RAVAGED HEARTS | CHAPTER NINETEEN
IO WAS GONE for longer than he'd expected. Nervousness bit away at Louis as seconds ticked by, as minutes passed and she did not return. He'd been suspicious enough when she was brought away. Now he was downright worried.
He glanced around. Castrillo's expression didn't look the best either. They both worried. Because they knew Io was still mortal, flesh and bone. The twins knew her as a legend, they knew her as a human.
Louis glanced at the innkeeper, eyes narrowed. "Where is she?"
The man didn't even pretend to not understand. "She'll be alright, sir, don't fret."
"You led her away in a strange place, and it's been at least twenty minutes since she's gone. How can I not fret?"
The innkeeper shrugged. "She's in safe hands."
"With who?" Louis demanded.
"I'm well acquainted with Miss Jiang. Your friend would be perfectly alright, have a bit of patience."
"Miss Jiang?" Castrillo asked, brows scrunching up together. "Jiang?"
"Aye," the innkeeper replied, face blank. "Miss Jiang, sir. Are you not acquainted with her?"
Jiang. Louis tried to recall the name from his mind, blinking before realising who he was talking about. "Jiang. Rhysa Jiang. The Iron Wolf. The Saians sent the Briar?"
"Well, I don't know about that," the innkeeper replied with a shrug, "but she's here and she says she wishes to see Miss Mi, so..."
"You know her name." Louis' eyes narrowed on the innkeeper. "Who are you?"
"Exactly who I say I am, unlike all of you," he replied tightly. "I've been a friend of Miss Jiang for a long time, don't you worry, you're all perfectly safe here."
"You're a Saian spy?"
"Not precisely," he replied, "I just offer a bit of aid when necessary." He smoothed his clothes. "They're taking a slight bit longer than I originally expected, but I'm sure they have much to catch up on. Tea, anyone?"
"It's almost six o'clock in the evening," Anita reminded, clearly confused.
"Well, it's not as if any of you will actually be in your rooms sleeping tonight, so I don't think a bit of tea would hurt." No ordinary innkeeper seemed accurate. If he was an ally of the Briar, it made him an ally to all of them.
Rhysa Jiang. The first female Iron Wolf, and the only one during the war. Female wiccai were ridiculously rare for some reason, and those who were usually lived in the Hatlen Isles, where traditional gender stereotypes were still heavily followed. Hence, most of them were unskilled with their powers and forced into a domestic role. Unfair, the amount of potential lost through that.
Maybe once Vayante was stable, he'd turn his attention to the Hatlen Isles. It wasn't right for so many wiccai to have to live secluded. Today's climate was nowhere as hostile towards them as a hundred years ago, and many had already come out to find jobs and explore the world—that was how the Saians had recruited most of their Iron Wolves. A separated safe haven had lost its purpose long ago. He, as another wiccai, could help with that.
But not yet. The mission first. Retrieve Bailen's children, ensure the Vayantean political situation was stable. That was the most important thing right now. The Hatlen Isles had managed to handle themselves for a hundred years, a few minutes of neglect would not kill them.
But if the Saians sent Io here, why would they send the Briar here as well?
Unless Io had come of her own accord, and the Saians thought this mission was too important for an agent who'd gone rogue for the past nine months to take over, even if she was one of their best.
A bit offensive to Io, maybe, but she's logical. She wouldn't be affected by this, and another wiccai, one of the strongest in the world, was a welcomed addition to their little entourage.
They might almost be ready to take on an entire mansion of wiccai. If they'd find this apparent mansion first, of course.
Shouldn't be too difficult. Saria was quite small. The most exciting thing was the military base, but that had been abandoned long ago. And he highly doubted the Falcons would hide in somewhere as obvious as that.
If only Lillia Sorrya had just talked. Wouldn't that have given him a lot of sleep and rest?
Blind loyalty, Louis decided, might be one of the most annoying things in the world. Right behind dealing with Falcons who ought to have given up by now. Though both things were correlated, so he supposed they could count as one and the same.
