"Can I come?" Felix blurted out. The look of pure excitement on his face had been building since I'd mentioned being able to get into the palace.
I tried not to outwardly cringe at the idea of sneaking through the palace with Felix tagging along, possibly gaping at everything he saw. I wasn't sure why I had that image of him, but I did. I must not have been wholly successful as his excitement deflated as his eyes met mine.
"I'm not against the idea," I said, hoping to salvage things. "But how good are you at sneaking around?"
He deflated further. "Not great, unfortunately."
I tsked lightly, as if disappointed. "I suppose I'll need to go in alone, then."
"Not so fast," Ophelia said, a smirk stretching the corner of her mouth upward. "I'm great at sneaking around."
Oh hells, of course she was. I turned my eyes to Aurelion, hoping he might say she was too important to the cause or something—anything—but he remained silent before finally nodding.
"I believe that would be a wonderful idea. It also allows the two of you a chance to work more closely together, which should help instill more trust in one another."
I didn't try to hide the sigh I let out this time. That only seemed to fuel the spark in Ophelia's eyes even more.
"Fine," I muttered. "But if we get caught and thrown in the palace dungeon because of you, I'll cut your throat."
"Big words from a little woman," Ophelia noted back with a taunting glare.
Don’t take the bait, I repeated to myself. But I was a dragon and my pride wouldn’t let me remain silent..
My chest rose as I took in a breath, my hand flashing to my dagger hilt. The blade was free of my belt with a flick of my wrist, the weapon flying through the air at her head. I saw her eyes widen, the spark vanishing. Then Aurelion's hand smacked outward, a gust of air slapping the weapon down onto the table, where it made a ringing noise as it slammed into the wood, finally coming to settle an arm's length from where she was sitting.
His eyes met mine, and then his gaze snapped to Ophelia. "Can we not try to kill each other? Remember, each of us at this table is important to our cause. We may not be friends yet, but we are all in the same boat." Disgust rolled off the last word. "If one of us goes down, we are all worse off for it. Understood?"
"Understood," we both muttered in response.
I reached over the table and scooped up my dagger, nestling it back against my waist. "Oh, that reminds me," I said, piping up. "My coin purse? You know, the one you stole from me? I'd like that back, too. Or you can stay right here and wait for me to come back with the seal."
Aurelion started to speak but I held up a finger. "Last I checked, I was the one with the way in. Now, I'm more than happy to work with the group here as it benefits me just as much as it does you—maybe more so. But, I will not be treated like a lesser person by a gutter rat like her."
They were words I'd wanted to say since I'd met her again that first night. When I'd snuck into the warehouse only to find them all waiting for me. It felt fitting to say them now, especially since I had a piece I could play that they couldn't. If Aurelion wanted me to treat this like a game, then I would.
The [King of Lions] let out a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair. For the first time since meeting him, it looked like his facade might break, but he must have pushed himself back from the cliff, because his stoniness returned a moment later. "Very well. Ophelia, you heard her."
Across from me, still wearing a look of pure horror, Ophelia's mouth moved, silent words dashing across her lips. Finally her voice caught up to the ramblings. "Are you out of your mind, Leo? You want me to hand over something I earned to this rogue?"
I was mostly certain she had said the word as a description, not as a call out of my class, but I decided to cast [Insight] just to be safe.
Name: Ophelia Lovelace.
Race: Human.
User Information: Raised in the streets of the Eastern Quarter, Ophelia is no stranger to trouble. She can often be found snatching the coin purses of unsuspecting passersby and is exceptionally skilled at sneaking around. No special information available.
Current Status: Horrified.
I took a strange pleasure in reading the girl's [Status], as well as a bit of relief in that her information read very similarly to the shipmaster from the alley. That likely meant she didn't have any System access in the same way that Aurelion did, as she didn't have a title—at least, that was the best explanation I could come up with.
