Lux [h.s]

fifty-seven

"Looking for me?" Cora gasped out, "Why?!"

Harry shot Thalia a glance, and she shook her head. "I don't know that yet. It's becoming nearly impossible to tell what the king is planning, even his outmost circles are now carrying iron." Cora thought she could sense defeat in her voice but rejected the sensation instantly. Up until now, it'd been nearly impossible to confound Thalia. She'd known her secrets even before being told, she'd known the answer to questions she was yet to pose. If she truly was overpowered now, there was little they could do.

"We can only hope we'll find out when we enter Evandra," Harry added, "though it might entail having to enter the duke's mansion."

Cora bristled. "You are not walking under the same roof as the king on your own." She didn't even dare to think of what Soren would do if he managed to get his hands on Harry. Not that it would be an easy feat; she still hadn't met anyone powerful enough to subdue him. But Soren had the royal guard and an entire kingdom on his side. Harry only had her, Thalia, and less than half of what had been the Fair. They couldn't go against the crown and survive.

"We have to."

"Then I want you to take me with you."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "We've just told you the king is looking for you, and you're talking about stepping right before him?" She didn't seem to be angry at her, though. She seemed oddly intrigued, as if she was seeing something they couldn't. Maybe she was.

"I say we can enter the city tomorrow, not long before dusk," Harry interjected, ignoring what Cora had said. "It'll be easier to move around in the darkness."

Thalia nodded, but Cora's eyes widened. "So soon?"

Harry looked at her for a long moment, seeming to want to read into her mind, and then pushed off the table. "May you leave us alone for a moment?" he asked Thalia. "I'd like to talk to Cora for a moment."

"I'll be outside." She left the room, her braid swinging between her shoulder blades. Cora could only catch a glimpse of Raven standing in the corridor before the door was closed, and looked away fast to drown the betrayal she'd recently discovered.

As soon as they were alone, a deep silence fell in the room. The fireplace seemed to turn the air so hot that she could barely breathe. Harry still stood next to the table, looking down, moving away one of the paper sheets with his finger. The expensive clock in the library ticked away, a cold reminder that with every movement of its hands that stars-forsaken mission got closer and closer. Cora wanted to laugh. She was always the one complaining Harry didn't let her do anything dangerous, but now she was the one wishing she could keep him from leaving the house.

"So..." Harry started, seeming to be tasting the meaning of the words before letting them out of his mouth, "will you tell me what's going on in that mind of yours?" He sent her a look, one that was so intense she worried she'd forget how to speak. "Didn't you tell me how important it was to enter the city only a little while ago?"

"You know."

"No, I don't," he murmured in reply. "Why don't you tell me?"

Cora clenched her fists at her side. The tips of her fingers were wet, and she wasn't even surprised by it anymore. Her water always seemed to rush by her side when it sensed her distress, like a pet trying to soothe the cries of its owner. Her gaze drifted to the fireplace. She almost expected to see its fire flare up, or dwindle in a dying flame, following the route of Harry's emotions, but if he was feeling something in that moment, he kept it from his element.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to you." As soon as she let the words out, it was as if a dam had shattered, truths overflowing. "Letting you go terrifies me. You got hurt before, and even though Thalia is here now, I can't shake away the fear I felt that night. It frustrates me how you're always putting yourself in danger, and I hate that I can't shout at you for it because you're doing it to protect everyone else. I wish you'd—" Her voice fell when Harry closed the distance between them and put his hands on her shoulders.