Shadow Road: Book 1 of the Shadows Rising Trilogy

23. Revelations

26th of Uirra

A sound brought me spiraling up from the depths of a dreamless void. I opened my eyes. A slat of wood paneling swam into view.

For the life of me, I couldn't remember where I was, or why I was there.

"Is she still in bed?"

The Captain's voice had me pushing myself upright, while my sleep-deprived brain began putting things together in random order:

I am supposed to be at some sort of meeting with the Captain.

I must have slept late and missed the meeting.

The Captain is going to think I'm absolutely useless.

I need to get dressed – no, I don't, I'm already wearing clothes. I got up and got dressed an hour ago so I wouldn't be late for the meeting.

I have absolutely no memory of falling asleep again.

I have no hat.

Where are my shoes? On my feet.

Open the door.

The Captain was standing there, his hand raised to knock, a thunderous expression on his face.

I blinked up at him, still trying to drag my thoughts out of the cobwebs. It wasn't working. I had no idea what to say.

Arramy lowered his hand, his mouth becoming a stern line. He didn't say anything, either. He just turned around and went striding across the Bridge to the door opposite mine, yanked it open, then glanced back at me when I didn't immediately follow.

Exhaustion was taking its toll. I was freezing, my head ached, and my stomach had cramped up on itself. I had to force myself to take a step, then another, closing the distance between myself and that door, every ragged nerve in my body screaming that I was not going to like what was waiting for me on the other side.

I was right.

Bloody NaVarre was sitting in one of a pair of metal chairs in the middle of the council chamber. He was quite obviously tied to the back of the chair, and his face was haggard and unshaven, but the anger simmering in his eyes as he brought his gaze up to mine was enough to make me feel like a cornered mouse all over again.

I caught myself sidling backwards, as if Arramy's suddenly reassuring size would protect me.

There was no protecting. Or reassuring. Arramy placed his hand at the small of my back and nudged me farther into the room as he came in. Then he closed the door behind us and locked it.

NaVarre gave me a cursory glance, then looked past me at the Captain. "She doesn't have anything to do with this."

Arramy stepped around me and walked over to a steel-bound chest sitting open on a table that had been pushed up against the far wall. He opened the chest and began taking things out of it, placing them in neat rows on the table. When I didn't move, he glanced over his shoulder at me. "Have a seat, Miss Warring."

I eyed that other, empty chair, my mouth gone dry as parchment. It seemed very much like I was being put on trial right there along with NaVarre. Why would there be two chairs, side by side, if they weren't meant for two persons accused of the same thing? Part of me wanted to turn around and run from what was coming, but there wasn't any outrunning this. As much as I hadn't wanted any of this to happen, it had, and my ignorance didn't lessen the fact that some of it was my fault.

I swallowed hard, lifted my chin, and made my leaden feet carry me to the chair next to NaVarre's. I sat down, my knees buckling as if I had been shoved into the seat by the weight of some gigantic, invisible hand. I was still deciding if defending myself would be worth the effort when Arramy finished rummaging around in the chest on the table and turned to face the chairs, a large leather-bound notebook in his hands.