If Io was with Rhysa Jiang, Louis didn't have to worry. So he relaxed, leaning back on his couch, turning towards the twins. The innkeeper was in on it, so there was no point sending him away while they discussed this. 'The plan?"
Anita blinked, nonplussed. "Search the town."
"Any specific areas?" he prodded. He already knew, of course—he'd scouted out beforehand with Io, but he might as well use this opportunity to test the twins' abilities. Give them a bit of training, because those two had the most potential out of all the agents Vayante had taken in in the last couple years. His duty. One of the few things he could do for his country. He wouldn't be here forever.
Staying in Vayante doing paperwork and diplomatic work was already starting to get boring. An excursion to the Hatlen Isles might be just what he needed. And it might give him a better understanding of his wiccai ability and why he was born with it when none of his other family was.
Research had been done outside of the Isles, of course, but theirs was probably the best, the most accurate. How he'd been born with it when there was no one in his family history to inherit it from... It had almost started a major argument between his father and mother until his uncle had stepped in to briefly explain. More breakthroughs must have been made in the decade in between.
"Need a map," Celinos said. His sister's face said it all. They'd probably only very casually glanced over it. Anita hadn't done any further research, probably telling herself Saria was small enough and they had enough people to cover the entirety of it. She was wrong. Celinos was a bit more careful, but the fact he needed a map instead of reciting the information directly made Louis sigh.
Both twins instantly understood, of course, because they were still relative masters at reading expressions and the like. Anita's face dropped, probably having realised that she'd fallen right into his trap.
The innkeeper went right to work. A moment later, a detailed map of Saria was laid on the table. It must have been old, but it was still kept in relatively pristine condition. The man raised his head. "Miss Jiang left this here the first time we crossed paths. I've kept it like this ever since." Pride oozed through his words, and Louis couldn't help but smile, his lips lifting up.
Celinos walked over, fingers gathering over a group of larger looking houses in the north of the town. "The richest of Saria live here. This is the most likely choice. If not, the prince might have chosen to settle here..." his fingers moved towards a neighbourhood slightly in the east of the first, "still a nice neighbourhood, but not precisely wealthy. Not that the other one is really rich compared to what we see in Valencia."
"Of course not," Louis agreed. "If people with relative wealth are here, they'd most likely have gotten it through smuggling."
"Lots of smuggling here," the innkeeper shrugged, "it's how we survive. We're too far from Ovienada and the like to get sufficient supplies from Melique. Things don't come through the Vayantean side either, smuggling illegally is the only choice." He said this because he knew they were all Vayantean agents and needed his help, and wouldn't betray this confidence of information.
"Which means we have to be more careful," Castrillo murmured. "Even if it's just for survival, they still have the guts to pull off something illegal. We won't be dealing with the most scrupulous crowd."
Louis agreed, saying, "I'd suggest extreme caution." He turned to look at the innkeeper. "Do you know what's been done with the abandoned military base?"
"Abandoned, as you said. No one really goes now. Some people say it's haunted, bollocks, of course." He shook his head. "People are willing to believe anything."
"Might be the Falcons digging around," Castrillo suggested. "The Spectre is with them. Lysandra Vorinin. Might be her."
"The Spectre," Celinos let out a soft hiss. "She fucked me up real bad in our last encounter."
Castrillo offered a lopsided smile. "Your chance for revenge."
"Don't know if I can beat her now either," Celinos snorted.
"If you can't do it," Louis offered, "the Briar can do it for you. You can just ask her very politely."
Anita's eyes took on a dreamy look. "She's my idol."
Louis suppressed a sudden burst of laughter. Things had happened too quickly for it to fully sink in, but that sounded about right. Anita Enrique Zevallos was just the right age when the Briar was at her prime and most well-known. In wartorn Vayante, it made sense the girl would have turned to the Iron Wolf as inspiration and motivation.
He'd never really met the Iron Wolf himself personally. They'd crossed paths, exchanged pleasantries, of course, and they knew of each other. The Briar was an icon, not just in the world of espionage but in the world past that as well. For those of them who'd lived under Meliquean suppression in Vayante and beyond, she had been a reminder that it was possible to break away. If one girl had managed to do so herself, why couldn't the rest of them? The Saians had realised this and capitalised on this early on, using her as a symbol, treating her like a celebrity. She mostly stayed within Sai, and when she did leave it was to stir up Saian support in foreign countries. An extremely glorified diplomat with deadly skill, that was the best way to describe her.
