The Last Knight (An Awakening the Lightforged Novel)

Chapter 6: Your Name

The tunnels of the Nightstone base grew more foreboding the deeper Estingai and her companions ventured. No cloth hung on the walls to dampen the echoes of their footsteps, and no light illuminated their path save the small electric torches they carried.

With the way so lonely and empty, Estingai had to grit her teeth to keep her paranoia at bay. As it was, she nearly flinched every time someone moved the light of their torch, making the shadows jump. It had alerted them to a few tripwires the Nightstone guards had set, however, which they carefully disarmed.

"So," Kozasana whispered, stepping up beside Estingai, "you going to apologize for being so harsh on them earlier?"

Estingai winced. The smooth stone of the tunnels carried and amplified even the faintest sounds.

She wanted to snap at Kozasana. Instead, she sighed.

"I let my exhaustion get the best of me," she admitted.

Kozasana nodded, and they walked in silence for a while before Estingai's friend spoke again, "How do you think we should handle the meeting?"

Estingai looked at her friend, then shrugged. "We should just leave that to Aari. He's more skilled in that sort of thing."

Kozasana shrugged. "True, but then why did you come along?"

Estingai had no answer for her. That she'd needed to get out of the base, away from Uuchantuu and Koruuksi, away from her room that was so unbearably empty, didn't seem like a response Kozasana would accept.

"You know what you mean to everyone, Estingai, even those in the other factions."

Estingai winced, but Kozasana kept going.

"You have to accept that at some point. Your name—what you are—carries weight whether you like it or not."

Estingai had nothing to say to that. She didn't trust herself to speak. Partially because she was afraid she would bite Kozasana's head off. And because she was afraid it would be her voice that caused some sort of unseen trap to be sprung.

She kept her fists clenched. Every darkened doorway or twisting corridor made her throat tighten and her heart pound a bit harder.

Drawing a deep breath, Estingai tried again to think of something that had been bothering her the past week.

How did the Imaia know?

No one else seemed interested in that. Not Marjatla, not Koruuksi, not Kozasana.

The only explanation was that someone had betrayed them. But was it one of the faction heads, or someone they were close to? Someone that manipulated them into needing to share something like that, the way she and Svemakuu had told Koruuksi and Uuchantuu?

Or what if it was one of the aides like Marjatla? One of those who stood to take over the faction in their leader's stead?

Estingai didn't even know where to begin searching for clues like that. Intelligence work had always been Phantom's job before he'd abandoned them with Nevisi and Kweshrima and the rest of the Knights. Her faction shared his name for its expertise in intelligence and infiltration, but Phantom had always been on an entirely different level than everyone else. She could acknowledge that much, no matter how she despised the man.

"Estingai?"

Estingai blinked and reflexively shushed Kozasana, who threw her a flat look.

Right, she asked me something.

With a sigh, Estingai took off her helmet. She held it rather than hanging it at her waist. It gave her hands something to do.

"What was that?"