Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lyra’s POV

Ophelia’s voice was soft, but it still struck like lightning. I'd never been power hungry, never ever in my life, but right now, I wouldn't mind ordering her out of here like every other official would do. It was a quick suggestion, but deep down,I just knew I wouldn't be able to do it. Over the years, Ophelia had become more than just a maid to me, and there was no way I could switch up on her now.

It just didn't make any sense.

“Ma’am?” Her voice broke through my thoughts again. “Are you going somewhere?”

I froze, my back still turned to her. The cloak I was folding slipped from my hands and landed with a quiet thud on the floor.

She’d seen the bag, the pile of clothes, and the glint of the dagger. There was no pretending this was just spring cleaning or a leisurely stroll outside the palace walls.

My throat worked around a thousand excuses, but not a single one felt convincing. Not even to me. Ophelia wasn't a dumb maid you could dismiss with a silly excuse. Wether I liked it or not, I was bound to tell her.

“I was just. ” I started, still not facing her. “I thought I could, get some air. That’s all.”

A beat of silence followed. Then, the sound of her quiet footsteps padding further into the room.

“Do you usually need a blade and three days’ worth of clothes just to get some air?” her voice was tiny, so tiny that if i didn't know Ophelia, I would have said she was trying to be sassy, or simply mocking me.

I winced. So much for subtlety.

After muttering a string of prayers to the goddess underneath my breath, I turned around slowly. I caught the way her eyes scanned the room, and a wave of relief flooded through me when I realized they didn’t carry judgment. Just quiet concern, and probably worry, threaded with something deeper.

“I can’t stay here,” I whispered finally. “Not when I know what Xander’s about to do. Not when I might be the only one who can stop it.”

Her brows lifted slightly, and for a moment, I thought she was going to say something, but she didn’t interrupt.

“I tried going through the council. I tried speaking to him, but he doesn’t see anything beyond Emily.” Her name tasted like rust in my mouth, but I still continued . “He’s planning to attack Blackwater at dusk. No plan, no sense. Just revenge.”

“You heard him.” Ophelia nodded once. “The rumors have been flying, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you.”

“Yes, but that doesn't matter.” I met her eyes. “And if he walks into that territory with his soldiers, it won’t be a battle. It’ll be a massacre. Xavier isn’t just sitting on a throne waiting to be stabbed. He’s waiting to be provoked. I may not know him, but I know him well enough to know that if he and Xander share the same blood, then he's just as capable as he is.”

“He’s already won if Xander does this. He wants chaos.” I paused, breathing heavily. “He wants an excuse to hurt more people, and I can't, I can’t just sit and let that happen.”

“You’re going to him, aren’t you?” she asked softly. Silence stretched between us again, as Ophelia glanced at the bag. She stared at it for a while, then at me. She didn't looked like she was accusing me, not was she judging. Instead, the glint in her eyes only hinted at the fact that she saw it coming.

“I don’t know,” I said, and it wasn’t entirely a lie. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“Ma’am,” she said after a moment, as she tilted her head to the side. As she spoke up again, she did so gently but firmly. “You don’t need to lie to me. I’m not going to stop you.”

“You’re not?” I blinked.

“No.” She took a step closer, her hands folded before her. “ I'm not even sure I can do that, even if I tried. I saw the look in your eyes last night, and again now. You’ve already made up your mind, you’re just afraid to say it out loud.”

Something in my chest cracked. I didn’t know how she always saw through me, how she always knew when to speak and when to stay quiet.

“I know you're probably afraid, with the stakes and all,” she added. “But if you’re in going, I’ll help you escape.”

“You will?” My breath hitched in my throat. A smile threatened to break out, but I held it for a little longer. “Will you really do that, Ophelia?”

“Of course.” She nodded once. “That’s what friends do.”

Friend. The word echoed over and over in my head, not even when I tried to force it out. It had been so long since someone called me that, and at this point if I said I didn't know what it meant, then best believe I wasn't exaggerating. Tears welled up in my eyes, uninvited, but I blinked them away and gave her a weak smile.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I’ll find there. I don’t even know if I’ll make it back.”

“You will, but just for comfort, I want you to have this.” Ophelia reached into her apron and pulled out a small pendant. It was silver and shaped like a crescent moon, and really beautiful too. “It’s from my family. For protection.”

It doesn't have any magic” she added with a small smirk, once she caught me staring. “But sometimes, faith is the only thing we have.”

I stared at it, speechless, then took it from her and closed my fingers around the warm metal.

“We’ll leave before dawn,” she said. “I know a way through the tunnels that isn’t guarded. But if anyone finds out…”

“They won’t,” I said quickly. “I’ll be ready.”

“Oh, and ma'am?” She nodded, then turned to leave, pausing at the doorway. “Can I say something?”

I looked up.

“Don’t fall for him again.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Don’t give him more of you than he already has. No matter what he says, remember who you are.”

Before I could make sense of what she'd just said, she slipped out, the door clicking quietly behind her.

Her words pressed down on my shoulder, not because she was overstepping, but because she knew me well enough to know that I was still weak to resist Xavier's charms. It didn't matter now, I was going to have to face him.

Tomorrow before dawn, I would leave Redmoon behind, and maybe, just maybe, I'd finally find the truth in Blackwater.

I hoped.