I made a mental note to ask Aurelion more about the System and who all knew about his access to it later. But for now, I was content knowing that my little display had actually made its way under her skin.
After another moment of staring between me and Aurelion, Ophelia finally pulled out a coin purse and chucked it onto the table in front of me—just far enough out of reach that I'd have to lean over to get it.
I stared her down the entire time, which only seemed to unnerve her even more. I offered her a sly smile. At least I had her on her toes now.
"Nothing else to talk about, then, I'll get the things I need and then we'll plan to go in tomorrow night."
Nobody disagreed, so I tucked the coinpurse into my pocket—the purse was quite small compared to the one Will had given me earlier that night—and pushed back from the table, making as if to leave.
"Just one moment," Aurelion said, standing up to join me.
His gaze flashed to Ophelia and Felix, who seemed to get the message, shuffling out of the room without another word.
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When it was just the two of us, he turned his attention to me. "I know what you have at stake here. Is it really smart to go sauntering into the palace as you are?"
"As I am?"
"Yes. As weak as you are."
I grimaced at the words. He wasn't wrong, but I still didn't like being reminded of it. "You said it yourself, we don't have a lot of time to waste. The Segrids might change their plans tomorrow, or even next week. The sooner we have our hands on an Imperial Seal, the sooner we can start actually making moves."
I debated asking him more about the System and his own interactions with it, but I really didn't want to show him just how right he was about my weaknesses.
My mother's words once more danced their way through my mind:
"We are only as weak as we appear, but we can always appear stronger than we truly are."
That had been an incredibly difficult lesson to learn, and in some regard I wondered if I had ever truly learned it. Nevertheless, I pushed the feelings away and instead flashed Aurelion with my most confident smile.
"It'll be fine, so long as Ophelia can sneak as well as she says she can."
"Oh, she's not the one I'm worried about." His gaze settled on me once more. "That's new," he said, pointing to the cloak. "Nice addition, though. Should help with your class."
I nodded. "Picked it up today. Itching to give it a try, maybe I'll sneak through a barracks or something on my way back home."
He laughed at that and then settled back into his chair, turning his attention back to the papers and maps strewn across it. "Just… be careful. I know you don't have much reason to care at the moment, but our fates are far more intertwined than you might think, [Empress of Dragons]."
His head bowed slightly and then I turned from the table, leaving out the same door Ophelia and Felix had. I found both of them standing outside at the bottom of the stairs.
"You really think that kind of display will get you anywhere?" Ophelia snapped, the words lashing through the air as I approached her.
"Seems like it did the job well enough," Felix chimed in, his face still painted with disappointment.
Ophelia shot him a red-hot glare. "I want to talk about the plan."
I shook my head at her. "Tomorrow. For now, I have other things I need to take care of."
"It's the middle of the night. What else could you need to take care of?"
Felix looked like he might say something else, but Ophelia's blade-like gaze cut him off. His shoulders dropped further and he shuffled off slowly, leaving the two of us alone.
"You should be nicer to your friends," I told her, slipping past. I heard her footsteps behind me and rolled my eyes.
"Don't worry about me and Felix. Worry about us and the job."
"The job is under control, Ophelia. I know you don't have much trust in me—nor I in you—but we're stuck in this together. So maybe start giving me the benefit of the doubt."
"Ha. You slink your way into our operation and offer us a way into the palace—something nobody else can give us—and you just want me to take your word for it? Not a chance. Who are you? Why does Aurelion care so much about you?"
I laughed then, still moving through the warehouse. Others passed beside us, listening to the exchange while trying to appear as if they weren't.
"I wouldn't say he cares about me. I'm pretty sure he'd sacrifice me to the Seven himself if it pushed him even a hand's-length forward toward his goal. But our wants align, and that will have to be enough for you. Now stop following, please. I don't like to go back on my word, but your throat looks very appealing at the moment."
I heard her gasp from behind, her footsteps no longer following me. "You're a monster." Her voice was lower now, more distant.