He knew people who did interact with her often, though. Io always spoke of her highly when she was younger, putting her on a pedestal, practically worshipping the ground she stood on. Some of his Caershireen colleagues described her as confident to the point of arrogant, self-assured in everything she did. A stellar agent whose only weakness was an attitude problem.
That sounded like someone else he knew, actually. The Saians, it seemed, liked to develop that kind of agent. But not really, because Miss Daneira Pang and Lady Asteria Lu were really the exact opposite of that. The Briar and Io's styles were more akin to the Novokulugan agents. Competent, but irritating. Where you more often than not did not want to deal with them but ended up not having the choice to do so because your superiors forced you to.
Now he sounded mean and ungrateful. He did appreciate the chances over the years he'd worked with Io, where he'd learned much. And he was very grateful for this opportunity to be in close quarters with someone of the Briar's calibur. But still.
Celinos sighed, snapping Louis back into reality. "She used to have a corkboard of newspaper spreads regarding the Briar's feats and achievements."
Anita, still dreamily, said, "She's half the reason I managed to get through my first year as an agent."
"Seems as if I'm inspiring the next generation of Vayantean agents, that's always nice to know." All attention snapped to the door. The Briar and Io had been so quiet none of them had realised that they'd already returned. The Briar turned to the innkeeper, "Thank you, Pedro."
"You're welcome, Miss Jiang, as always. I'll leave you to it, ring if you need me, I need to go care for the children upstairs." The innkeeper, Pedro as the Briar called him, gave a small nod and left the room, closing the door behind him.
The Briar's eyes swept around the room. She greeted, "Constanza Castrillo, it's been a while. You've grown up. You must be Louis Sanchez, we've met before. And you two... Celinos and Anita Enrique Zevallos?" her eyes seemed to twinkle as she met Anita's eye. A charming woman, Louis decided.
Louis said, "It's a pleasure for you to join us, the Briar."
The woman shook her head, dark hair swinging down her shoulder. She was a bit older than him—probably nearing her thirties, but not quite there yet. It was usually a bit harder to tell with Saians, he'd realised over the years, that it was usually easier to assume they were a year or two older than they actually looked. Still, she could have passed for someone in her first blush for youth if not for that feeling she gave off, that feeling of maturity, that she'd seen more than you and lived to see the tale. Io usually gave the same aura, but next to the Briar, she suddenly seemed younger again.
The Briar said, "Please. The Briar sounds so odd. Call me Rhys. That's what everyone calls me in private."
Anita looked a bit mortified the woman had overheard their earlier conversation. Her face had turned the colour of a cherry tomato, and it didn't seem to be turning back any time soon. Celinos said earnestly, "It truly is an honour to meet you."
"The honour is all mine," Rhys smiled warmly. "You two are making a bit of a wave in spy circles all around the world right now, did you know that?"
Anita, still awestruck, said nothing. Celinos simply thanked the wiccai profusely. Besides Rhys, Io did her best to remain invisible. It was rare, someone who could eclipse even Iolanthe Mi.
Sai had recruited an interesting band of women to protect their empire. Between their princess—now the Princess Consort of Arecia, Lady Asteria, Miss Pang, the Diao sisters, Rhys and Io, it was a little band of Amazons they'd gathered. And they'd done an excellent job in the past decade.
But that was enough chatting and reminiscing. Time to focus on the present. It was time to scout Saria and find the prince and the Falcons.
-♡-
LOUIS YANKED IO up the tree, not that she really needed the extra boost. He just felt like being helpful, that never hurt anyone before. She gave him a quick flash of a nod before turning to the quiet street beneath the tree they now perched on. "Nothing interesting."
The tree was the highest vantage point in the neighbourhood. Louis eyed the buildings. He's not here."
"Funny. Thought this kind of place would attract him best." Io shook her head. "Maybe the others found something. Let's go there and find them."
