Free Descend (Awakened Fate Book 2) by Skye Malone Page B

anything to keep those bastards from having a chance at whatever it was they wanted.
    The soldiers moved aside when I reached them and the dark walls of the upper floor hallway closed around me as I continued onward. Compared to the lower levels, or even the nearby floors that held our own apartments, the décor up here seemed more subdued. The marble and gold accenting were gone, replaced by deep brown stone. The appearance was deceptive, however. Gold inlay traced wire-thin lines through the rock, picking out designs of all the territories of Yvaria, though the patterns only became clear when you passed and the light caught them a certain way. Tiny gemstones did the same, speckling every square inch of the corridor in a display that, as you swam along it, began to look like a child’s fantasy vision of a jewel mine. Bowls of translucent opal hung from the ceiling, holding flames that made the walls sparkle, and starbursts of larger gems surrounded them.
    Dad knew what it was to impress, and leave no one who visited with any doubt of just how much wealth and territory he controlled.
    Two more guards hovered outside the door of Dad’s personal audience chamber – the place in which all the nobles tirelessly bargained and clamored to be received, though only the elite few ever were.
    “Is he available?” I asked them.
    “Dinner has just arrived,” one replied. “Allow me to see if he wishes company.”
    “Thanks.”
    The man turned and slipped through the fejeria leaves.
    A moment passed.
    “–and I’m telling you two-person teams are enough. We don’t need to waste resources chasing my brother’s delusions, understand?”
    I glanced over. At the far end of the corridor, near the opening to the rest of the castle, Ren swam out into the hall from one of Dad’s study rooms. A soldier followed, bearing the same tense and obedient look on his face that all the guards adopted when my brother was around.
    “Yes, sir,” the man answered with a nod.
    Ren turned and headed back inside.
    I scowled, furious at his words despite my relief he hadn’t noticed me. I didn’t need another argument right now. Not when it was obvious what he’d say to the idea of even more guards against the Sylphaen.
    The fejeria rustled as the guard returned.
    “He will see you, highness,” the man said.
    I nodded and swam by him.
    On a cushioned seat behind a broad table, Dad was scanning over a collection of reports, his brow wrinkled with displeasure. A silver tray of food rested nearby, most of it already gone, and additional stacks of paper-thin, bleached seaweed lay on the table, the writing on them indecipherable from where I stood.
    “Thank you for seeing me, Father,” I said, bowing uncomfortably.
    He didn’t look away from the reports in his hand. “I have officials from Ryaira coming in ten minutes to discuss their ongoing border dispute with Teariad. What did you need to ask me about?”
    “The Sylphaen. I–”
    “Your brother is sending people out within the hour, Zeke. We’ve already settled this.”
    “I know, but I’d like to request additional guards around the palace.”
    He glanced up at me. “Why?”
    I hesitated. I couldn’t bring up Jirral. Dad would dismiss any idea that came from him out of hand.
    Not that I’d blame him. Ordinarily, anyway.
    “As a precaution,” I said. “If the Sylphaen are back, there’s no guarantee they haven’t gotten inside the borders already. I want to make certain the capital is protected.”
    Dad paused. “We will be safe here, Zeke. I know you and he have difficulties, but Ren is more attentive to our intelligence network than you give him credit for. Before you came home, he’d already put the palace guard on alert about potential Vetorian spies and taken measures to secure any leaks in the border. Those measures will serve against anyone, Sylphaen or not.”
    “Father, I–”
    “Zeke, it will be sufficient.” He sighed. “You should have listened to your