Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

LYRE

"Wait, what?" Lyre craned his neck to look out the archways and across the city. "This is Aldrendahar ?"

From this direction, he could see the distant mountains on the horizon. That meant Irida wasn't that far—though reaching the nymph kingdom would still require a trek across the sweltering desert.

"Sounds like you're familiar with the city," Miysis remarked.

"I've heard of it," Lyre admitted, not adding that he'd seen it from a distance. "This isn't where I came through the ley line with the little princess, is it? "

"No, that was a different location. Once I was up again, I traveled here immediately and had you brought along so I could speak with you as soon as I had time." Miysis smiled briefly. "My sister wanted to come—she's fascinated by you, unsurprisingly—but I sent her home instead."

Ah, so the relocation from that other ley line to here would explain why Lyre had been bound, blindfolded, and spelled unconscious early yesterday. After that, he'd woken in the luxury suite.

"What was the big rush to come here?" he asked.

"Aldrendahar is our closest stronghold to Irida."

Lyre sucked in a silent breath. Miysis looked at him for a long moment, then crossed to a cupboard stacked with leather gear and other tools. He returned with a grooming brush and ran it over Rushi's furred haunch. Lyre backed up a few steps, breathing easier once he was clear of that beak.

"I didn't come up here just to tend to my opinaris," Miysis murmured as he worked. "Unlike at the citadel, there are no ears to overhear us."

That detail hadn't escaped Lyre's notice either.

"I'll tell you what I know of the embassy attack," Miysis went on. "I know a power like I've never seen before was unleashed against us, and it caused all magic in the building to disappear—everything from wards and locks to weapons to our own magic reserves. Many griffins passed out from shock and weakness." His hand paused in mid-motion, his grip on the brush tightening. "I know over fifty griffins were slaughtered while helpless or unconscious."

Lyre grimaced. Bastian and his men hadn't held back.

"I know they were targeting my sister. They may have targeted me too, if they'd recognized me." Miysis resumed brushing with smooth, steady strokes. The opinari closed its eyes again. "I know I fought chimeras and nymphs, and that survivors reported seeing chimeras and nymphs as well, including one that the others called ‘prince.'"

Lyre cringed.

"That's everything I know." Miysis patted Rushi's wing and the beast unfurled it, holding it out of the way. The prince began brushing Rushi's side. "And the only conclusion I can make is that Crown Prince Bastian Nereid of Irida arranged an unprovoked attack on a Ra embassy, killed dozens, and attempted to abduct or assassinate our youngest princess. We are in Aldrendahar so I can prepare my forces to either defend against the next attack or invade Irida."

Silently swearing, Lyre wished he'd had the opportunity to beat some sense into that idiot nymph prince. "What do you plan to do?"

"At this point, I'm waiting, though not for much longer." Miysis faced Lyre, one hand resting on the opinari's shoulder. "The Iridian king hasn't issued a declaration of war or any other communication. My spies in Irida have reported signs of mobilization among the nymph forces, but their movements suggest defense, not offense."

Lyre blinked. Huh. So, there were Ra spies in Irida. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

"But the main reason I haven't acted yet is a mysterious incubus with even more mysterious skills saved me and my sister, and he was accompanied by a female nymph."

Miysis abruptly tossed the grooming brush to Lyre. He caught it automatically, then the griffin pulled him to the opinari's side.

"Brush him," Miysis ordered as he returned to the supply cupboard.

Lyre looked blankly at the brush. Rushi turned his head and clicked his beak expectantly, so Lyre hesitantly placed the brush against the creature. Miysis returned with a fancy comb, took up a spot beside Lyre, and began working on Rushi's feathered neck.

"I need to know what's going on, Lyre," he said quietly. "I need to know before my people are drawn into war."

Lyre stroked the brush across the opinari's silky fur. The Nereid prince was desperate to incite a conflict so he could prove his strength, but despite having already been attacked, the Ra prince was desperately hoping to avoid war. Bastian of Irida could stand to learn a lot from Miysis of Ra.

"You've been more open and honest than I would have expected," Lyre said. "Are you always this forthcoming with strangers?"

"Not at all. However, honesty is something of a habit for griffins."

"Oh? Why is that? "

"Isn't it obvious?" Seeing Lyre's furrowed brow, Miysis halted his comb. "Don't you know?"

"Know what?"

"About our caste ability." When Lyre merely stared in confusion, Miysis's eyes widened. "I don't believe it. You were so evasive without lying that I thought you knew."

"Knew what ?"

"Truth-seeing. That's our caste ability. I can tell when someone is lying to me."

Lyre's mouth fell open. Why had he never heard about that ability? "Wait. In the embassy, you asked me if I intended to hurt your sister, and you made me say it back to you. Were you checking if I was lying?"

"That's why I trusted you to help us."

Lyre shook his head. "I had no idea. That's got to be handy."

"Extremely." Miysis resumed combing Rushi's feathers. "Are you just naturally evasive, then?"

"Old habits die hard. It's easier to avoid lying than to keep track of a bunch of fibs." Lyre ran the brush over the opinari's side, vaguely worried the beast might lower its wing down on his head. Miysis worked beside him, waiting while Lyre considered his next move. Sharing what he knew would be more to Irida's advantage than not, but it would put Lyre's secrets—and Clio's—at risk.

"Bastian has gone rogue," he said abruptly. "He's acting without the king's knowledge or approval."

