Kings and Thieves

Chapter 41

** hi guys. Long chapter again. I actually had to cut it in half because it ended up being even longer- so next chapter will probably be in Lyla's POV again. Enjoy! See more notes at the bottom.**

Chapter 41

As soon as the door closed, Lyla leapt to her feet.
"We have to go after them!" She could hear the blatant panic in her quivering voice, but she figured there were worse things than appearing weak right now.

"No." Ari stood up, a small flinch creasing his forehead. "Jamie will be fine with Ben. Right now we have to find the royals."

Lyla knew he was right. She couldn't imagine the state Tristran must have been in. This was a whole mess, and now that Jamie was involved...

Lyla didn't know what she would do if any one of her friends got hurt. She wouldn't let that happen. Couldn't.

"Wedding starts soon. Let's go." Aveline twisted the doorknob to herd them out, and Lyla let the other girl distract her from her thoughts, stumbling back into the dimmed corridor.

They opened every door they came across. Most of the time they were greeted with empty bedrooms or closets filled with farming tools. Lyla had already pivoted around ready to leave by the time Ari wrenched at another doorknob, and she didn't notice that her friends weren't following her at first.

"Ari?" But he was motionless, wavering at the entrance with Aveline and Eli, and Lyla hurried to join them. "What are you looking at..."

Lyla's voice tapered off as she caught sight of the tall, imposing chamber in front of her. It smelled heavy and sweet; the scent invading her nostrils like a bad piece of meat.

In the center of the floor someone's candlestick, long extinguished; had collapsed in its own solid puddle of wax.

And there were shelves and shelves- of vials; Lyla realized, some sort of morbid fascination making her lean closer to see them better. They were unlabelled. Most of them stored in boxes like half-packed storage.

Lyla faced her companions for some sort of an explanation; Aveline and Ari were trading glances in the way they always did- like they knew so many things about the world that you wouldn't even want to know.

"It's opium," Aveline stated, her tone as blank as the emptiness on her face. "They're selling opium."

"Or buying," Ari added grimly.

Lyla started. What?

"You're pulling my leg. No one can afford that much; especially not the Hapsburgs; they're practically peasants."

"Well, it's not theirs, because they'd be ten times wealthier if they were selling this shit."

"Then who's it it, Ari?!"
The royals forgotten for a moment; Lyla wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about?"

Ari hastily shut the door behind him; effectively trapping them into the unsettling room.

His strides lengthened as he paced the room agitatedly; a hand passing over his jaw.

Finally Ari turned to face them, exhaling deeply.

"During peacetime, there are three main kinds of trafficking on the Detache. The narcotic trade is a major one. It's profitable, to say the least."

"And if someone is mixed up in one of them, they're guaranteed to be involved in the others," Aveline added tightly.

Ari's throat bobbed as he swallowed, and for the hundredth time since Lyla had met them she wondered what she was missing.