Lyra
Xavier crossed over to me, his eyes narrowed to slits as he examined the cloth.
“It looks like they came from within our territory.” He says through clenched teeth.
“Why?”
“We’re too far into Blackridge for nobody to have noticed them. Ferran and his partner probably saw something they weren’t supposed to.”
The implication of what he’s saying landed like a bomb in the space between us. Someone in Blackridge was a traitor. Xavier turned his head to look far east, into the dark where the muddy footprints led. He looked at me and we stood there in silence. Neither one of us wanted to admit what the other one already knew.
Whoever did this knew the territory well enough to move through it without getting lost.
******
My room is cold when I get back. I light the fire with the
