'He did not just quote Mongrel…' Noble's eyes widened.
She barely recalled anything about her famous fight except her loss. If Flint had wanted to prick her pride, he had chosen the perfect spot. By his smile, he knew he had won.
But before he could revel in his victory, his spoon began to glow.
"It's a friendly," Flint took a deep breath.
"It's Syrce," Noble motioned for Roan to lower the protective shield.
The commander did not know about their ability to contain sound, and they didn't want to raise suspicion when she seemed to be coming in peace.
"How is it we didn't light up your spoon?" Helie asked as the Memory was dismissed.
Flint looked at her innocently. "Why? Do you want me to catch you looking at me?"
Syrce swept into the group, silencing the banter.
"Bel, could we talk?"
"What's on your mind?" Noble tried to keep her face neutral.
Inside her stomach was in knots.
She shouldn't have gotten attached to the Saint, but her heart had other ideas. She was fond of Syrce as afraid as she was of losing the powerful Saint from her side, she was more concerned about losing a friend.
"I was hoping for a moment of privacy." Syrce looked apologetically at the rest of the cohort.
Noble shook her head. Beyond the issue of safety, she didn't want to have to repeat what was said.
"Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of those here."
"I suppose that is fair. They heard all that has happened so far anyway." Syrce decided not to argue.
"First, about Quintos…I don't know about the Realm you come from, but here, we cannot let an intentional slight like that stand. It has been taken care of. I saw to that personally." Syrce's hand twitched with energy.
Noble did not need to ask. Quintos was dead. Flint's emotions spiked, and he cried out, drawing Syrce's gaze for a moment. But the surly Master looked away. Whatever his feelings were, he managed to keep quiet about them.
"I see."
What else could Noble say? She couldn't undo what had been done, and deep down, she wasn't upset that she had one less enemy watching her back.
"That isn't why I came. I just came from Maelys's side. She was attacked when she left dinner. Four people just like you. She killed them all." Syrce's fingerprints were still slightly pink from the blood she had wiped from her sister's face.
Noble swallowed.
"And you think these are the same people who came after me?"
"An imperial seal was found in the armor of one of the men." Syrce produced the seal in question.
It was made of wax, easy to melt and reform into any shape the artist desired.
'That's convenient.'
"I guess they will not harm anyone anymore." Noble wondered if Mae had killed her cronies for failing or if she had found substitutes. Neither option would surprise her.
Roan seemed to read her thoughts. "Will Lady Bel be able to examine the bodies? It would be good to confirm that they are the same culprits."
"Are you up for that, Bel?" Syrce furrowed her brow.
"I will go." Noble nodded slowly.
"I will take you to them, but the sight is gruesome. Mae was so out of sorts when they attacked that she almost obliterated them. I guess that runs in the family." Syrce seemed lost in thought for a second.
"I think I can handle it." Noble nodded.
Clapping her hands, the Saint beckoned a servant from beyond the building. The woman bowed deeply.
"Yes, my lady?"
"Let the men know we are coming to examine the bodies. Have them prepare them for an examination."
"Yes, my lady," the soldier bowed again and hurried to complete her task.
"We can go in a moment when they are ready. Then I must return to Mae. I was reluctant to leave her, but I wanted you to hear the news directly from me." Syrce took her friend's hand and squeezed it. "And speaking of Mae…"
"Is this another one of those pieces of news that you wanted to tell me personally?" Noble could feel the woman was stalling.
"It is. As I said, she is out of sorts. Instead of quelling her anger at you, the attack seems to have only made her more determined. I think after we go and see the remains, you should find a safe place to stay for a few days. Not forever, just until Mae calms down. Didn't you need to take Aether back to your Realm to meet his betrothed?"
It was Aether's turn for his emotions to spike. As Helie gave him a strange look, he coughed lightly. "There seems to be some confusion, Ma'am. I have no intention to—"
"You want me to leave?" Noble pressed her lips together.
"Leave is a strong word," Syrce felt her friend's hand pull away from hers.
"But it's the correct word. I thought you wanted to do the right thing?" Feeling the emotions rising up in her, Child of Promise tried not to release them on the Saint.
"I want everyone to get along. It's just a few days," Syrce tried to comfort her, but it was no use.
"A few days indeed. When you have no one left because your sister has isolated you from everyone, I hope you remember this moment." Noble's expression turned cold. "Let's go see these bodies. Maybe I can find something of use there before you exile me."
Syrce folded her hands in front of her.
"I hope in time you can forgive me… I will take you to the bodies now. Will Aurelia, Roan, and Aether be joining us?"
"Titus, too. I would never exclude my friends from something this important."
Noble had meant the words to cut deep, and she waited for Flint's snide remark. But none came. His emotions didn't spike at her claim. She didn't feel him at all.
When she turned to look at where he had last been, next to Aether. No one was there.
Flint was gone.
"Where did he go?" Noble asked the others.
Roan was as shocked as she was. "I didn't see him leave."
Helie searched around her. "Last thing I heard from him was that outburst a bit ago."
"He did seem distracted after that," the youngest Master reflected. "The last moment I saw him, he looked like he had seen a ghost."
"The only way he could have gone without any of us noticing is the alley right there." Syrce offered.
"I don't get it. We are supposed to stick together. What possessed him to go?" Noble expanded her emotional detection, but her Ability came up empty. Flint was indoors in one of the protected buildings, which didn't narrow down their search much at all.
"Did he say anything?" Noble couldn't imagine missing anything that Flint had said, but Aether nodded.
"He said one thing, but I couldn't make sense of it. With everything else going on, I didn't pay it much mind. Forgive me."
"What did he say?" Helie couldn't contain her impatience.
"He said, 'Let's cook.' A strange thing to say when we just came from dinner, but maybe he found the food not to his taste?"
'Acting like he saw a ghost and then running off. What could have made him willing to miss this drama?'
Noble's eyes opened wide. She had misattributed his emotional spike in the conversation before, but now the outcry made more sense.
"He wasn't saying let's cook. He was saying it's Cook!"