Vela Heartwhisper's Arc

Chapter 3 of 25

Lysander's warning stayed with Vela through the day. The king would test them soon. Vela needed Lysander close, not fearful. That night, they returned to their shuttered hideaway to plan. The three-eyed dogcat curled on the floor, watching with all three eyes. Vela knew one truth now: an alliance built on borrowed secrets could snap. They had to give Lysander something back. A knock came before dawn. Lysander slipped inside and pulled the wooden shutters closed behind him. His hand stayed near his blade. "I gave you the king's heart," he said. "Now I need to know you won't spend it and leave. What are you, really?" Vela saw the fear plainly. Lysander had traded his safety for nothing but a stranger's promise. Words would not steady him. Only proof would. "Come with me," Vela said. "I'll show you what I am. If you still doubt me after, you can turn me in." They led Lysander through the dark to the east yard. The old rocket stood where the king kept it hidden. Its painted face caught the moonlight, blue eyes and a wide grin. Vela stepped close and laid a hand on its cold hull. "Hello," the rocket said. Its voice was warm and small. "You are not the king. But you are like him. You came from far away too." Lysander stiffened. "It knows you." "It knows what I am," Vela said. "An outsider, like you. I didn't come to break the harmony. I came for the king's heart. That's my whole mission. Nothing more." Vela turned to Lysander. "Now you hold my secret, the way I hold yours. If I lie to you, you can end me. That's the proof. My life in your hands." Lysander stared at the talking rocket, then at Vela. The blade slid back into its sheath. "You brought me to the one place that could hang us both," he said quietly. "The king would kill us for standing here." He let out a slow breath. "That's why I believe you." The dogcat trotted up and pressed against Lysander's leg. For the first time, the warrior's shoulders dropped. "Alright," he said. "We're bound now. Truly." But the rocket's blue eyes shifted past them. "The king comes at this hour," it said. "Every night. He is close." Vela heard footsteps on the yard stones. Lysander's face went white. They had traded proof for trust and won it. But now they stood in the king's secret place, at the king's secret hour, with no way out unseen. Vela pulled Lysander behind the rocket's fins. The footsteps grew louder. The alliance was real at last. And it might die in the next minute, before it ever did a thing.