Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(19)

“He can’t track my magic behind Ilyan’s shield, Wyn,” I said, a little perturbed that my good news had been smashed.

“I think it’s a little bit more than that, Jos. I think it’s more of an active searching.” Active searching? Wyn made it sound like someone was hovering on the balcony waiting for me to absent-mindedly walk out.

“Why wouldn’t Ilyan tell me?”

“I am not sure Ilyan knows, Jos.” Her voice was quiet.

“What?” I asked, my back straightening in alarm. “What do you mean he doesn’t know?”

There was a scuffling and more whispering on the other end of the line. I held the phone to my ear tightly, desperate to hear anything. Ilyan always knew what was going on. He had spies and contacts everywhere who reported back to him. His phone rang off the hook most of the day with reports on Edmund and Ryland, and Prague, and who knows what else. The fact that he could possibly not know something scared me.

“Wyn?” I asked when I couldn’t wait anymore. There was a bit more of a whispered fight and then Talon took the line, his deep voice booming through the long distance connection.

“Hey Jos. It’s Talon, how’re you doin’ little girl?”

“I’m fine, Talon. Can you please tell me what is going on?” I was practically begging, but I needed someone to pull me back from the edge of my growing fear.

“Sure kid,” he exhaled deeply, and for a moment I was worried he was going to lead me on too. “Last week I was harvesting in the orchard when I overheard someone crying and whimpering, I’m not sure who. They were begging for help and pleading with someone. I heard them give whoever they were pleading with your location. I ran to find out what was going on, but nothing was there. No one was in the trees.”

“A few other people have heard it too,” Wyn broke in, having obviously put me on speaker phone, “someone whimpering and crying. But no one can figure out who.”

“What are you saying, that there is a spy in our midst?” I said, purposefully making my words sound like a spy movie in an attempt to break the tension. It didn’t work.

“That’s exactly what we are saying, Jos,” Talon said.

I threw myself back on my bed. I should be happy. I was finally getting out of the house, we had decided Ryland might still be able to be saved, and soon I was going to leave this prison forever. But now, I was stressed and uncomfortable.

“And Ilyan doesn’t know?”

“Ovailia is looking into it, but I don’t know if she told him yet. I would assume not if he is planning on taking you out to dinner tonight,” Wyn said. I could hear Talon whisper something behind her again.

“Why didn’t you call and tell me or Ilyan?”

More whispering, I waited for a minute, my impatience growing.

“Jos,” Wyn sighed, “Ovailia is looking into it. If she had found something she would have told him, right?”

Ovailia should have told him even if she didn’t think she had ‘found something.’ Something wasn’t right. My heart ached and beat uncomfortably. I didn’t like things being kept from me, and these were the worst types of things, things that affected me. To make it worse, not only were things being kept from me, but from Ilyan as well. I needed answers, and being stuck in this apartment was limiting my resources.

“Can I...” I was going to regret this, “Can I speak to Ovailia?”

“Why?” Wyn asked, worried. I didn’t blame her, being around Ovailia was uncomfortable enough, asking about something like this was sure to be an unpleasant experience.

“Because I need to hear it from her, and I have something else to ask her anyway.” I said, quickly stringing together one worry with another.

“Ilyan will be very upset if you go behind his back,” Talon warned, his voice deeper than usual.

“Nah, if he is he will just torture me by making me spar with him again.”

Talon chuckled softly, his voice making the phone’s microphone vibrate. Talon and Wyn had warned me about Ilyan’s temper, but I had never seen it. Maybe it had something to do with this protector nonsense he was throwing around, which was the other thing I wanted to ask Ovailia about. My stomach tightened as I began to second guess myself. Ovailia on the phone. What was I thinking?

“Alright, but it’s your funeral.”

I heard a knock on a heavy door and then Talon said something, his voice muffled. Ovailia snapped something back. I instantly regretted this decision, and she wasn’t even on the phone yet.

“Hello, Joclyn, what a pleasant surprise.” Ovailia’s voice was as sweet as acid, as usual. It didn’t sound like she was pleasantly surprised, it sounded like I was asking her to pluck all her hair out strand by strand.

“Hello Ovailia.” I tried to sound chipper.

“What can I do for you?” I almost lost my nerve, but decided to plow through. If for nothing more than to be off the phone with her. Trying to explain why I wanted to talk to her without asking my questions would have been worse.

“Wyn tells me there is a spy in Prague, and I know Ilyan doesn’t know.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. I hoped my bluntness would prompt her to tell me what I needed.

“How could you possibly know if I have told Ilyan or not?” I could almost see her eyebrows arch and rise delicately on her perfect face.