RECONNAISSANCE

7

Evelyn Narraya bound her long hair in a tight bun, winding it into a spiral at the base of her neck to keep it out of the way for her mission. Her black and gray combat leathers clung tightly to her curves, her throwing knives tucked into sheathes hidden around her body.

She wouldn't get far in the castle as a panther, but she might be able to pass as fae with the pointed ear accessories she'd had a local artisan create from clay that rested on the tips of her rounded ears. Only a precaution, of course. Ideally she wouldn't be seen at all. But just in case, her goal was to pass as a member of the castle Guard at least long enough to buy her some time should she get caught.

While Luka sat in some stuffy meeting on the other side of the continent, Evelyn made her way to the edge of the Legion Academy property and shifted into her panther form, her shiny black fur taking the place of the leathers she had donned just moments before.

And then she ran. Her long, muscular legs carried her quickly across the flat terrain of her home province. She only crossed into her native land when she had very good reason, but it was familiar to her nonetheless, ingrained in her blood. Traveling through the territory brought back unpleasant memories as she pushed herself faster. The sooner I'm done with this mission, the better, she reminded herself.

After nearly an entire afternoon of running, she neared the end of the river. Dusk was settling in and the guards around the castle would be changing shifts soon, providing her greatest chance at getting past them.

Evelyn slowed her pace, peeking through the thick line of trees across the water to the post she had seen before, the one closest to the Zephyr castle. The guard on duty was slumped against the tree, unmoving. How little they think of us, to sleep on duty , she laughed to herself. It was a good sign, though. She hadn't missed the shift change if this guard was well into their slumber.

With her power levels dwindling from the endurance of the day's journey, she approached the river for a quick drink and lapped greedily at the surface water that had grown warm from the sun. She ducked back into the coverage from the trees and picked up into a trot toward the coastline, the only place she could sneak into Allar without the barrier of the border wall.

As the sea came into view and the stars began to blink in the sky, Evelyn waded into the sea, cherishing the protection of her black coat against the darkening horizon. She submerged herself in the water and started paddling toward the Allarian coast, staying as close to the shore as she could. The torrents and tides coming from the mouth of the river produced a swell, threatening to take her deeper into the sea if she wasn't careful. She paddled harder across the outlet, keeping her nose just above the surface.

Ahead, the Allarian guard posted at the edge of the river mouth awoke just in time to engage with another guard approaching behind them. Perfect timing.

Evelyn pushed into overdrive, aiming for the trees just beyond the coast. She worked her way up the shore, staying under the cover of the water as long as possible. Her golden eyes shone in the emerging moonlight, watching the guards closely. Just beyond the post was the far edge of the castle property, stretching for hundreds of yards in all directions.

Evelyn could barely make out the conversation between the two guards, something about the day's events including a disturbance in the Erdanean territory in the northern part of Allar. As much as she wanted to listen, she took the opportunity to make her move, hoping they were distracted enough not to notice her large, furry body moving swiftly from the water to the nearest tree.

The day guard made his way back toward the castle, the night guard settling into her post. Evelyn worked her way to the edge of the trees, careful to avoid the guard's line of sight. She waited until she saw the new guard turn to survey the coast to the north, where most of the castle's patrol stood with their battle weapons at the ready.

They were prepared for a full blown attack along the coast, but apparently not concerned about single shifters sneaking their way in.

If only they knew the damage I could do , she smirked, and made a break for it.

Her tufted ears swiveled, listening for any movement at her rear as she raced through the trees silently. She found shelter behind a thick trunk and shifted, losing her fur in exchange for her leathers before patting her pockets to ensure her knives and ear points had made it with her through her trek.

She secured the tips to her ears and emerged onto the cleared path, grateful to find it vacant. Not surprising, considering most fae would use their wings to travel to and from their stations .

Catching her breath, she tucked a few loose strands of hair around the ear tips to cover the seam and proceeded toward the towering stone walls that grew even taller as she approached.

Now just to find a way inside.

As she neared the southeast corner that Luka had mentioned, she eyed the balcony on the top floor warily.

"—have the vegetable stew ready upon their arrival tomorrow evening—"

Evelyn's ears perked as two fae, presumably royal staff, rounded the corner. She bolted into the bushes lining the wall, praying to Mallium they hadn't seen her. She stifled her breath as they passed, going on about tomorrow's dining plan. They continued down the path, not noticing the woman making herself small behind the foliage. A relieved sigh escaped her lips as they disappeared around the wall.

Evelyn emerged from the leaves and craned her neck upward. It was about three stories to the balcony, too high for her to scale on her own, but the windows on each floor had a ledge that poked out from the side of the wall. She had to move fast.

Her claws emerged from her mortal hands, the only part of her panther form she risked showing to help her climb. She backed away a few steps, steeling herself, before sprinting toward the wall. With a leap, she grabbed the ledge with her claws and pulled herself up unsteadily.

A string of curses soared through her mind as she promised herself to spend more time on upper body strength during future training. A peek into the window of the second level revealed an empty bedchamber, probably an unoccupied guest room. Lucky.

