Virelai waited until nightfall.

As soon as the last of the sun had dipped below the horizon, she cracked open her bedroom door. The younger guard was there. Perfect.

"Do you need something, my lady?" he asked when he noticed her.

"Willow bark tea." She kept her voice low so that he had to lean forward to hear her.

"Willow bark tea?" His brows knit. "Are you sick?"

She pressed a hand to her abdomen and watched his eyes flick down and then back up—watched his face color as he figured out why she wanted the tea. "Would you mind getting some for me from the kitchens? I could call one of the servants or get it myself, but . . ." she trailed off, pretending to double over in pain.

"No, no. I can get it for you." He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was right now.

Before she could even thank him, he was hurrying down the hall, away from her.

As soon as he turned the corner, Virelai straightened up with a smile. That had been simple. If only the rest of the guards were so susceptible to manipulation. Shutting the door behind her, she set off down the hall in the opposite direction the guard had taken.

Thankfully, the halls were quiet, and if she was lucky, they would stay that way, even when the guard returned and discovered she was missing. She was counting on him being smart enough to not raise an alarm. If he did, it could mean both their heads. Virelai hoped he liked his head where it was, however empty as it may be.

She made it safely out of the castle, undetected, and into the city, sticking to the shadows. Now that night had fallen, most of Nyrene's inhabitants had retreated to their homes. Only a few of Gavaran's soldiers remained patrolling the streets.

There was one such soldier a few paces ahead of her who seemed to be taking the same route she was. Unlike her, he was in no hurry, strolling along as if he were on a pleasant jaunt around town and not searching for those who would rebel against the new king.

After a long ten minutes of ducking and darting between shadows, she finally made it to the street where Wisteria and Eryx were hidden. The soldier still strolled along ahead of her, taking his sweet time.

Virelai sighed as she watched. She needed him to turn onto the next street before she risked making a move for the front door.

He passed one house and then another, not so much as turning his head. Then, directly in front of her house, he paused.

Virelai sucked in a breath.

No. Why? What could have made him stop there?

Her heart skipped a beat as the seconds ticked by, and he kept staring at the front of her house. He couldn't know what was hidden behind those walls. No one could know. She had been so careful.

There was a scuffling sound, and then a bird took flight from where it had nested beneath the peak of the roof. The soldier tracked its flight path until it disappeared into the night sky. Then he kept walking.

Virelai shook her head. Here she was thinking the worst, and it was only a stupid bird.

She waited until the soldier rounded the corner and then counted to ten. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she darted out of the shadows and straight for her front door.

By the time she reached it, the key was already in her hand, and she stuffed it into the lock.

It wasn't until she was safely inside with the door shut between her and the outside world that she remembered to breathe.

"Can't you knock or something?" Wisteria groused, lowering the pan she must have been planning to use as a weapon. "One of these times, I'm not going to hesitate, and you’re going to find yourself with a terrible headache."

"Excuse me for not standing out there where anyone could see me and waiting for you to answer the door," Virelai snapped. "There are soldiers out there patrolling the streets, and you know I can't be seen here if any of us want to keep living."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Wisteria pursed her lips and looked Virelai up and down with a critical eye. "Something's got you rattled. What happened?"

Her thoughts flashed back to the meeting with her father when he told her she was going to marry Harloth. It would not happen. It couldn’t.

“Find out some bad news?”

Virelai lifted her chin and set her shoulders, hating that Wisteria had been able to read her so easily. She wasn’t about to tell her about the impending wedding. She would probably delight in it.

"Nothing. I came because I found something interesting I think we might be able to use. Where’s Eryx?"

"Right here." He leaned against the doorway behind Wisteria. The clothes he was wearing reminded her vaguely of some old dresses of hers. Must have been a coincidence, she decided.

“Good. I can’t stay long since I’m sure my guard has noticed I’m missing by now, but I thought it best to get word of this to you as soon as possible, in case you had any ideas of what it might mean.”

In case they could come up with a plan to stop her wedding.

“Let’s go to the dining room. I don’t want any sounds to draw the soldiers’ attention. You need to be careful to stay out of this front room, especially at night.”

