Empire of Night (Age of Legends 2)

"Gavril."

Tyrus's face tightened. He tried to hide the reaction, but Moria caught a glimpse of it before he said, carefully, "So he helped you escape, then."

"Hardly. He was trying to stop me."

A flutter of relief, followed by a flash of guilt and then worry and finally something like disappointment. As a romantic rival, he would want Gavril kicked from Moria's mind. But Gavril was more than that. He was a boyhood friend, and Tyrus still hoped for some sign that the Gavril he remembered lived, that he'd not lost his honor, not betrayed them and held Moria captive.

"We'll speak of that later," she said, taking Tyrus's hand and entwining her fingers with his. "For now, I'm not surprised we haven't heard him raise the alarm. He'll not want his father to think he let me escape. He'll pretend he was occupied and did not see what happened."

"Does he fear his father?" Tyrus asked. "Perhaps that's why--" He cut himself off. "I'm sorry."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "I know. It would be easier to think he's held there, as much a prisoner as I was. But he's not, Tyrus. I'm sorry. We'll talk more later, but Gavril isn't cowering in his father's shadow. He's free to come and go, and he chooses to stay and play his role--as heir--in his father's plan."

Tyrus nodded. "As he must." And that, Moria knew, was how he would make sense of this. Gavril was doing his filial duty. It did not make him a good person or mean that he was not now Tyrus's enemy, nor that he was less culpable of the evil he might do. It was simply the only way to accept that his old friend could do these things and not be a monster. Which was what Tyrus needed. What they both needed.

FORTY-FIVE

As they walked through the shadowy forest, Moria tilted her head to listen and heard only the rustle of wind in the leaves. "It's quiet here."

"Very. You're in the western provinces. Beyond the trees, you'd see the Katakana Mountains."

"Where the Kitsunes are from."

"Exactly. Also not far from Lord Okami's compound, which is almost a day's ride in that direction. In this direction"--he hooked his thumb toward the camp--"you'd be in the ocean by sunrise. Go that way"--he pointed left--"and you'd land in Lake Shiko. The other way? An ocean inlet."

"Which means the Kitsunes have chosen an isolated location with one way in or out. This forest."

He nodded. "That's why it was a good location for a camp. But after a decade of peace, it was abandoned, and it's been empty almost ten summers. Lord Okami had already figured out that this was the most likely spot for Alvar Kitsune to be holed up. When I reached him, he was preparing to send men to investigate, so he could notify my father."

"Are his men nearby, then?"

"A few. Beyond the forest. That's where Alvar's guards were. Okami's men helped me deal with them. Now they are out there keeping watch. The forest itself, as you see, is empty. As long as you are correct, and Gavril doesn't raise the alarm, it's likely to stay that way."

"He won't."

"If he does, we'll hear it. I've caught the bells signaling every meal. It's so quiet out here that it's impossible not to hear them."

So quiet . . .

Like the Forest of the Dead. Which was not the way a forest should be at all, as she'd learned from her travels.

"Have you heard or seen anything?" she whispered.

He shook his head. "I suspect Alvar's been here long enough to empty the forest of prey. That's one disadvantage to his situation. He can't simply travel to the nearest town and purchase enough supplies for an army."

r /> When they stepped into a clearing, she looked up to see the dark shape of a bat flitting past. Not empty, then. Just very, very quiet.

Tyrus adjusted his grip on her hand and cleared his throat. "A lot has happened since you were taken. I'm not sure how much of it you know."

"None. I wasn't exactly an honored guest, privy to rumors and news."

He looked at her sharply. "You ought to have been. Not privy to news, I mean. But an honored guest. I presumed . . . You are a Keeper and surely Gavril . . ."

"I was not a Keeper within those walls. I was a prisoner and Gavril's responsibility, one he--" She shook her head. "I just want to be out of this forest, and as far from this place as I can get."

He took her other hand, tugged the dagger from it, and tucked it into his own belt as he pulled her to a stop in front of him.

"I'm sorry," he said.