Glancing at the ground, she quickly surveyed for any more wandering staff or soldiers, and saw none, certain that wouldn't be the case for long. She mustered a final batch of strength and jumped up to the third floor balcony, especially grateful for her long limbs in this moment. Her claws dug into the stone with a screech as she hoisted herself up and over the short barrier wall that lined the balcony, using every ounce of energy she had left.

Her body hit the floor of the balcony with a thud and she winced at the impact, the wind rushing out of her lungs in a large exhale. She made it, but that was the easy part. Now she had to do the real work.

She let herself into the room from the balcony doors that were left unlocked. She could have picked it with a claw, but was grateful for a small blessing from the gods after that miserable climb.

Gods, this room is a wreck, she grimaced at the mess. Either the castle staff did a terrible job, or Princess Aria was… less than organized.

Evelyn spotted her reflection in the vanity mirror and checked that the hair covering her ears was still in place, straightening the left tip that had shifted during her ascent.

It wouldn't take someone long to realize her black leathers weren't the same as the brown ones worn by the fae, but the ears would help her blend in at least a little bit if someone decided now was a good time to clean the princess's chambers.

Evelyn headed for the desk in the corner, taken back by the neatly folded tunic and pants sitting on the armchair. The single sign of care in the entire room. Interesting . A woman who respects her appearance, at least. Though, that was probably a symptom of a royal upbringing where keeping up appearances was critical.

The only items on the desk were some trinkets, a tin of eye kohl and rouge, and a few history books. Evelyn thumbed through the books looking for notes stuffed in the pages, anything that might give her the information she was looking for, and came up empty handed. She checked the pockets of the pants in the chair with no luck, making sure to pat them back into their folded position.

Evelyn surveyed the room. If I was a princess hiding information about the Unifier movement, where would I keep it?

Aria's chambers were shockingly cramped. Evelyn had expected more for the heir of the entire Allarian kingdom, but didn't complain that it made her job of searching the area much easier. Unfortunately, there wasn't much that tipped her off as helpful, just the usual belongings of a young heiress. Hopefully she would have better luck in the king and queen's quarters, which was her main priority, anyway.

Evelyn put her ear to the wooden door to listen for traffic up and down the hall. Met with silence, she opened the door a crack and peeked out, confirming she was alone.

One thing she had learned in all her years as a spy: the more confident you seem out in the open, the less people assumed ill intent. You could go just about anywhere without people asking questions, so long as you walked with a purpose.

Wearing the mask of someone far more poised than she felt, she made her way toward the opposite end of the castle. She made it down one floor before she heard the patter of steps, the faint scent of fae growing near. Her heart rate increased.

She rounded the corner, almost colliding with a servant in the process, knocking one of the vases the person was carrying to the floor with a crash.

"Oh!" the servant exclaimed, staring at the glass confetti strewn across the ground. "I'm so sorry…" she trailed off as she looked up sheepishly, alarmed by the woman towering over her in combat leathers.

"Watch where you're going," Evelyn stated firmly, piercing through the servant woman's gaze with her bright, gold eyes. The servant glanced away from Evelyn and down at her hands where blood began to seep from a deep cut. Evelyn knew an opportunity when she saw one. "Who were the flowers meant for?"

"Uh, Princess Aria…" the woman muttered as she attempted to pick up some of the shards, more concerned about the mess of the glass than the blood she was smearing on the floor in her wake. It was enough that Evelyn weighed the possibility of killing the woman and making it look like an accident. She didn't like to leave witnesses. Unaware of Evelyn's contemplations, the woman continued, "they were meant to be waiting for her upon her return tomorrow."

"And the other bouquets?" Evelyn kept the servant talking, another one of the basic tactics she'd learned on her missions. If she was responding to questions, she couldn't think too long about why Evelyn was there in the first place.

The servant paused, "Well, I was informed to take the rest to the king and queen… That's where I was going now, but—"

"I'll handle it," Evelyn said, reaching for the three remaining vases bundled in the woman's arms. "Clean up this mess and then go see the healer. We don't want anyone else getting hurt on the glass, now, do we?"

"No, but—"

Not giving the woman time to protest, Evelyn continued down the hallway in the same direction the servant had been headed. She could have killed the woman, sure. But at the end of the day, a dead servant would have raised more flags than an injured one.

Evelyn carried the vases high, partially covering her face as she walked swiftly through the halls. Now that she'd interacted with someone, the time she had to find what she needed was dwindling.

A double wide, ornately carved door appeared at the end of the next hall. That looks awfully royal , she thought. Worth a shot . She paused at the door, once again listening for any movement before opening it gingerly, praying she'd guessed correctly.

Beyond the door was a vast room covered top to bottom in rich art and decor fit for royalty. Velveted couches and chairs circled the fireplace on one wall, shelves upon shelves of books lining another. Two smaller doors flanked a third, likely the bed chambers.

This had to be it. She placed the vases around the sitting room to make sure it looked like she had legitimately come to do a job and then got back to her actual task. Her eyes were drawn to a large painting centered on one of the walls—an ominous depiction of a swirling storm cloud looming over a land on fire. A line of fae held their arms toward the sky. In prayer? In fear? She couldn't tell. Weirdly dark choice for a statement piece , she thought, before turning her attention to the long table near the bookshelves covered in papers, scrolls, and thick tomes. Surely she would find something useful there.

