The tent emptied slowly after that.
Not immediately.
No dramatic accusations.
No blades drawn.
Just—
silence.
Heavy.
Careful.
The kind people used when they realized the ground beneath them was less stable than they thought.
Tadewi was the first to leave.
Not because she trusted me.
Because she trusted Lyra.
Important distinction.
Willow lingered longer, watching me like she was trying to decide whether killing me now would save everyone trouble later.
Reasonable.
Revik looked openly suspicious.
Also reasonable.
Muir just looked tired.
That one bothered me.
Eventually, they stepped outside to begin reorganizing the camp cleaning up the bodies caring to the wounded and preparing for whatever came next.
The operative remained kneeling in shadow.
Waiting.
Patient.
I hated suddenly how visible that looked.
How cold.
How calculated.
Like a reminder of who I was supposed to be.
"The coordinates were verified." I asked without looking away from Lyra.
"Yes, my prince."
"No doubt?"
"None."
Good.
Perfect, actually.
Everything had aligned exactly as intended.
The Water Kingdom destabilized itself.
Its armies weakened.
Its people divided.
The tribes exhausted resources defending refugees instead of watching what the Earth Kingdom was doing.
And while everyone drowned in chaos—
my shadows found the relic.
Exactly according to plan.
Mortimer practically purred inside the back of my skull.
"Well done."
I should have felt satisfaction.
Victory.
Triumph.
Instead—
the thread hurt.
My gaze stayed locked on Lyra.
Still sitting against the healer's cot, pale from blood loss, bandages wrapped around her chest beneath loose fabric.
Her expression gave away almost nothing.
But the thread did.
Gods, the thread did.
Understanding.
Pain.
Sadness.
Not because I betrayed her.
Because part of her had expected this eventually.
That somehow made it worse.
The operative finally glanced upward slightly.
"Orders, my prince?"
There it was.
The moment.
Simple.
Clean.
I should leave now.
Take the information.
Move toward the Earth Kingdom before anyone else learned the relic's location.
Strategically, it was the obvious choice.
Mortimer agreed immediately.
"Leave." "You've already won." "She proved her usefulness."
Useful.
The word hit wrong.
Violently wrong.
Because Lyra wasn't useful.
She was—
My thoughts stopped abruptly.
Dangerous territory.
I exhaled slowly.
"Leave." I said.
The operative blinked once.
Surprised.
Then he lowered his head again and disappeared back into shadow without another word.
Silence settled over the tent immediately afterward.
Lyra still hadn't looked away from me.
Neither had I.
Finally—
"You planned this," she said quietly.
Not accusing.
Worse.
Tired.
I crossed my arms loosely.
"I let the pieces fall where they lay."
Her eyes narrowed faintly.
"That's not what I asked."
No.
It wasn't.
I could lie.
Probably convincingly.
But something about the way she looked at me made lying feel…
difficult.
Annoying.
"I came to the Water Kingdom because I believed the chaos was a good distraction to keep you busy while all my people looked for the relic." I admitted.
The thread tightened.
Painfully.
"But you helped us. why help us if the chaos is what you wanted." she said softly.
I looked away first.
That alone irritated me.
"The two goals were not mutually exclusive."
A weak huff of laughter escaped her.
Gods.
Even injured she found ways to make me feel like an idiot.
"That sounds very prince-like."
"It's accurate."
"It's a cowardly response."
That snapped my attention back instantly.
Her expression hadn't changed much.
Still pale.
Still exhausted.
But her eyes—
sharp.
Always sharp.
"You cared enough to stay," she continued quietly. "But not enough to admit you want to."
The thread pulsed hard.
Straight through my chest.
I hated how accurately she saw me.
"I am admitting it now," I said carefully.
"Only because I called you out."
Fair.
Deeply irritating.
But fair.
Outside the tent, distant sounds of rebuilding drifted through camp.
People moving debris.
Voices organizing supplies.
Life continuing despite everything.
Lyra shifted slightly and immediately winced.
My body moved before I could stop it.
I stepped forward automatically.
Her eyes flicked up toward mine.
The thread warmed faintly.
Concern.
From me.
Satisfaction.
From her.
Manipulative little thief.
"You should rest," I muttered.
"You should stop staring at me like you're planning a funeral."
"I've planned six already."
That earned another faint laugh.
Small.
Weak.
Worth far more than it should have been.
I crouched slightly beside the cot before I fully realized I was doing it.
Too close.
Again.
The thread tightened instantly.
Her gaze dropped briefly toward my hands.
Still stained with her blood.
I hadn't cleaned them.
Lyra noticed too.
Something softer flickered across her expression.
Then—
without warning—
her fingers brushed against mine.
Gentle.
Warm.
My breath caught slightly.
Stupid reaction.
Dangerous reaction.
And yet—
I didn't pull away.
"You prayed for me."
The words hit like a blade between ribs.
I went still.
"How—"
"I heard it... the thread between us." she said quietly.
Right.
Of course.
I should have remembered she could feel more.
The closer we are the more we can feel.
Not everything.
But enough.
Mortimer shifted irritably somewhere deep inside me.
"Careful."
Ignored again.
I looked down at our hands briefly.
Then back toward her.
"It didn't work," I said flatly.
"I'm still here, alive."
No.
That wasn't what I meant.
She knew it too.
The healer's flap shifted suddenly as Revik stepped halfway inside.
"Im not sorry to interrupt whatever deeply uncomfortable thing this is," he said dryly, "but the council's gathering."
Lyra sighed softly.
"I'm injured."
"Yes."
"I nearly died."
"Yes."
"I deserve at least one hour without politics."
"unfourtantley not."
I almost smirked.
Revik pointed toward the camp outside.
"The Water Kingdom nobles are splitting already. Half want Muir crowned immediately before the king regroups."
"And the other half?" Lyra asked.
"Want your head mounted on the palace gates. For bringing war."
Reasonable.
Revik's eyes flicked toward me briefly.
"Both of your heads, technically."
Also reasonable.
Lyra rubbed tiredly at her forehead.
"I hate monarchies."
"Good thing you are technically involved with all kingdoms now," I pointed out.
She glared at me immediately.
Better.
That meant she still had strength left.
Revik leaned against the tent entrance.
"There's more."
Of course there was.
"The king's forces are retreating toward the outskirts."
Lyra frowned slightly.
"That checks."
Exactly.
Revik nodded grimly.
"with a fairly large army."
The thread pulsed sharply between Lyra and me at the same moment.
Instinct.
Warning.
Something was wrong.
Then Tadewi's voice cut sharply across the camp outside.
"MOVE!"
Everything exploded into motion instantly.
I was already standing before the second shout came.
The ground shook beneath the camp.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
distantly—
a massive horn echoed across the frozen landscape.
Not from the Water Kingdom.
Different.
Lower.
Older.
The thread snapped painfully tight.
Lyra's eyes widened.
Muir burst into the tent breathing hard.
"There's another army approaching."
Silence crashed down hard.
Revik swore first.
Tadewi appeared directly behind Muir, wind spiraling violently around her.
Her expression had gone dangerously still.
"What banner?" I asked immediately.
Muir looked toward me with venom in his eyes.
Then answered quietly.
"…Earth Kingdom."
The entire tent went cold.
Mortimer smiled inside my head.
"Right on time..."