“No.” I folded my arms. “You have a way to get me to Tristan. Now would be a good time.”
Elora laughed, then coughed again. She raised a hand in a gesture to wait, continued coughing for a time, and then spoke again. “After what we just went through? You must be joking.”
“Not in the slightest. I’ve been waiting for years to see Tristan again. I could use some real answers. And you were right — there are some questions only he can answer for me.”
“Perhaps. But I can’t help you. Not right now.” She folded her hands.
“I barely survived Saffron. If I’m not mistaken, you didn’t fare much better. I don’t feel like waiting.”
Elora sighed. “We can’t always get what we want, darling. Let me be clearer — I can’t help you, even if I wanted to. I’m too weak to teleport anyone right now, and I’d need that skill to get us to Tristan in the spire.”
I gave her a half-nod. That made sense, at least. “How long?”
“Don’t rush. It will only lead to disaster.” Elora paused. “But that’s not the answer you’re looking for. A few weeks, at the least. Maybe months.”
“You hurt yourself that badly?” It wasn’t impossible. I’d seen how long it was taking Sera to recover from mana scars.
“No, it’s not entirely that. There’s the issue of needing a team of Climbers that I can trust. You saw my last team.”
I nodded, putting things together. “The four people you sent to grab me, yourself, and me. That’s six.”
“And now I know that one of those people was a traitor. Michel and Woods are dead. Thomas survived, but he’s still critically injured.”
“Were they actually Valian soldiers?”
Elora shrugged a shoulder. “More or less. They finished their mandatory service and were assigned to my house guard. Legally, they retain their military ranks while in my service. So, not conventional soldiers, but the uniforms were real.”
Right. She’s a member of the Council of Lords. Having soldiers to protect her makes sense. “And abducting a student wasn’t something they had any concerns about?”
“You’re looking at it all wrong. This was never supposed to be a conflict. I signed all the paperwork to have you removed from the test early. You were practically done, anyway. You’ll be given a passing grade. The school chancellor wasn’t pleased, but I told her it was government business. Which it is, although she wouldn’t like the details.”
I leaned up against the nearby wall. “You called it an extraction before. What were you extracting me from? Is there some kind of threat still out in the forest?”
“Nothing like that. It’s not likely that they’ll act this soon. But I knew something would be happening within the next few months, and that Tristan would be displeased if you were injured or killed as a result. So, I was going to bring you to him. For safety.”
“And for some credit with Tristan, I presume. Maybe to make up for the mistake of telling Derek about your plans?”
Elora smirked. “You’re more like your brother than I expected. Always assuming the worst of people.” She paused, then added. “But you’re not wrong.”
I didn’t particularly like what that description implied about Tristan, but I wasn’t going to press the issue. I had more important questions. “What if I provided a group of people to climb the spire with you?”
“Oh, darling, your group of children isn’t going to be sufficient for my standards. Kind of you to offer, though.”
I felt my hands tighten, but I released them. Giving tells to show that she was getting under my skin was not to my advantage. “No students, then. Derek, Keras, yourself, and myself make four. Sheridan would make five. For the sixth… Lord Teft, perhaps.”
“I can’t even begin to tell you how terrible of a plan that is. No, wait, yes I can. Let’s begin with Derek, shall we? He’s actively working against Tristan. Bring him along, he’s not going to help you have a tearful reunion. He’ll want to settle the score.”
She raised two fingers. “Second. Keras Selyrian. I don’t know how you’ve managed to end up working with one of the most dangerous people on the continent, but if you think you understand his motivations, you’re sorely mistaken. He’d certainly make climbing the spire easier, but I’m not convinced he’d let any of us live when he’s reached his goals.”
Three fingers. “Sheridan. You couldn’t afford their help.”
Four fingers. “Lord Teft. Same problem with Derek. He wouldn’t support what Tristan is doing. Moreover, he’s less useful.”
Five fingers. “Me. I’m in no shape to climb the spires right now. And, in frankness, neither are you. Not for a few weeks, at least.”
I took a breath. “Fine. Not immediately, then. But you seemed to believe there was a good reason to get me out of here, and I assume you still want Tristan’s good will.”
“Certainly. But my risks are calculated ones. Now that I’m aware that a servant of the Tyrant managed to infiltrate my household guard, I’m going to need to dedicate my efforts to vetting everyone. I’m sure you understand the need for such a precaution.”
I nodded. “Do you know how Carter slipped in?”
“I hired Carter personally more than two years ago. And I can assure you, having seen both of her shoulders, she did not have a tattoo at the time. It would have had to have been recent.”
I pondered that. “Could that have something to do with the Blackstone Bandits?”
Elora sighed. “Carter has nothing to do with them. I know what you’re thinking, but my contact with the Blackstone Bandits was brief and unrelated.”
She sounded annoyed that I’d made the connection. Maybe I was hitting close to home, or maybe she just didn’t like my assumptions. From her expression, I judged it would be unwise to push that line of conversation further, so I switched approaches. “Could Carter have concealed the mark on her back with an illusion?”
“Certainly, and she probably was doing that for a while. But I have ways of seeing through most illusions. That might have kept her from being noticed on a day-to-day basis by others, but…” Elora shook her head. “The tattoo must have been recent. Which implies she was compromised recently, likely by Saffron himself.”
“Could the Tyrant cultists be working with Tristan?”
Elora frowned. “Unlikely. He did mention a powerful patron…but no, I doubt it. It’s more likely that Saffron had my household infiltrated for other reasons. Perhaps he knows what I was involved with, but it’s more likely he simply wanted eyes on a member of the Council of Lords.”
It was comforting to think that Tristan probably hadn’t sunk to working with followers of the Tyrant, but I couldn’t count on that.
And that bit about a powerful patron?
That was worrying.
“Okay. You need to recover. Is there a way that I could get into the spire without your help?”
Elora shook her head. “It’s locked. I have a key, but only I can use it. And even if you got inside the tower, you’d never find Tristan without me. Simply climbing up isn’t going to get you to him.”
I didn’t miss her emphasis. “Does that imply that Tristan is in the subterranean levels, rather than up high?”
Elora raised a hand to rub at her neck. I suspected that overusing her mana had affected her throat, much like it had for Sera. “I’m not going to give you that kind of information. I will escort you to him when it’s time, by my own methods, and for my own reasons.”
She coughed again, then sighed. “I’m losing my voice again. I’ll say this much — I’m grateful that you uncovered a traitor in my house, even if it ended as poorly as it did. I do intend to get you to Tristan. But you will need to be patient.”