The Rogue Guardian

Chapter 84: The Rogue Revealed

Nemia scrambled up in a panic. Everything was sore from having apparently slept on the floor all night, but that was nothing compared to the rest of the pain.

Morane leaving. The moment the confession had left her lips, the one person she thought would make it better stormed out. And could Nemia even blame her? She knew she was a monster — a small, cowardly monster who had waited for months for her supposed hero to come back.

"You killed him, like he had any less reason to live."

It wasn't quite "You should have died instead," but Nemia could hear the hurt and betrayal writhing underneath the words. She didn't know why Morane would feel so hurt at the death of a stranger, but it didn't matter. She was right. Every life mattered, and Nemia had made herself a murderer.

She let out a loud, ugly sob. All the while, the warning bells continued to ring, their deep, rich sound driving a blade through her heart with each peal.

Morane was in trouble.

It couldn't be a coincidence, that she had been here last night and the next morning the warning bells were ringing.

Nemia had to help her.

It was the automatic response, without a moment's pause between the two thoughts: Morane's in trouble. I have to help her.

She stumbled over the sprawled blankets, nearly tripping, and half-fell out the door. Each peal of the bells was too loud, throwing her head into a riot of panic. How much time had she wasted already, while Morane needed her?

She didn't even stop to grab the nearest set of daggers. Head spinning, heart pounding, she ran down the stairs and into the scrambling, pulsing heart of the castle.

People were sticking bed-mussed heads out of their doors, demanding explanations, while servants who had already been up to start their duties wrung hands and exchanged gossip anxiously. There were more people crowding the halls the longer she was out, sprinting down the coridors.

What was it Morie had told her? That they had a boat in the next town over, and horses to get there. If Morie was there secretly, then the horses wouldn't be in the stables, they'd be hidden in the thickets on the west side of the castle, a place she and Morie had used often before. So that was where Nemia would go to find her.

She was running through the halls of noble apartments now, aiming for a staircase that would take her down close to where she wanted to be.

"Nemia!" Irina yelled, grabbing her in her arms. "Nemia, what are you doing?"

She hadn't even seen Irina there, she'd been so focused on getting to Morie. She didn't have an answer as she tried to catch her breath and resituate herself.

"There's been an intruder, maybe an attempted assassination," Irina said, holding her close. "You shouldn't be running around like that. What if they're still in the castle? It's dangerous."

Nemia shook her head violently, clutching Irina's shoulders to steady herself. "No, no. It's not dangerous, it's only Morie. You have to tell the guards to call off the search, they'll hurt her." Irina had to understand. Even if she didn't like Morane, she was a Guardian, and that meant something. "Please Irina, you know how to calm people down. You have to help."

Irina was staring down at her, half shock and half confusion, her regular, calculating expression only just starting to set in. "The Thief?"

"Yes, please, get someone important to listen to you." She didn't know who would be in charge of the guards now, with Joshua gone, but Irina would know. "Please," she begged, and pulled herself free to keep running.