Reidier

17: Astall

Astall risks a peek at the surrounds. His knees and elbows sting unbearably, but thankfully, nothing seems to have been hit. 

It feels as though he'd been tackled to the ground by a mountain lion. 

"Move," a voice hisses in his ear. The rough, abrasive notes sink into Astall's dazed head. 

Rivera. Riv had knocked him out of the path of the bullet. 

Not waiting for him to recover, Riv yanks him up none too gently. Astall is too shaken to react. 

He'd nearly died.

But the driver is still there and there's no time to think about it. Where is Dahlia, and Reid? Riv glances back, and whispers, "Run." 

He looks back to see that driver reloading the gun. He doesn't need to be told twice. They sprint down the road and turn at the first junction they see, eager to be away from the reach of the gun. As they run, details sink into his fall-addled brain. 

The Varre's falcon on the car. Dahlia calmly telling him that the Grand Duchess is here. 

If the driver is here, he must be under Dalicia Varre's orders. She wants him gone entirely. But this doesn't make sense. The Grand Duchess is his father's most trusted advisor. 

Perhaps, the insidious voice in his head whispers, that trust is not quite deserved. 

Betrayals. Betrayals everywhere. First the Basilisk, and now the Grand Duchess- the woman that is known in Yvette's Blood circles as the Khalry's Falcon. 

And why is she here, at the Lynn residence? Perhaps... Perhaps she is in league with the Basilisk. That... would make perfect sense. 

This was all a plot to destroy us- my parents and I.

Who would benefit? As soon as he ponders the question the answer hits him square in the teeth. 

Eryl. Eryl was the Third Archheir- Second now, with her father gone. And she will become the Archduchess of Yvette if Astall is to die. 

The memory of her impassive mask cracking returns to haunt him. She knows, she does know... but why did she lie?

A tug on his wrist jerks him out of his thoughts. Riv. 

"Focus on the present," he says. "We need to find-" 

Dahlia walks towards them, without Reid. 

"He's gone to take care of the situation." 

Astall frowns. "The man has a gun. What can Reid do against a gun?" 

Right on cue, the sounds of gunfire drift over to them. Dahlia clenches her fists. 

"I suppose... I don't know." 

"Is he even carrying his sword?" 

"I... I think so." Dahlia rips her uncertain gaze from her face, staring at the direction of the sound. Riv places a hand on his shoulder. 

"Stop asking. You're worrying her." 

Astall feels like an idiot, an utter dunce. Here stands a woman who is recently reunited with her long lost brother- and now he has to remind her of the danger said brother is in. Idiot. Insensitive. 

It is then he notices that Riv is leaning on the building. Astall frowns. Judging by what he has discovered about Riv, he's not the type to lean. He did not even sit still when they were locked in that room. Leaning? 

Dahlia notes this as well. 

"You're hurt," she says, concern sliding over her worry, seamless as waves on a beach.