THE ASHES OF LIGHT ✔

Chapter Twenty-Four: Valencia

Valencia pressed her head against the door, listening closely for signs of movement in the outside hallway. She didn't want to be caught by Maddi, but she also didn't want to let Ronan escape without first confronting him.

She cracked open the door, just enough so she could peek her head out into the hallway. There were no guards around, and Maddi seemed to be gone. Valencia's heart rate sped up as she looked around for Ronan—was she too late?

She shut her eyes in a desperate attempt for her instincts to take over. They had saved her before, so maybe they would kick in again to help her find the boy.

As Valencia focused on calming her mind, her instincts responded instantly. She felt a sharp tug in her gut, urging her to turn left. Not having any better ideas, Valencia decided to follow what her gut was saying.

After a few doors down, she heard the sound of retreating footsteps. Had she finally caught up to Ronan?

Valencia paused, pressing her back against the wall as she tried to calm her racing heart. Around the corner she could see Ronan, his curly brown hair unmistakeable. What was she going to do? There was no way he would willingly talk to her—if anything, she might be putting herself in even more danger. After all, Dad had warned her not to ever talk to Ronan.

She glanced down at her leg, feeling the weight in one of its pockets. Ever since her first day at the Academy, when she went to the weapons room with Maythus, she had kept her dagger in the pocket of her uniform. Not that she ever planned on using it, but she figured there might be a time when she needed a weapon that wasn't created using channeling.

Valencia grabbed it by the handle, feeling its weight in her hands. Had she ever used a dagger before? No, but Ronan didn't have to know that.

She snuck up, being sure to keep her footsteps silent. When she was close enough, Valencia jumped, grabbing Ronan from behind. She pressed the dagger to his neck, ensuring that he could see the cool metal but not yet cutting his skin.

"Woah there," Ronan exclaimed, slowly raising his hands into the air. "I'm a guard—trust me, you don't want to be doing this."

"Really? Because I could have sworn it was a costume," Valencia gritted her teeth, forcing her hands to stop trembling as she continued to hold the dagger against Ronan's throat. He was so much taller than her that she had to stand on her tip-toes to reach.

"Ah, so you heard our conversation," she could sense him grin, as if she was more funny rather than threatening. "So what do you want from me?"

"Answers," Valencia replied, turning his body to face an adjacent door. "Let's talk in that room. Don't even think about trying to leave."

"Now, why would I want to leave?" Ronan's voice was light, sounding amused. "Don't the best friends start off as enemies?"

"Shut up," Valencia whispered, removing her dagger from his throat. She pushed him into the room, carefully shutting the door behind her.

The room was fairly small, likely used as some sort of office. There was a desk and a few chairs, but besides that, the room had little decor.

"Do I know you?" Ronan squinted, looking Valencia up and down. He leaned casually against the desk, sitting on its surface. He finally snapped his fingers, pointing at her. "You're Ashton's daughter, aren't you? Valencia, is it?"

"How do you know my name?" Valencia asked, frowning at him. After their run-in with the Noxi, Valencia had figured that the only people from Gallomia that outsiders knew were those from the Fable family.

"Is that really the question you went all this way to ask?" Ronan laughed, pushing himself up to sit on the surface of the desk. "I mean, I feel like you could have asked that without the whole dagger ordeal."