what she’d suspected, but now she needed to know what this guard had done with the information. If he hadn’t told her father, then he likely wanted to use it as leverage to get something else out of her.

"I wanted to know where you’d gone."

“I see. So you followed me in order to have more to report and possibly gain a higher position.” She looked him up and down. “You must have been unsuccessful, considering you’re still standing outside my door.”

Inside, Virelai was panicking. This stupid elf and his status climbing was about to get all of them killed. Then who would be left to look out for this kingdom? She’d need to move fast and get word to Eryx and Wisteria if it wasn’t already too late.

"No," the guard said, leaning into her personal space and lowering his voice. "I wanted to follow you to see if I could trust you."

Well, this was unexpected. What was he playing at?

"Oh, and why would you need to trust me? You work for my father, in case you forgot."

His eyes darted around nervously again, before he moved even closer and whispered, "I may work for him, yes, but my loyalty doesn't lie with him."

Now it was Virelai's turn to look around to make sure they were alone. The conversation was getting dangerous.

"And I don't think yours does either," he continued, his breath tickling her ear.

If anyone came upon them, they’d think something else was going on, but it didn’t reassure her.

"Careful," Virelai hissed. "What you say is treason."

He pulled back enough to meet her eyes. "But it is the truth, is it not?"

She stared at him. It may be the truth, but she wasn't quite ready to give herself away. He hadn't reported her absence, but that didn't mean he was worthy of her trust.

"Let me help you. I know I can."

"You can help me by minding your own business," she whispered. "I’m going to be late for breakfast," she said in a normal tone, brushing past him.

"Of course, my lady," he said, straightening up and stepping back from her.

Virelai heard the disappointment in his voice, but she didn't turn back.

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Breakfast was, as usual, a lonely affair. Virelai could have had a tray brought up to her rooms, but this afforded her a chance to escape from her prison. It also gave her a chance to see other parts of the castle and listen in on conversations.

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Not that Virelai had had much luck with either of those things lately, but she wouldn't say no to an opportunity to leave her rooms where she didn't have to sneak around. She wasn't sure how much longer it would be before her father refused her even this much, and who knows what Harloth’s plans were for her once they were married?

No, she reminded herself, there would be no wedding. They would put a stop to it before it went that far.

Her guard had followed her to the dining room and taken up a position outside the door.

What was she going to do about him, Virelai wondered as she chewed slowly on a piece of sweet bread. The cinnamon and sugar confection practically melted in her mouth, but she barely tasted it. She could ignore him and pretend nothing had happened, but then he might take his information to Gavaran. The alternative was to accept his offer. However, bringing more people into her plans meant a greater risk of discovery. Besides, what could a lowly guard like him have to offer her?

Although, as she thought about it, her current allies weren’t exactly impressive either. She had a mostly healed secondary Commander, who couldn't step foot outside the safe house or risk losing his head, and a servant girl who lacked any sort of spying ability—not exactly the team she’d envisioned for dethroning her father.

What she needed was information. She needed to know what her father was planning. If Wisteria was successful in her mission to find out what he was doing with the humans, there might be something she could use. But that was a big if.

Virelai didn't have high hopes.

If this guard could help her by offering another set of eyes and ears around the castle, or perhaps recruit others to her side, it would be stupid of her not to take it.

Virelai picked up her spoon and stirred the little sour berries she’d loved since childhood into her porridge. Normally, it was her favorite meal, but now she couldn’t bring herself to take a bite.

She sighed and set her spoon down again, leaving the porridge untouched. The worry would gnaw at her until she faced it head on, so she might as well get this over with.

Virelai scooted her chair back and stood, leaving her unfinished breakfast on the table. A servant would come by and clean it up later.

The young guard stood at attention as soon as she opened the door, waiting like a well-trained dog.

Virelai pinned him with her stare. "I've changed my mind. We need to talk."

He dipped his chin, eyes lowered. "After you, my lady."

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The walk back to her rooms was silent. Virelai led the way, with her guard trailing a respectful distance behind her. To anyone watching or listening, everything would appear normal. No one would know a treasonous conversation was about to take place.

When they reached her door, the guard went to take up his usual post outside, but Virelai grabbed his arm. He didn't pull back or question her as she tugged him inside behind her before shutting the door.

"Sit," she commanded, pointing to a chair in the front sitting area. "We won't have long to speak. Someone could walk by and see you’re not at your post, so let's make this quick. What is your name?"

"Cylan," he answered easily.

"Cylan, what exactly is it you think I am doing?"

"You are planning to overthrow the imposter king," he stated, without batting an eye.

Virelai didn't bother to confirm or deny it. "You served under Commander Eryx, yes?"

"In the absence of the Prince’s Commander, Kestrel, yes."

"And would you say you are loyal to Commander Eryx?"

"Of course.”

“How did you follow me without alerting me?” He didn’t give the impression of being particularly stealthy and yet she’d never suspected anything.

"It was nothing, really." Cylan would no longer meet her eye.

Virelai watched him. There was something here that he didn't want her to know. He was fine discussing treason, but this he wanted to keep secret. Why?

Then it dawned on her. "You can bend the light. You don’t need to be stealthy when you can make it appear as though you are no longer there."

He was the perfect spy. Could she really have gotten so lucky? The ability to bend light was such a rare talent. No wonder he didn't want her to know.

Her mind raced at the possibilities. He could get anyone in or out of the city right under everyone's noses and listen to anyone's conversations without them knowing he was there.

"Who else knows you can do this?" Gavaran couldn't have known, or Cylan never would have been assigned to such a low position.

“No one, really.”

"Can you use it to hide multiple people?"

"When I was a child, yes, but with our magic fading, I'm not sure I can anymore."

It was something they could test later.

"Is it true, then?"

"Is what true?" she asked distractedly.

"That Commander Eryx lives. I thought I saw . . ."

"Yes, he’s alive. For now." There was no reason not to tell him when he was perfectly capable of finding out for himself. With his talent, she needed him on her side, so it would not serve her to lie to him.

"The others must know." Cylan looked ready to leap from his chair to spread the news.

"No," Virelai snapped, eyes flashing. "You can't breathe a word of this. To anyone."

"But if they knew, we could recruit more people. You’ll need an army, won’t you? They might be wary of following you, but they will definitely follow Commander Eryx."

"Not. A word. Do you understand? There is a time and a place for everything."

Cylan nodded.

"Good. I need to think about this, and you need to get back to your post. I will let you know when I require your services."

"Yes, my lady." He stood and bowed to her before heading for the door.

The moment it shut behind him, Virelai allowed herself to smile.

It seemed the gods had been listening after all because things were finally looking up.