A Court of Fire and Night

Chapter 10

Lyria

Camilla shook her head. "Really, I expected better of you. You weren't supposed to be involved in what was going to happen. Just a minor annoyance. But now I realize you aren't from around here. And you may be useful."

I laughed. "You just realized that? Wow, you must be stupider than I thought."

"Quiet," she hissed.  There was a sting of pain at my throat, and I felt a bead of blood drip down my neck. "You don't want anyone coming in here, do you?"

"Oh, I wouldn't mind. Then everyone here would see you for what you really are."

"And what was that, exactly? No, nevermind. I don't care. It won't matter anyway. You'll be dead before you can spout more nonsense to anyone. I will-"

"You really like hearing yourself talk. Normally, I'd be annoyed. But you're freely telling me your plan. So carry on."

"I thought I told you to shut up." 

I felt a prick at my side. I didn't have to see to know her hands were now sharp claws. "Now, you're going to tell me who you are and where you came from."

"I thought you wanted me to- ow! Ok, fine. No need to get violent. My name is Lyria Whitethorn Galathynius. I'm the crown princess of Terrasen. That's in a different world, in case you didn't know. I fell through a portal and landed here. The Inner Circle are going to help me get back home."

"How do I know you aren't lying?"

"You don't. But I don't plan on dying today." With that, my body burst into flames. Camilla cursed and jumped back. I spun around with a dagger in my hand. There were burns along her arms.

"Bitch," she snarled.

I smirked. "Funny, that's what I was about to call you."

She lunged at me. I easily ducked and turned away. It was easy to tell she didn't fight often. I almost corrected her stance and how she held a dagger. "I don't want to fight. Actually, that's a lie. I've been itching for one all day. But it'd be too much work to get rid of the body."

I was goading her into fighting. She took the bait. When she reached me, I brought the hilt of my dagger up knocked her out. She dropped like a stone. After picking her up, I turned to the door. And froze.

"What, exactly, is going on here?" Rhysand asked.

Callum

Shortly after Lyria left, my dad came and got me. He didn't look happy. 

"What is it?"I asked as we flew down to Velaris.

"Someone broke into our house."

"What?" I almost fell. "How?"

"Someone let them inside. I have a few suspicions. I had a feeling something like this might happen, so I let down the wards in my office."

"Why would you do that?"

"In case someone tried to sneak in there for information. I was alerted when someone did go in there. Two people, actually."

"How do you know it's not mom or someone else?"

"Because it's your mother's office as well. And no one else is allowed in there."

We landed in front of the house, and my dad quickly went inside. I hurried to catch up. Was it a coincidence that Lyria had told me someone would try to get information? Did she know something? Or was she the one who broke in? Somehow, I doubted that. But maybe it was because I didn't want it to be true.

We stopped outside the door. My father reached for the handle and pushed it open. I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to go inside.

"What, exactly, is going on here?" He said. I peeked inside and stared at what I saw. Lyria was holding an unconscious Camilla in her arms. In one hand was a small dagger. A different, more ornate one was one the ground. A thin line of red marked Lyria's neck. For a second, she looked surprised and a little scared. Then her expression smoothed out and became neutral.

"I was merely escorting Camilla out of here."

"Unconscious?" 

"It was that or dragging her out by her hair, screaming. This was easier."

"And why are you in here?"

"I was following Camilla. I didn't trust her, so I decided to see where she went. Apparently, I wasn't as stealthy as I thought. She held a knife to my throat, we got into a small skirmish, I knocked her out, and now we're here. If you don't believe me, feel free to read my mind."

I held my breath. Lyria was treading on thin ice here. My father was silent. I could tell he was taking Lyria up on that offer. Then he said, "Well, at least there's one less thing I have to do."

"What?" I goggled at him. "You are out of your mind! Now we will never be able to ally with the Spring Court."

My father looked amused. "Son, Camilla was never here for that. I had my suspicions but didn't act until I was sure. Even then, I couldn't actually interfere unless I had undeniable proof. Lyria just helped things along."

She looked smug. "Told you."

I scowled at her. "Whatever."

My dad had an odd expression on his face. He looked between us. His eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled. "Come on, let's stop standing here and get Camilla somewhere secure."

Lyria shouldered past me and followed my dad out. I glared at her back and strode after her. I didn't want to miss this. Things were about to get interesting.

Thank you for reading! Please be sure to vote and comment! Also, what would you like to see more of? I'll try to add any suggestions.