Page 63 of The Faceless Mage

The guards were more alert than usual, but these guards were probably more concerned with people sneaking out than sneaking in. Leisa had little difficulty returning to Zander’s cell, and found the captain of her guard slumped against the wall, eyes closed, grimacing in pain.

She was so concerned she almost forgot to change.

It took a moment with the pocket mirror King Soren had given her, but her face was very shortly Evaraine’s once more.

Then she approached the bars.

“Zander!” she hissed.

His eyes opened, and his head jerked in her direction.

“Your Highness!” His whisper was a hoarse, shocked sound of protest. “You cannot be here! What are you thinking? If they catch you, they may throw you in alongside me!”

“They won’t catch me,” she soothed. “Zander, I’m going to do everything I can for you, but first, I need to know what you learned.”

His eyes closed again. “You were right, Your Highness. I followed the king’s men while they hunted and shot down an unarmed boy—a boy no older than you. A mirror mage, they said, but I saw no evidence. And they’ve done it before. No mage is allowed to live inside Garimore’s borders. Sometimes they give them a chance to leave, sometimes not.”

Leisa felt her gorge rise but held back her horror. She needed to know more. “And… the Raven? What is his part?”

“He is the worst of all,” Zander whispered. “At least the mages have a chance to fight back against the king’s men, but the Raven is too fast. Too powerful. I heard them talking…”

He began to cough, a hoarse, congested sound.

“Shhh,” Leisa murmured, wishing there were more she could do. Wishing there were some way to save a good man who’d only been obeying her commands. He should not be forced to suffer like this for faithfully serving the woman he thought was his princess.

“Please.” Zander leaned forward and fixed her with an urgent stare. “Please, my princess, you must listen. You need to leave. Now. Tonight. You cannot stay, and you cannot allow them to bind you to the prince.”

Leave? Now?

“I cannot.” Leisa shook her head. “Zander, where would I go? How would I travel? And if I leave, you’ll die.”

Her guard pulled himself closer to the bars and reached one hand through them. Leisa took it.

“If you don’t leave,you’lldie,” he said softly. “Evaraine, you cannot let them find out about your magic.”

Leisa nearly stopped breathing.

Evaraine? Had magic?

But Zander wasn’t done.

“Farhall must be told what has happened here. They must know why this alliance can never be made. Garimore is already preparing troops to hunt down mages in Farhall. Our people must be made aware of the danger, and you are the only one with a chance to tell them. Kip, Terek, and Nyssa will be watched. If they even breathe the wrong way, they’ll be in this dungeon beside me. It has to be you, Your Highness.”

“I…” How could she do such a thing? How could he ask her to leave, knowing she left him to his death?

“I know it will be hard,” Zander went on, stern and implacable. “But there is no one else.”

“They’ll kill you!” she pleaded. “Zander, don’t ask me to do this!”

He squeezed her fingers. “I took an oath, my girl. To protect you with my life. To protect Farhall with every breath in my body. And this… this is how I must protect you both now. It’s the last thing that I can do, and I do it gladly.”

Leisa realized tears were running down her cheeks. Because he was right. Farhall had to know the truth. Before they could send back any messages that might seal a deadly alliance.

“Now go,” Zander urged her. “Go quickly. Don’t stop, don’t look back. Steal what you must and run as fast as you can. Go north and east. Use the sun to guide you. And Princess…”

She squeezed his hand in return. Held back more tears.

“Yes?”

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