Page 40 of Stars May Fall

I frowned. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

He held up his hand. “There’s more.” He hunched his shoulders and looked down again. “The adolescent I asked to watch Lord Lyrason’s house has disappeared.” He met my eyes. “I think we’re in over our heads with this one, Your Highness, messing with things we shouldn’t mess with. What if they’ve killed him? I don’t think we should be asking any more questions about Gregane or Moore.”

I blinked, his words taking a moment to sink in. “Somebody’s disappeared? This boy who was working for you. You can’t find him?”

He nodded. “Nor can his family.”

My mouth dried as my horror grew at what might have happened. “What was he called?”

“Regan Jones. Sixteen years old. His father is a leatherworker near the docks.”

It felt like I was absorbing his name into my very soul.

He shifted. “I should be getting back to work. I think we should lay low for a while, Your Highness. No more questions. The people who give me information are simple but honest folk. They don’t deserve anything bad to happen to them.”

He bowed and left before I could dismiss him. I sat down, shock making my blood go cold. Could I have really just gotten somebody killed by asking them to watch a house?

I had never intended that.

I really thought I could do this. But now I wasn’t sure at all. It felt like the floor was falling out of my world.

And I was very alone.

SOPHIE

Iknocked on the door of Lord Lyrason’s manor house. A guard slid open the peep hole. I gave him a bright smile. “Hello. We’re here to see Mister Gregane.”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “Who are you? Do you have an appointment?”

I didn’t let my smile drop but kept my expression eager and earnest. “Tell him Sophie and Callum are here to do a trade. He’ll be interested.”

The guard looked me up and down again before letting us through the wooden gate. He hesitated when Meena trailed after Callum and me. All her weapons were concealed, but her height and build alone were intimidating. She had the confident smooth walk of a soldier. I hoped they would still let her in.

After a brief hesitation, the guard gestured to a small stone building next to the gate that only consisted of one round room. “Wait in there while I see if he’ll meet with you.” He turned, then lifted a finger. “Your names again?”

“Sophie and Callum.” Beside me, Callum flourished a bow.

He seemed confused by the lack of titles. “Eh, all right. Wait here. There’ll be a guard on the front door, so stay inside.”

I sat down on one of the sparse benches adjacent to the small fireplace. Callum stretched out his legs beside me. “If this works, I’ll eat my own freisk knife.” He suddenly sat up straight. “Hang on, that could make me immune to halfsouls.”

I snorted, mostly sure he wasn’t being serious and just trying to break the tension. But I could never be completely certain with Callum. “Of course you wouldn’t. You’d be dead. But even if you just swallowed small lumps of yadum, it is unlikely to be absorbed into your bloodstream.”

He leaned back, theatrically nodding to himself with a frown. “Ah, yes, yes.”

Meena remained by the door, watching through the window with her fingers hovering over the hilts of her concealed knives. “It's an honor to guard you, Lady Sophie, but I swear, you make my job so much harder than it needs to be.”

I gave her an apologetic smile. “I’ll make it up to you. Kasten’s always telling you not to get lazy or rusty, isn't he? Well, then it’s good to be kept on your toes.” My voice didn’t sound nearly as confident as I’d hoped.

She raised one eyebrow with a stoic expression. “I don’t think this was what he had in mind. Just don’t disappear down a hidden staircase this time. And keep your detector turned to sensitive, even if it’s overwhelming. We don’t know if there’ll be halfsouls in there.”

I nodded, the worry in her tone doing nothing to slow my heartbeat. I hoped I wasn't making the wrong choice, but I couldn’t leave Kasten to take all the risks. We needed that cure and we needed information. And it felt so good to finally be doing something useful.

Callum whistled an intricate tune in the silence until the guard came back to the door. He looked uneasy. “Mister Gregane will see you on the condition that you let guards accompany youat all times. He said he means no offense by this but hopes you understand.”

I glanced at Meena, and she nodded. Callum stood up and stretched. “Let’s get on with this then.”

I folded my hands in the skirts of my simple dress and followed the guard up the long driveway, which was flanked by tall lime trees. A cold wind was blowing despite the sunshine, and brown leaves rolled under our feet as our footsteps crunched in the silence. I missed the warmth of Kasomere. I glanced beside me, glad Callum was here. I hoped I could share some of his nonchalance in the face of danger.

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