I left two warriors with Helsa.
No chains. There was nowhere to go in Ashenveil not really and a shackled Lycan in the eastern quarter would be gossip by sunrise. I needed time. I needed the rest of the kingdom in the dark a little longer. And right now I needed Vael beside me more than I needed Helsa locked up.
We walked back to the war room without talking.
Vael closed the door behind us.
“Aria,” she said.
“Yes.”
“You believed her.”
“Yes.”
“So did I.”
She moved to the table and sat down hard, like something had gone out of her legs. She put her face in both hands just for a moment, just a few seconds and it was the first time I had ever seen her do that. When she looked up again, she looked older than she had that morning. Not by years. By something heavier than years.
“She’s t
