A shaft of late-afternoon sun slanted through the roof slit, painting a molten bar across the Hollow's war-scarred map table and pooling into the grain like liquid copper.
Dust motes drifted lazily in its glow, tiny, aimless constellations suspended between two soldiers who suddenly felt the earth tilt under them.
Evan's fingers locked around Sura's; his hold tightened in anticipation, like harp strings drawn too taut. The jolt from the hold shook the table. The charcoal nub he'd been using rolled off the linen-backed map, hit the stone floor with a soft tack and spun in an idle circle…unnoticed, unimportant.
"Tell me about it." His words were a low rasp, the voice of someone who's just glimpsed the shape of disaster through fog. "Who is the client?"
Sura inhaled as if she'd been underwater and only now surfaced for air. "It is Lord Vorian Kestel. Classified information is only known to a select few."
The name hung in the Hollow like the toll of a cathedral bell. Evan pictured the stories: Kestel's estate at Rivermark rising over dark reeds, the stained-glass menagerie imported from the far isles, mercenary banners flapping above walls of river-quarried granite. A man who could sell moonlight if he thought someone would pay.
"The Concord knew Kestel wanted the cipher," Sura pressed on, voice steadying. Amber lamplight glimmered on the copper braid that swept over her shoulder like a banked fire. "They just didn't know which of us was feeding him fragments. They assumed the traitor would expose themself once things turned deadly."
"So, they staged a bloodbath to see what washed up." Evan's jaw tightened until a vein flickered at the hinge. The light caught on the moisture in his eyes—anger, not tears. "Efficient."
"Cruel… but it makes sense. They would rather commit fratricide than let the kingdom lose the cipher."
"So Kestel is our lodestar," he said, raking hair off his brow. "Fine. But you claimed the Concord already knew Kestel lusted for the key. Why risk an entire cell when they could have negotiated—or assassinated him?"
She gave a thin smile. "Negotiation fails when the price is national leverage. Assassination? Kestel's estate sits behind mercenary walls, and his head of security once commanded four battalions in the Eastern War. A frontal strike would bleed loyal soldiers, stir a diplomatic hornet's nest, and still leave the lodestar in limbo. Better for the Concord to watch who tried to sell him the key. They smoke out the traitor and gather pretext to sabotage Kestel and gain diplomatic moral ground against Rivermark without public blame."
"So we were pawns."
"We were bait," she returned, fingers tightening before she gently slipped free of his grasp, "Which puts us in quite a precarious situation. To the Concord, we are either the traitors or disposable baits. To Kestel, we are lucky diversions as he watches the Concord make a fool of themselves. To the mole, we are his alibi. The more we try to get out of this mess, the more we will wind up further and further into a conspiracy until we can't get out anymore."
Sura clasped her hands in front of her as she bowed her head down in guilt.
"After our team was wiped out, you might not have known the exact situation you were in and sought out the aid of the Drakos family… but I … I knew exactly what I had gotten myself into and I realized it was best to cut losses rather than hoping that my luck would somehow bounce back if I tried a little more. But the more I wait the further I would spiral into this mess until looking back would be impossible," she said with a slight sob, "The Concord doesn't know I escaped alive. I had never reported back. There is not much to say when you are expendable. And from your accounts at the Drakos family, I believe they assumed me to be dead."
A quiet silence followed at the Hollow. Only Sura's shallow hiccups resounded from time to time.
Evan didn't say a word. He didn't encourage her nor did he blame her. Evan could resonate with her thoughts.
'She chose cowardice. But no one cares about your life, you cannot help but be selfish.'
Evan's hands reached out, his thumb pressing on her face wiping droplets of tears. His other hand wrapped around her shoulders as he gave a slight pull making her lean against his embrace.
Sura didn't resist his actions. Instead, she willingly pulled her hips closer leaning into him and burying her head on his chest.
They experienced each other's warmth, no one saying a word more. Evan brushed against her shoulders in a maternal embrace.
Finally, with enough patience and love, Sura's hiccups stopped. But they didn't pull away, instead, they sought more comfort from each other.
Eventually, Sura spoke in a soft voice, "With the Concord no longer being an option, I didn't have anyone to turn to. I thought I was the only one alive. I had chosen to cut my losses but I didn't know what the future held for me or what I was supposed to do. I felt so lost and directionless. I found myself coming back to this place… to the Hollow, where our memories and all of our past lay. I believed I had no future then, all I had was the past, and I chose to live with them. Every day, I lived in the fear of Concord tracking me down and charging me with treason. I spoke to shadows and tended the traps."
Sura upturned her eyes meeting Evan as he gazed upon her from above. Evan just chose to give her a warm smile.
"But now I think, there is hope for me to have some future after all," she whispered, "Evan… thanks for being alive and finding me."
Evan caressed her head and whispered soft nothings in her ear.
"Don't worry, you are my comrade and I will always be there for you."