The Keepers of Eternity

XXX

Lenore didn't put up a fight, not like her sister would have. Abreigelle would have kicked and screamed the entire time, trying to bite her way out of her rope bindings and maybe even take a purposeful tumble off of the horse.

Lenore wasn't like her sister in that way. She was patient, and knew exactly what she would do. Sometimes, it was better to wait for the right moment to fight back, rather than struggle the whole time. The entire way up to the Violet's Palace, she'd remained composed, calm. She hadn't even spoken a word to the horseman whose mount she shared, for he was already taking her where she needed to go.

The palace above her loomed like a dark mirror, moonlight dancing off its polished bricks. Only a few more minutes, and she would be free again. She had faith in Amary, and in Kaisa. There was no way either of them would let the Red soldiers take her back to Shah Neurn. Kaisa was a friend now, at least, and Amary a friend of a friend. She trusted them.

Aenere rode up at the front. He hadn't spoken a word to her, but his oyster-white eyes sometimes flicked back to her for just a moment, as if he were afraid she'd somehow gotten away. What more could they do make sure she was securely locked up? Both her arms were bound with metal, and her mouth was stuffed with a rag. They'd even patted her down and took her remaining weapons, including the knitting needles she kept saved in her back pocket. Funny how they'd remembered those.

When Aenere's eyes met hers again, Lenore stared right back knowingly, lifting her chin. She wanted him to wonder why she was so collected. You know this isn't going to go the way you want it. She tried to say. If she hadn't been gagged, she might have smiled back at him.

The second Lieutenant looked back and gave his silent reply: Idiot girl. You'll be in chains until I can hand you and your friends over to the embassy. He wanted to so badly; she could see the satisfaction glowing in his eyes.

Lenore looked away and sucked in a breath of cold air. Her eyelids grew heavy. Why did this have to happen now? She mourned to herself. I should have just gone to bed.

A chill suddenly ran through her, but it had nothing to do with the night breezes of the city. She remembered what she'd seen in the alley—about the disc that could heal, and the man who wielded it. Impossible. That was what Kaisa had told her. Discs couldn't heal. That was the most fundamental of magical laws.

But was it a disc at all? Lenore thought for a moment, bracing herself as the party began down the long street before the steps of the palace. She'd never seen the esk use a disc operation panel, nor had she seen a pouch to store the glass plates. The power he had used seemed to have originated from the sunstone ring. Perhaps, this was not a disc at all, but some rarer form of magic she hadn't heard about.

The only thing she knew for certain was that the man who'd donned the ring had not wanted Abreigelle and her captor followed. Strange, and just another piece of a puzzle she couldn't fit together.

Her thoughts died down as their party approached the gates of the palace. Lenore's attention drew to a small host of Violet guards, as they poured out of the ironwork gates and formed a line on either side of the Red soldiers.

Aenere pulled a scroll out of a pocket in his red-striped gambeson and held it out for the Violets to see. Their faces grew solemn beneath their helmets, and they motioned for the Reds to move forward. Forming a protective circle, they were escorted up the grand staircase.

It occurred to Lenore that Kaisa probably warned Amary about the Reds. She had to have. That was the main reason why they'd come to the palace in the first place, wasn't it? That, and to have somewhere to stay while they looked for Abreigelle. Kaisa was smart. She knew that their small party couldn't hold off her uncle's forces forever.