Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria

Author:Emily Victoria
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Published: 2022-09-07T14:14:06+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The carriage comes to a stop. I rush into the house, hoping I’ll be able to slip upstairs unnoticed only to find Milla waiting for me in the foyer.

She’s going to ask about the garden party. I’m scrambling for a lie when she says, “Our visitor has finally arrived. They’re waiting for you in Mama’s office.”

I’m so rattled it takes me a moment to remember what visitor Milla is talking about: the messenger from Aris. They were set to arrive today to report back my progress to my mother and tell us what’s happening in Aris. I don’t want to see them. I can’t take any more bad news, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to give a levelheaded report after what I just did. At the very least I want out of this dress. But the messenger is waiting and I can’t say something unprofessional like I need time, not even to Milla. We’re both here to do a job.

So, I cross the foyer and step into Layde Elirra’s office. The messenger is standing with their back to me by the desk, idly flipping through the papers there. Layde Elirra’s papers.

But that’s not what causes me to freeze. Because even from the back, I know them. That auburn hair with the gray streak. That confident posture.

They turn, and a smile curls onto their lips. “Now who might this fine layde be?”

At that look on Lochlan’s face, so familiar, something inside of me crumbles.

“Lochlan!”

I run at them and they lift me off my feet with a laugh. “Did you miss me that much?”

For a moment I just let myself cling to them, because I’m off balance and I just made a huge mistake. But they’re safe and they’re home.

Finally, I let go. I slap them on the arm. “You’re the messenger?”

“I mean, clearly I was the best choice.” They settle back onto the edge of the desk.

It’s only then that I get my first good look at them. Their clothing is still dusty from the long journey. There’s a fresh bandage on their arm. And their eyes...there’s a heaviness to them that they’re trying to mask, but they just can’t.

Something’s wrong.

“Lochlan, what is it? What’s happened?”

They glance away, even though they usually never hide anything from me. It isn’t like them.

“Lochlan?” I take a seat beside them on the desk, folding my fingers around their own. This time when they look back, they let me see the sheer exhaustion and grief on their face.

“Kai is dead.”

Dead. Around me, the world goes hazy. I stare at Lochlan, the feel of their hand in mine gone distant. “What?”

“He’s gone, Dev.” Lochlan’s throat works for a moment. “Another phantom broke through the barrier. A large one. The casters...they think that’s it, that once those things grow that large and powerful, they no longer need the Mists to sustain them. The phantom made it into the city and Kai went out with the casters to stop it.” Their voice catches. “And he was killed.

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