“At least I was able…” Thom began “Will you guys shut up?” I yelled loudly, stopping Thom in his tracks. They all looked at me for a moment as I glared them down. Someone needed to stop them and get them back on topic, all this bickering was driving me bonkers.
“Listen, what if we gave her a job. Something to do. Then she wouldn’t realize that we know… might know that she is a traitor. And then, if she doesn’t know we know, she wouldn’t go out of the way to do anything. But, if she has a job, maybe we can use it to our benefit.”
“What are you saying, Joclyn?” Dramin asked, his eyes narrowing into that look I knew all too well. I returned it for a moment before looking back to the other two.
“Well,” I said, “in the sight she was carrying Ryland down the hall in the LaRue estate, no one was stopping her.”
“Yes, yes, you told us this,” Ilyan said. I turned to him. His face was worried. He didn’t like the idea of Ovailia having turned on him, again.
“Well, if she is working for them and we give her a job, say… getting Ryland out of the estate,” I said strongly, hoping my conviction would give them all something to talk about instead of yelling,“…if she gets him out of the estate, then not only can she bring Ryland to us so we don’t have to worry about rescuing him on our own, but then she is proving to us that she is on our side, even though we know she is not really on our side. She will think that we know she is, and then she will think we trust her, and then…”
I stopped; they were all looking at me like I had cats growing out of my head.
“Well, that’s a brain twister if I have ever heard one,” Dramin chuckled after a moment.
“Cool it, Dramin,” I said a little icily, before running my hand through my gross, greasy hair. What a stupid habit to have picked up from Ilyan.
“Look,” I continued, “if she gets Ryland out, I won’t have a deadline anymore. That’s one less stress I would have to deal with.”
“You don’t have to deal with any stress, Joclyn.” Ilyan said as he took my hand. I smiled at him but ignored the sentiment.
“If she gets Ryland out, that’s one less thing to worry about. We get what we want, and she thinks she gets what she wants. Everyone is happy – some more the others,” I added softly, knowing what it would mean for Ilyan to have me back with my mate again. Not to mention the fact that Ovailia got nothing but double crossed in this plan.
“It could work,” Ilyan said softly, his hand squeezing mine.
“Thank you, Ilyan.” I sat back in my chair and recovered my hand, content to lose myself in my Black Water some more.
“Joclyn and I will go to Isola Santa tomorrow to meet with Ovailia. We will instruct her to get Ryland and tell her where we are going…” Ilyan stood up as he spoke and began to pace.
“Why does she need to know where we are going?” Thom jumped to his feet, alarmed. I put down my mug on the side table; so much for calming everyone down.
“Well, if she gets Ryland, she has to be able to bring him somewhere,” Ilyan argued. Thom just continued to fume.
“It’s risky,” Dramin said. He stayed sitting, but I could hear the uneasiness in his voice.
“Of course it’s risky! Having Ovailia anywhere near us is risky! She is going to kill us!” Thom spat, the fire growing abruptly as his magic surged, causing everyone to jump.
“Tomorrow we will go to Isola Santa, we will find Ovailia, tell her to get Ryland, and tell her where we are going to meet her. We will all go there, all four of us. After all, she will soon find out you are alive anyway.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere; I would prefer to stay here. It’s nice, warm, and claustrophobic. It suits me here.” Thom sat down as he spoke, his body language practically closing the deal.
“Thom,” Ilyan whispered. “Please, I may need you.”
“Not right now you don’t.” Thom snapped, jumping up again. “But when you do, you know how to contact me. And when you call me, I’ll come running to your rescue. But right now, I am fine here.” He sat down and turned away, his eyes closed.
“Thom.”
“I have spoken my peace, Ilyan. I am staying here.”
“Dramin?” Ilyan turned to his old friend, hopeful. I felt my insides clench, I didn’t want to witness Ilyan being undermined by two people in one night. I was surprised he hadn’t pulled out his ‘king’ voice yet.
Dramin didn’t answer right away; he took a long drink before lifting his eyes to meet mine, then turning to Ilyan.
“I will come with you, because she will need me.” His voice was darker than usual and I felt my magic spark up my spine in warning.
“Dramin, what aren’t you saying?” I could tell this was more than a hunch. Dramin had seen something, and he wasn’t making it sound positive. I waited for him to respond. He drank from his mug, his eyes looking, unfocused, at the fire. My uneasiness grew.
“What have you seen?” I clarified after it became obvious he wasn’t going to answer.