The Legion Council was desperate to find out who was leading the Unifiers thanks to the movement's growing numbers, and if she could just find something that would help them stifle the momentum at the source…

She went for the scrolls first. As she unrolled and rerolled them one by one, her anxiety grew. The longer she spent in this room, the more likely she was to be discovered. Most of the scrolls were simply groveling letters from nearby towns asking for more resources. But she paused on one from Erdane, the conversation she'd overheard from the guards fresh in her mind.

An Erdanean general had written to the king and queen to alert them of large numbers of Unifier forces in the area and a significant demonstration that had been broken up on the Erdanean estate grounds just a few days before. It struck her as strange that the Unifier movement was so strong in the northern territory. She held her own beliefs that the king and queen were secretly leading the radicals and had assumed they would have focused on the fae in the Zephyr territory where they literally shared a border with the shifter realm. But nothing about the fae makes sense , she thought with an eye roll.

The only thing she really knew about fae history was the Joining of Erdane and Zephyr that happened a few decades before she was born. Prior to that, the two areas had been separate kingdoms prone to their own internal quarreling. Until Arach had married Joyen, the two kingdoms were considered enemies at worst, neighbors at best. Now, though, they were ruled together by the king and queen. But apparently the Joining didn't help as much as they thought it would if things were still so tense in the north.

A growing Unifier force in Erdane was concerning, but didn't tell her anything the shifters didn't already know. The Denover spies stationed in Erdane had already reported on that plenty. So she kept searching, her night vision helping her sort through the papers in the dark. A familiar letterhead peeked out from under a book near the corner of the table. From Her Majesty, Queen Vera Erdane.

Former queen , Evelyn mused. Erdane hadn't really been Vera's kingdom to rule for nearly a hundred years at this point, now that her daughter was queen. She lifted the book and carefully slipped the paper out from under it, reading the curling script.

Your reluctance to expand the reach of your power is unacceptable. The earth beneath our feet needs the Erdanean blood to tend to it, and the Denover land will be left to rot under the confines of the shifters .

You have been a fair ruler of Allar, but the shifters need an iron fist. Consider my offer sincerely, or you will regret your refusal to expand the reach of our kingdoms. You will not stand in my way any longer.

There was no greeting, no signature. The letterhead—dated just a week ago—served as the only indication of who sent it.

" Mother of Mallium ," Evelyn whispered. This was it. This was what she was looking for. It didn't mention the Unifiers by name, but… It was enough.

This letter was damning. But not for the people she'd anticipated.

She tore a blank piece of paper from the open journal on the table and copied the letter down word for word, stuffing it into a pocket in her leathers. The Legion Council needed to see the message exactly as she had. She tried not to let her mind race with early conclusions. The generals would know better than her what to make of it.

Evelyn put the original letter back under the book just as she'd found it, eager to be on her way. She needed to get back before she had any more run-ins with the staff. Or worse, an actual guard.

She hurried over to the window to gain her bearings. Based on the view, she was now looking out at the coast from the northeastern side of the castle. Close enough , she thought. She couldn't risk navigating back to the princess's room.

She stepped carefully onto the king and queen's balcony, the moon a slim crescent, now high in the sky. No guards in sight, aside from the tiny spots lining the coast in the distance. But she was still too high to jump down in her mortal form. And climbing… She didn't particularly want to do that again. She shifted back into her panther body, the balcony just barely big enough to fit her. She hoisted herself onto the short barrier wall an d leapt down, landing on the earth softly on all four paws. The ground was still soft from the rain the day before, cushioning her jump. With no time to waste, she barreled along the exterior castle wall, blending into the night, finally clearing the path that led to the coast.

She didn't breathe until she made it to the cover of the canopy. She had to keep moving. Navigating through the trees, she kept an eye out for the night guard still watching the shore who was frustratingly alert. Evelyn stopped, crouching behind a boulder.

She couldn't risk exposing herself so openly, especially not with the information she had tucked away. If only all the guards felt comfortable enough to fall asleep on duty, then she could have snuck into the sea, no problem. Instead, she waited. And waited.

And waited.

Finally, with Evelyn dangerously close to dozing off herself, the guard began pacing—probably to keep herself awake, as Evelyn would have done had she not been so worried about making noise.

She seized her chance. As soon as the guard turned north, she raced to the water and slowed upon entry so she didn't splash and draw attention. The water had cooled with the setting of the sun, taking her breath away even through her thick coat. She pushed forward, paddling through the powerful water coming from the mouth of the river, her head barely staying above the surface. She didn't dare look back.

The Denover shore neared. She had never doubted herself, but finishing a mission without being discovered or captured was always a relief. Trudging back up the beach, she paused and shook, water releasing from her coat and spraying in every direction. Making her way through the thick line of trees within the safety of her own province, she started the journey back to the Academy, the letter in her pocket burning an anxious hole into her skin.

They finally knew who was leading the Unifiers. And she was the one who'd discovered it.