Page 66 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

I clamped my elbow tight against my side, pinning her arm to me and turned us both, steering her down the hall, away from the doors, as Bren kept one hand over her mouth and let her face crumple as if she felt unwell.

Many nobles, on their way to the banquet, watched us curiously—though only Lady Faye diverted from her path to stop us.

“Leaving? Have you received important orders?”

“No, no, my Lady Faye,” I said through my teeth. “Only Brennan suffers a headache—as a lady, you would understand, of course.”

“Of course,” she said, bowing her head graciously, though her eyes glinted, scanning Bren from head to toe as if looking for evidence of the lie.

“I will return when my lady is comfortable,” I said with a brisk bow, then tugged Bren along again, leaving the spluttering Lady Faye in our wake.

It was three more hallways and two sets of stairs before we were alone enough to risk conversing, even in the link.

‘It makes no sense,’ I sent. ‘If he really wanted them to believe he was on his way back to Draeventhall, he would have had to explain how he saw you. They know you’re here.’

Bren kept her face admirably blank, though I felt the jolt of nerves in her. ‘You’re right.’

‘I need to look at it again. Something… there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on.’

We picked up our pace until Bren was almost jogging to keep up with me when we finally made it back to our rooms.

I hurriedly wrote the message so I could analyze it more easily, while Bren undressed in case any servants came to check on the ill “Lady” Brennan, we reviewed every sentence of the missive, and I realized what sat so uneasily for me: It read like some of the reports that had confused me and the king. The locations of power flipping and twisting—linking opposite sentiments, and standing in opposition to other reports.

‘He was always bad with letters and words. Is it possible he’s made mistakes?’ she asked.

I rubbed my chin. “No, he’s been reporting for months. If there were those kinds of problems they would have been identified before now. And he said his messages were always in code—”

I broke off, sucking in a breath as my mind sank back to that first night, the confrontation with Ruin in the Inn…

“Devastating, isn’t it, when people you trust turn out to be the enemy?” I snapped.

“I’m not the fucking enemy here.” Ruin’s jaw went tight, but he didn’t drop my gaze. He leaned forward as far as the bonds would let him, eyes locked on mine. “Just as I narrowed my investigation, just as I thought I had eyes on the right person and uncovered their links to Fyrehold, that same day I returned to my rooms, and my quarters had been searched.”

“How do you know? What did they find?”

“Only fake missives. Reports that were too far out of date to be of any use, and coded as well. But I kept them as bait with traps they wouldn’t notice so I’d know if I was searched…”

“He codes everything,” I whispered. “And he keeps fake reports… does he also send them? Is that why he sends so frequently and regularly? Because only some of the messages are real?”

Bren watched me, waiting as I paced, turning it all over in my mind.

Something still sat strangely, a memory on the edge of view, like a word I couldn’t find on the tip of my tongue… and then it came flooding back and I froze.

“I’m just passing through on my way back to Draeventhall—excuse me, Vosgaarde. I came from Draeventhall. But Vosgaarde is home. I’d heard that my comrades were here and I wished to see them. Especially the General, of course.”

“Donavyn? What is it?”

I stared. It couldn’t be that simple, surely? Surely he wouldn’t have tripped quite so obviously? But if he was truly thrown off his game…

“Donavyn… Donavyn!” Bren grabbed my chin, standing in front of where I sat, eyes worried and forehead lined.

“He’s reversing the locations,” I whispered.

She frowned. “What?”

‘The other night—when he first arrived. He tripped on his words—mixing up Draeventhall and Vosgaarde, and correcting himself. Do you remember? I was smug. I thought we’d unsettled him. I thought he’d mentioned Draeventhall because it was on his mind after our confrontation. But what… what if that’s the code?’

‘The code?’