A knock interrupted Rysha putting on her socks.
After learning she’d been too late to help with the battle, she had let Shulina Arya head off to get some rest and had spent the night in her barracks room. Believing the knock might belong to Trip, she hurried to answer it. But Lieutenant Harper, the officer from next door, stood there, already in uniform and holding a newspaper.
“Rysha, did you see this? This is your boyfriend, isn’t it?” Harper held up the newspaper.
It wasn’t open to the front page—Rysha suspected the dragon attack had precedence there—but a few pages back, there was a picture of Trip. It was his military entrance photograph from his army record; he looked a few years younger and very stiff and uncomfortable in his uniform.
Rysha took the newspaper with a shaking hand, already guessing what this was about. She’d heard Trip had healed people and maybe even saved Major Kaika’s life the night before, but she highly doubted the sensationalist-loving journalists would write him up for that.
Sorcerous Officer Wanted for Attempted Murder, the headline read.
She groaned. A large part of her wanted to thrust the newspaper back at Harper, not to read the lies and drivel the article would contain, but she made herself skim through it. Later, if she had to help Trip prepare a defense, she would need to know what that damn Lockvale had said.
…waylaid Lord Lockvale while the nobleman was riding innocently along the highway… witnesses observed an unwarranted and unprovoked attack… used heinous and vile magic to assault Lord Lockvale… barely survived the encounter… demanding the unstable and dangerous officer be hanged.
Hanged!
The paper crinkled as Rysha’s hands tightened. She wanted to wad it into a ball and hurl it across the room.
“Is it true?” Harper whispered.
“Of course not,” Rysha snapped, glaring at her. Harper had only met Trip once, and they had only exchanged a few words, so she couldn’t expect the lieutenant to know better, but the fact that anyone would doubt Trip made her furious. “Lockvale has an agenda. He was trying to get my father to sell our family’s land to him and—”
Rysha stopped as a realization smacked her in the side of the face like a wet towel. What if Lockvale was doing this because of her? Because she and Shulina Arya had killed his winged business partner and he now had no easy way to scare people and force them to sell their land? Lockvale would know he couldn’t strike at her, since she was a fellow noble and he would need a lot of evidence to cause a judge to rule against her, but Trip wasn’t a noble and he had dragon blood. Even if the return of dragons had changed a lot quickly for Iskandians, the average person still feared magic and those who could use it. A judge might rule against Trip out of fear or distaste. Rysha didn’t know what Lockvale could gain from this, but if he was petty and wanted revenge… this could accomplish that.
King Angulus could overrule a judge, of course, but Rysha had not heard of many instances when he had done that. He liked to be seen as fair and impartial. Besides, Angulus didn’t know Trip that well. He might believe there was some truth to these claims.
Rysha had to talk to him, to convince him otherwise, and to also convince him that it would be worth overruling any court’s decision. Putting aside feelings and emotions, Iskandia needed Trip, now more than ever.
“It says the military police went to his barracks room but couldn’t find him.” Harper pointed to the last paragraph. “If he didn’t do it, why did he run?”
“I’m sure he didn’t run. He’s probably at work and busy fixing fliers after the attack last night.”
Rysha expected Harper to point out that the military police would have looked for him at work, but the lieutenant shook her head and whispered, “It was awful. There were at least eight dragons up there raining fire on the city. I heard they stole a bunch of our special dragon-slaying swords. Were you there? Lots of us were wondering where our dragon allies were.”
Rysha winced. Even though they had been assigned a mission to look for the elder dragon, and couldn’t have been expected back, she felt guilty because she and Shulina Arya had been dealing with her family’s problems when the city had been in danger.
“The silver one finally showed up, but it was really our fliers that saved the day. They’re written up on the first page of the paper.” Harper made a flipping motion with her finger. “I’ve been on the night-watch duty, so I had time to read it all before the sun was even up.”
Rysha closed the newspaper to read the front page where a photograph of the “brave, heroic, and fearless” General Zirkander shared space with one of Major Kaika, who’d been willing to sacrifice herself for the good of the city.
Rysha’s heart nearly stopped at the word sacrifice. But she’d checked in at the flier hangar the night before, and she’d been told Kaika had been injured but not killed. The pilots had lost two of their own, but she’d heard all the blade wielders had survived, albeit not all of them had managed to keep their chapaharii swords.
Still, she skimmed the article to make sure someone hadn’t lied to her to spare her feelings the night before. Whenever the journalist had penned it, Kaika had apparently been in critical condition. If Kaika didn’t make it in to work that day, Rysha would track her down and make sure she was all right. Assuming she could get past all the fawning reporters who would be pushing through the gates and hoping to interview General Zirkander. She shook her head at all the accolades dumped on him when Trip was treated like a nobody who’d done nothing for the city.
“Thanks for showing me,” Rysha said, managing a civil tone when she handed the newspaper back to Harper. “I better finish getting dressed and ready for work.”
“It’s a couple of hours until first formation. You’re not going to look for him, are you?”
“If Trip doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be found. Don’t worry about me.” Rysha smiled and shut the door, though a part of her wanted to slam it.
She was going to find Trip and warn him, just in case he hadn’t already heard. She didn’t think he should run or would even consider leaving the city, but she did want to assure him that she would use all the connections she had to make sure he was treated fairly. And she definitely planned to request an audience with King Angulus. She didn’t know him well, but she wasn’t intimidated by him.
“Lots to do today,” Rysha said, tossing her nightclothes aside and grabbing her socks. Shulina Arya, is there any chance you’re listening to my mind and want to come give me a ride?
Unfortunately, only silence answered her. Shulina Arya was probably still sleeping somewhere. It didn’t matter. Rysha would take one of the army’s horses.
“I’m coming, Trip,” she whispered as she jogged out of the barracks and toward the stables.