Chapter 5 | Part 2

The presence found him that night.

He shifted the pillow beneath his aching head and reached toward the familiar pressure.

Drus. Are you alright? I sensed something… wrong.

Your house, Drusniel sent. Vrinn. What is your father doing?

You know what isolation means. No visits from home.

Then how can you help me?

There are requisitions in the lower council annex. Two mercenary companies. Both marked urgent.

Drusniel sat up in bed. His heart thudded against his ribs. How do you know?

Logistics copies reach the annex before the houses receive their summaries.

Which file?

Recent dispatches. Start with the receipt ledger.

Which companies?

The copies list one as surface-born, one mixed. No company names.

Dates?

Not exact. But the requisitions were marked urgent.

They’re spying on us.

The phrase to look for is “Thel’varin solution.”

What comes before it?

That’s all I have for you.

The family knew about scouts and patrol mapping. They had not mentioned mercenaries or requisitions.

How recent?

Days. Not weeks.

I’ll verify the requisitions.

Good. Stay close to your family. Keep training if you can.

With Zaelar.

If he has something useful to teach you.

I decide what’s useful.

Of course. I want you to survive this, Drus.

Then bring me something I can check.

Look in the annex. The contact weakened.

The presence withdrew.

Drusniel rubbed his forehead until he could bear to light a lamp.

He wrote down the file and the phrase. If he took only a warning to his father, he would be asked where he’d heard it.

He would check the receipt ledger in the morning.

End of Chapter 5.2 —> 5.3: The House Rivalry: The Secret Meeting