Louis nodded in agreement. They'd search this place from top to bottom and left to right, but they'd dug nothing up. It was almost suspicious how clean this place was. It didn't seem like somewhere smugglers inhabited. Or an exiled prince holding children hostage. It just seemed like a quaint, cosy little neighbourhood filled with sleeping inhabitants. Despite it being the most luxurious, it was nothing compared to the extravagance both he and Io were used to.
In another life, this was the kind of place he'd have chosen to settle down in. In this one, he scouted it like a thief in the night, staring through windows and rumbling through backyards.
They climbed down the trees, moving down the street, sticking closely to the wall. There were few light sources, so neither were particularly worried about being spotted. But they were still going up against Falcons—it never hurt to be a bit more careful. Falcons, with their enhanced senses and astute eyesight, who, fitting with their name, haunted their land for prey.
But neither of them were weak, snivelling rats.
Io called herself Cygnet, the Swan, and Louis could understand why—looking at her as she walked before him, elegance in every step, the subtle beauty that could not be held down, she fit the picturesque description of a swan. But swans danced in the light, for the whole world to watch and admire.
Io's magic happened in the dark. Behind ballroom corridors and alcove curtains, in moonlit streets and abandoned cottages. With a dance of blades and words except for one with song and water.
Once upon a time it had been something to admire, now it was something to love. You never knew what you had until it was gone, and Louis had suffered with his mistake for seven years. He'd learned it. Painfully. And it was one he'd never forget in his life.
They said nothing on the way towards the others. If they heard a sound, they ducked into a nearby alley, keeping to the shadows, being soundless and shapeless. They were both masters of their art.
He spotted Castrillo first, dressed like the few prostitutes on the streets here, half-sat in an alleyway. Castrillo noticed them too as they got closer, but a nod was the only sign she knew them.
Io said, "Nasshingu." Nothing. Castrillo spoke Asayaman, so she'd understand. Asayaman speakers didn't litter the streets of small town Saria, Louis assumed.
Castrillo took no signs of understanding, but she turned her head to one direction. Without question, Io started heading there. Louis chose to refrain from comment—the two women knew and worked with each other far more than he had, and he was better off trusting their own communications rather than delay their progress by questioning every little thing. He could handle a bit of the unknown for a while.
Ignorance was bliss sometimes. Though emphasis on the sometimes was heavily necessary.
They walked down that direction for a little while until Louis slowed his steps. Io instinctively followed his lead. A moment later, Anita and Celinos met them at a crossroad. "Anything?" Anita enquired.
Io shook her head. "Nothing suspicious."
Celinos hissed. "Damnit."
"Nothing on your end either, then," Louis murmured. "That's depressing. Where's Rhys?"
"Went off on her own," Anita shrugged, looking a bit disappointed. "She'll be back later, probably. Hope she finds something."
"Where did she go, though?" Io pressed, brows furrowing. Louis blinked. From what he'd heard about the Briar, it wasn't precisely out of character for the Iron Wolf to march off on her own. By all accounts, the leader of the Wolves—her husband, in fact—had long given up on giving her instructions and orders of any kind. He knew very well they would not be followed.
That was a clever man.
Celinos shrugged, "We didn't ask."
Io let out a long, suffering sigh. They all seemed to be getting together a bit better now, but it was clear Io still got quite exasperated with them. The twins were a bit green, but they'll grow more jaded and experienced in time.
That was what happened with them, after all, though he linked to think they'd both been given a bit too much fertiliser. Grew up a bit too fast, fast enough something seemed to have just gone wrong. As if the stem of their plant hadn't gotten enough support, hadn't gotten thick enough to hold up the flower that tried so desperately to bloom on top.
If the wind blew just a bit too hard, they'd snap into half.
He made it his life mission to ensure the same didn't happen to any other agents under his care. Or what would all these scars they carry be for? For them to forget the lessons they'd been taught?
No, that was not it. They bore these for a reason. And the reason was every hardship they went through, every experience they endured on the way to becoming the people they were today. They'd never be satisfied, but at least they were okay.
That was all that mattered in the end.