“We already know that,” Wisteria grumbled.

When they were all seated at the dining table and well away from the front of the house, Virelai told them about the people she had seen on the beach and her conversation with her father. The only part she left out was her betrothal.

“Do you think he has them working on something?” Eryx asked.

“A possibility. I’m not sure what it could be for, though. They weren’t brought into the city.”

“Has he been sending soldiers outside?”

“Not that I’m aware. As far as I know, my father isn’t allowing anyone, soldier or citizen, outside the walls anymore. Unless he’s told someone his plans, I have no way of finding out what is going on out there unless I sneak out of the walls myself.”

Something sparked in Eryx's eyes. "Is that a possibility?"

Virelai snorted. "Hardly. These days I'm under guard at all hours."

"Then how are you here now? Did your guard tag along?" Wisteria asked, pretending to look around for a guard.

Virelai shot her an annoyed look. "I have my ways, and as I said earlier, they will soon discover I’m missing if they haven’t already. Once they do, I will have only a short time to return without my father being notified. I wouldn’t have the time to make it out of the walls and back again and even if I did, I wouldn’t dare risk trying to leave with how closely they watch the gates.”

"What if you didn't have to leave by the gate?" Eryx asked.

She lifted a brow. "What do you mean? There is no other way out besides the gate. It’s always been so."

"No,” he said quietly. “There is another way. It’s not an official way, but it could be an option."

Virelai eyed him, waiting for him to continue.

"There is a weakness in the wall—a hole of sorts."

She frowned. "I doubt it's still there. My father would have had anything like that shored up."

Eryx shook his head. "He didn't know. No one knew except for Kestrel and myself, and we never reported it to anyone."

"Doesn't matter if he didn’t know then.” She waved him off. “I'm sure my father has had the wall checked for such problems, and fixed it already. With the way he has been keeping secrets, I don’t imagine he would let something like that slip by."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We don’t know what his plans are. Perhaps he’s distracted and something as small as checking the city walls for weakness could have slipped his mind."

Virelai considered this. Her father was occupied with many things these days, including apparently arranging her betrothal. Her stomach twisted. She might have a month at most to find a way out of it.

"Fine,” she said. “Say this hole still exists. It doesn’t help my guard problem. This visit alone might cost me what little freedom I was afforded."

"I could go," Wisteria said.

Virelai huffed a laugh.

"What? I’m serious. You can't go because you are constantly being watched," Wisteria pointed to Virelai, "and you," now she pointed to Eryx, "can't go because you’re too well known. You would be recognized instantly. I, on the other hand, am a servant. No one notices us. We’re practically invisible."

Virelai studied her. She did have a point. Wisteria could blend in better than either of them could. However, Virelai couldn't help recalling the last time Wisteria had been outside the house. She’d been so nervous looking. If she were to do that again, she would be caught in a heartbeat.

"You’re sure? You would have to be very careful," Eryx told her.

"I know. I can be careful, and we don't have any other options unless you have some other elves hidden away somewhere." Wisteria directed this last bit at her.

"Unfortunately for you, I do not. If you think you can handle this, then by all means, go ahead. I will leave this task to the two of you." Virelai stood. "I need to get back to the castle now.”

"When will you return?" Eryx asked.

"I'm not sure, but it would be best if you can get this done as soon as possible."

"I'll go tomorrow," Wisteria said.

Eryx held out a hand to her. "We will discuss it first."

Virelai pretended not to see the face Wisteria made when Eryx wasn’t looking. "I'll continue doing what I can from the castle." She headed for the door, steeling herself for the journey back.

"No word about Kai or Kestrel?" Eryx must have followed her to the door.

Virelai paused in mid-reach for the doorknob and glanced back over her shoulder. She’d been waiting for him to ask that question since she’d arrived. "None," she said, quashing the hope in his eyes. "Doesn't mean they aren't still out there," she quickly added. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to reassure him.

"No, it doesn't, and it is probably for the better. Until next time, Virelai."

She dipped her chin in acknowledgment. "Until next time, Commander," she replied, slipping outside and back into the shadows.