Page 105 of Stars May Burn

“Wait here,” I whispered to Meena. “Don’t let anyone else enter if possible. Otherwise, try to give me a warning. I would rather not be cornered by Father.”

She scanned Irabel’s room, then gave a curt nod. I walked to where Irabel lay in bed, covered by bedsheets up to the lace neck ruffle of her nightdress. Her eyes were closed, and her pale wavy hair was spread over the pillows around her, instead of in her normal tight ringlets.

I sat down in the wooden armchair beside the bed and leaned toward her, taking in the paleness of her skin. A few tonics lay corked in glass bottles on the bedside table. Once I knew her symptoms and treatment so far, I would make her one of my own.

I stroked the back of her hand. “Irabel? Irabel, it’s Sophie. I’ve come to see you.”

She didn’t reply, remaining motionless. My heart caught in my throat. How bad was she? I reached over to feel her pulse at her neck.

I startled as Irabel became alive in a flurry of blankets and flying golden hair. One of her hands grabbed my arm just above my elbow, her nails digging painfully into my skin. I bit back a scream, worried that I’d startled her, but then I looked down and saw it wasn’t her nails at all—a needle sunk deep in the muscle of my arm.

I opened and closed my mouth, unable to process what I was seeing.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Irabel, her voice cracked and broken.

My body crumpled forward.

KASTEN

Icrouched on the edge of the garden wall; the eves shaded me from the late afternoon sun.

The halfsoul had been eluding us since dawn. It had been the last one released in the night, and I was sure this was the one we would be able to successfully sedate. Its speed and stamina were unmatched.

Now that the streets were flooded with people—many so poorly dressed and malnourished they could pass for halfsouls themselves—things had gotten a lot harder.

Princess Annabelle had returned to the palace at dawn, and I had to admit I breathed easier without her here. The last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt while with me. No doubt the king or Lord Lyrason would be able to twist that into a death sentence for me. But, once I had a halfsoul sedated, she would be very useful to have on my side.

If we caught this one, we wouldn’t be able to wait for night to fall and a second to be released. Even sedated, they only survived so long. I would have to summon a member of the Maegistrium to the palace at the same time as I presented it to the king, then hope that Lord Lyrason didn’t have enough time to react. The plan was shaky; Lord Lyrason might get some warning, but it was still the most likely to work—especially with Annabelle as a witness.

Sir Tristan raised his hand to his detector, hidden by his hair, and made a twisting motion. “I’m sure it’s in that alley.”

I nodded, watching a young woman pass through the cluttered passageway without incident. Was it hiding from the sun? There were many shadows it could be lurking in. “Stay at this end, and block the alley’s entrance with those barrels to prevent another civilian from entering. Move them quietly, then get in position for a clear shot. I’ll reveal myself at the other end and draw it out. Shoot the sedative into its back when it runs at me.”

He nodded and withdrew his blowpipe. I clambered over the peaked roof and slid down the other side, landing on the slick cobblestones. The gutters were overflowing with a foul stench, and I was glad I wore my scarf over my lower face.

I checked the crossroads for approaching civilians, then started into the alley with heavy footfalls. I knocked over barrels and boxes and tore down the ragged awning, increasing the sunlight.

Still, it failed to appear, and as I knocked apart more of the clutter, my body became tense. I had to be close to its hiding place. It was going to be harder for Tristan to shoot if it wasn’t running at me but waiting to leap out from an ambush.

I held my sword ready as I pushed over a tower of rotting crates stained with fish blood.

Still nothing.

I turned around to make sure the way behind me was still clear. I didn’t want a civilian to come investigating the noise.

A weight pummeled into my back, and I staggered to keep my feet as spindly arms wrapped around my throat and nails dug into my skin. Reacting on pure instinct, I crouched and rolled my shoulders down, using the force of my assailant against it and sending it tumbling over my head. It fell on its back on the street before me, a halfsoul who had once been a tall, slender man. Its mouth was open in a silent, angry roar.

It started to scramble to its feet, but I grabbed a vial of sedative from my belt, used one hand to turn its head away and stabbed the needle into its shoulder. Sir Tristan skidded to a stop beside me and helped me restrain it, keeping our hands well beyond the reach of its mouth. Its movements weakened.

Finally, its head lulled to one side and small muscle tremors were the only movement. It still made a clear sound on the detector. Perfect. Sophie’s sedative was perfect.

I rolled my shoulders and removed the needle. “Let’s summon help to get this one to the palace without being spotted. We don’t want Lord Lyrason to work out what we’re up to for as long as possible.”

Tristan nodded and turned the dial on his detector. I could see the shadows under his eyes. He looked as tired as I felt, though I suspected it would still be many, many hours before we could stop to sleep. Not if we now went to the palace to finish Lord Lyrason once and for all.

A fast-paced alarm sounded on my detector, far more distant than Tristan’s. I frowned. I hadn’t been aware anyone else was still hunting halfsouls. The scouts had all been ordered to rest so they could work through the next night, and two men were at standby to aid us as needed.

The alarm continued in a consistent rhythm, far faster than our normal emergency signal. Whoever it was had to be frantically jabbing their detector.

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