Miysis absorbed that. "Are you certain?"

"As certain as I can be. I've never so much as spoken to the Iridian king, but the nymph who helped us escape the embassy has gone to Irida to report everything that happened."

The griffin prince stood quietly, eyes half closed, then let out a rough exhalation. "Maybe this won't mean outright war. Maybe." Guiding Rushi's head down, he combed the beast's crest. "Tell me everything you know."

Lyre pressed his lips together. "What if you don't like what I have to say? Will I still be free to leave? "

"You saved my sister from certain death. I do not take that debt lightly."

Lyre would rather leave it to Clio and her father to decide how much they wanted to share with the Ras, but he had a chance to undo some of the damage Bastian had inflicted.

"For me, I guess this all starts with Chrysalis," he began.

Wariness flickered across Miysis's features, confirming he was familiar with the name.

"The spell Bastian attacked the embassy with—that came from Chrysalis. So did I." Lyre grimaced. "From what I've learned, Bastian has been nursing a vendetta against Ra for years. He thinks you're oppressing Irida and that a demonstration of power will intimidate you into leaving the nymphs alone."

Miysis listened without expression, absently stroking Rushi's head.

"Bastian sent three of his people to Chrysalis under the guise of commissioning magic, but instead his man stole that spell and left the other two behind. One is dead but the other escaped with me."

"The female nymph my sister spoke of?" Miysis murmured.

"Yes. We tried to find Bastian and get the spell back before he could use it, but he attacked the embassy first. We were already tracking him, so we were able to stop some of his men, but Bastian escaped again with the spell." Lyre shrugged. "That's it. The important stuff, anyway."

Miysis turned to him. "Everything you said is the truth as you believe it—except that last bit."

Lyre blinked, then swore under his breath. "There are some secrets I can't reveal—and not all are mine."

"How much do you know about the spell he stole from Chrysalis?"

Lyre was beginning to see patterns in Miysis's questioning—phrasing that helped him identify truthfulness in the responses he got.

"It's one of a kind," he replied instead of answering the question directly—which would have meant either revealing too much or lying. "Dangerous, volatile, and better off destroyed. That's my goal—the main reason I'm still involved in all this."

"Hmm," Miysis murmured, circling around to Rushi's other side. Lyre followed, and when the beast lifted a wing imperiously, he resumed brushing. "How does it work? "

"It consumes other nearby magic. Wipes out everything."

"A devastating weapon," Miysis observed. "I'm surprised Hades hasn't put it to use."

Lyre's hand clenched around the grooming brush. "Hades doesn't know it exists … yet. That's something else I'm trying to prevent."

Miysis glanced at him, his green eyes darker than before. "What's your connection with that spell?"

Lyre said nothing, though his silence alone confirmed it was a smart question.

After a moment, Miysis asked instead, "What is Bastian planning next? I can't imagine he intends to stop at one attack."

"I don't know. We've been one step behind him from the start."

Miysis took the grooming brush from Lyre and returned both tools to the cupboard. "I have a lot to do. I'll walk you back to your room."

"What if I'd rather go to a ley line?"

"Then I'll take you to a ley line."

No hesitation at all. Lyre rubbed his hand through his hair. What should he do? He was too far from Irida to get there easily, and even then, his chances of making it through the territory weren't great. Should he return to Earth and join up with Ash to hunt down Bastian? He didn't even know if the nymph was still in Brinford.

He knew who was in Brinford though. His father. An icy shiver ran through him.

He didn't need to decide anything right this moment, did he? He could relax, eat, enjoy this reprieve from immediate danger for a while longer.

"Back to my room, then," he muttered. "For now."

The guards were waiting outside, and they preceded Miysis and Lyre down the stairs. When they exited the tower, the sun hung low in the sky and long shadows stretched over the city.

Miysis led him back into the citadel and up to his room. Lyre pushed the door open and took a step inside, glancing across the luxurious suite. He had no reason to linger here, yet leaving would mean going back to Earth … where the hunter from his nightmares waited .

Returning to Brinford would be a fool's choice. Lyre was completely unprepared to take on the deadliest master weaver in the three realms. He couldn't fight his father. He couldn't defeat the head of Chrysalis and caretaker of Rysalis's most lethal inventions spanning generations. He couldn't …

His eyes went out of focus. He couldn't defeat his father, but maybe …

"Lyre?"

He blinked, slamming back to the present. Miysis watched him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Miysis," he said abruptly. "I have a favor to ask."

"What do you need?"

"Tools." He glanced around the room. "Spell-weaving tools. Whatever you have."

"I'll see what I can find," Miysis replied, a note of caution in his voice. "Anything else?"

"One more thing, if you have it." Lyre swallowed against the sick feeling burrowing into his gut. "Quicksilver."

The prince's eyes widened. "Should I be concerned about this?"

"No … it's personal."

"I see. I'll do what I can."

Lyre nodded. Miysis gave him one more searching look, then quietly closed the door. Lyre listened to the light footsteps retreating, knowing that a guard or two would show up soon to supervise the Underworld guest. Miysis trusted Lyre's word—his truth-seeing ability saw to that—but he wasn't a fool.

Discarding thoughts of the griffin, Lyre strode to the desk, where he opened a polished wood box to reveal neatly stacked paper and sharp charcoal pencils. Pulling out a few sheets of paper, he settled into the chair.

He wouldn't get far without tools, but he could start planning. He had a lot of work to do and precious little time to do it.