"That's the point," I responded, raising my voice enough to ensure she heard it.
Her footsteps didn't return, and I continued my trek out of the warehouse and into the alleyway outside.
It was indeed the middle of the night, and above us, the Seven were already well into their daily cycle. I peered up at the three moons that currently filled the sky.
Lothos, one of the dimmer of the Seven, sat nestled between Thulus and Rhada. The first was much smaller compared to the other two, though Rhada's red light blended with the colder light that Thulus gave off, painting the night sky in a strange hue of color that many had come to fear.
I didn't, though. The moons had often been my only companions during long flights over the oceans that surrounded Caelthor. Memories flashed across my mind, of my wings stretched out, the glow of the moons above me, their reflections playing across the gentle waves of the Northern Sea.
Smiling, I recalled the first time I'd flown over the Gaping Maw, a massive whirlpool that lay deep within the Northern Sea, close to the northernmost point of the planet. It had been a beautiful and daunting sight to behold that first time. I wondered if I'd ever see it from the air again, and even what it might look like from my new perspective—though I wasn't sure how close ships could come to the churning waters without risking being pulled in.
I really did miss flying. Being stuck in my human form had been difficult to get used to, but I felt like I was making good progress. But not being able to take wing and simply glide through the sky was suffocating. I forced the memories from my mind and refocused on the tasks ahead.
First, I needed to make sure the path into the palace was even viable. Telling Aurelion and the others about it before doing so had been risky—borderline idiotic, perhaps—but I'd needed something to stave them off continuing their attempts to recreate the seal. Wasting resources and energy wouldn't get us anywhere.
My steps took me through the streets of the Eastern Quarter and out into the region surrounding the palace. The Palace Quarter, as it had been named by my advisors when we'd designed the city, was a mixture of the stone and wooden buildings that surrounded the docks. However, some of the stone here had been dyed different colors, to help each building stand out.
There were also no shops spread throughout this area. Instead, most of the structures were houses for the nobility. While they weren't as superstitious as some of the poorer population in the city, they also didn't have much reason to slink around at night. There were guards, though, which meant it was smart to stick to the shadows.
I pulled my cloak up around me as I walked, keeping my steps close to the buildings, so that I could slip into alleyways if any patrols appeared around me. Nefes must have been with me, though, because the streets remained dark and empty, allowing me to reach the small building that served as a post for the hidden entrance I planned to use to sneak into the palace.
To the unknowing, the building looked like any other structure in the area—a stone and woodwork piece that fit well into the surrounding environment. However, unless something had changed since my reawakening, there should be guards situated along the top of the building, just barely visible.
I peered up from an alleyway across the street, using the light from the moons to see. Sure enough, as I focused on the rooftop, I noted what appeared to be a glint of moonlight across a piece of armor. That was good, though the presence of the guards meant I'd need to be especially careful with my next movements.
Ducking low to the ground, I sprinted across the street, pressing my back against the other building as soon as I reached it.
I waited, breath held, for any sign that I'd been seen. But a cry of alarm never came. I said a quick prayer of thanks to the Seven—it seemed appropriate given the amount of luck that had been bestowed upon me recently—and slinked up to the door.
The building was meant to remain locked at all times. I checked it, and was relieved but also happy to find that it was indeed secured. While it still wasn't definitive, the fact that the guard was still positioned above, and that the door was locked, meant that the entrance was likely still under use.
Content with what I'd found, I made my way away from the building, sticking to the shadows as best I could and counting on the cloak to help hide me from view. I hadn't expressly looked at what it affected in regards to the Sneak skills it mentioned, but I assumed it would at least make me better at moving around without being detected.
Once I was far enough away, I slipped into the street again, pulling my hood down as I made my way back toward The Slumbering Drake to rest. I still needed to gather supplies for the break-in, but I'd have to figure out where to get those tomorrow.
Perhaps that was something Will could help with, too.