Is that where she was? A library?
I follow her back to the Mainland castle, and this time, I do land. This is my keep; my presence here is expected. Still, I wait a few minutes before following her inside.
It doesn’t take me long to find her. I know the way to her room, but even if I didn’t, her steps are uncharacteristically loud. She’s frustrated. It’s seeped into her movements. She’s still disguised. She’s putting herself at risk. Anyone would see those eyes and recognize her. Wouldn’t they?
Or do they not dream of them like I do?
I shouldn’t care if she gets caught. Sheshouldbe caught, if she wants to be this damned reckless.
I quicken my pace. Maybe the sound of my steps will force her to realize she’s being too loud. Then I see a flash of white turn the corner, right ahead of me.
Cleo. She hasn’t seen me—
But she’s seen Isla.
Dread begins to turn in my stomach. Again, I shouldn’t care, but I think about Juniper’s words. Many people want the Wildling dead.
It’s against the rules to kill a ruler before the fiftieth day ... but I don’t put it past Cleo to break them.
I walk faster.
I can differentiate their steps. Isla’s begin to hurry. She senses Cleo on her trail.Good, I think, conflicted pride filling me again. Cleo speeds up too. She turns the corner, right after Isla, right into a smallroom, cornering her, and I start to go through scenarios in my mind, wondering how this doesn’t end badly—
But then, the Moonling pauses. She takes a few steps inside, and I wait to hear their voices, wait to see if I’ll interfere.
Quiet. A moment passes. Two.
Cleo exits the room, frowning. As if she didn’t see Isla.
Impossible. The room is small. There’s nowhere to hide.
Unless—
When Cleo is far down the hall in the opposite direction, I turn the corridor and take quiet steps closer to the room. That’s when I hear voices. Of course.
Grim. With her. Again.
Flames coat my skin. He turned her invisible. Hesavedher. Again. Any doubt that they are working together withers away.
I try to listen but can only hear fragments of their whispered words. And ... none of them seem to confirm they’re working together. If anything, she seems to want nothing to do with him. I smile, despite myself.
This doesn’t mean they aren’t allied. I try to remind myself of that. I take a step closer.
Before I can hear more, she races away, not seeing me as she bolts in the opposite direction.
“I didn’t take you for someone who listens in on conversations,” Grim drawls, from the other side of the wall.
I step into the room, only to find him leaning against one of the stone pillars, not a care in the world.
“Is that what that was? A conversation? It sounded one-sided.”
Grim just tilts his head at me. “She’ll come to her senses. In time.” He believes it.
Before I can say anything else, he slips through the walls, leaving me alone to wonder why the thought of that makes me want to kill him all the more.
It doesn’t take long for Grimshaw to prove what a bastard he is.
It happens during the Wildling’s demonstration, which he publicly refuses to participate in. He says he hasnothing productive to offerthe people of Lightlark.
