Book 3: Chapter 72: Lexy

Book 3: Chapter 72: Lexy
Lexy

Time passed in a blur. I didn't know how to stop. Every day, Seth hardly left my side. I would have found it annoying under any other circumstance, but I was barely getting through the days. And they were less likely to bother me if I wasn't alone. 
I tapped my fingers anxiously on the giant table in front of me. I could feel Vivian getting bolder. We had been lucky so far. She was choosing not to attack, and to think anything else was ludicrous. Not that the Council in front of me agreed. They had been arguing for the last hour about why she hadn't attacked yet, what she was waiting on. But I knew the answer. She was waiting for our defenses to drop. She was waiting until she could get her hands on me again. She was waiting for the retrieval of the next piece of the Allasigh stone she was seeking, wherever that was. These were all obvious, but yet no one seemed ready to acknowledge that yet, despite the fact that I had brought it up several hours ago. 
Annabeth gave me a look from a few seats over, and I straightened in my chair. Every muscle protested with the formality I was expected to hold myself with, but I didn't mind it. It was the good kind of sore. It hadn't had another incident since my little excursion into Locke, which was totally not my fault... Well, maybe a little. I had been a little careless, but I had been focused on the King, and not my own personal safety. My mistake... And I'll definitely make it again... 
"Excuse me, your majesties," A messenger interrupted. 
"Yes?" Alex responded. 
"You have a spy who returned and would like a word." 
"With the council or with me?" 
"With Alexandra, actually." 
I stiffened as every eye landed on me. This was their worst nightmare - me having any control over anything. 
"Tell them to meet me in Alex's office. I'll be there shortly." 
I stood up from my spot at the table as did Seth and Alex. 
"Do you want me to come?" Annabetth offered. 
"No. That's okay. Wrap up here and come when you're done." I told her simply. "Clearly, these are pressing matters that need all of your attention." 
She shot me an incredulous look, noting my sarcasm with a barely concealed roll of her eyes. 
"Don't kill anyone without me." I said as I blew her a kiss, and this time she didn't bother to hide her annoyance or her amusement. 
I smirked, but I didn't feel it in my bones. Not really anyway. 
"You could at least pretend to get along with the Council," Alex half-heartedly attempted. 
"I could," I told him, "But I won't." 
"Who in our spy network would specifically ask for you?" Seth pondered aloud, matching me stride for stride. 
"Probably someone not from ours," I admitted. "It's either someone who I sent in from Gala or Hemingdale." 
"What's your deal with Hemingdale anyway?" Alex pressed, since there was an opportunity. 
"What do you mean?" 
"He's like one of the only countries you have marked as an ally, but we haven't heard from." 
"Oh, he'll only come when he's needed." I explained without really explaining. "There is no need to doubt that he will. It just won't be for a little battle. It will be when we need him the most." 
"You seem awfully sure of that." Seth muttered uncertainly. 
"I am." I repeated. They didn't need to know how I came to be that sure, or how much love I had for the land of Hemingdale and their King. It was nothing like my loyalty to Annabeth, or Calina by extent, but he had saved me in ways I couldn't explain, and for that, I was grateful and had complete trust in him. 
We entered Alex's makeshift office and took our usual seats. I hadn't spent nearly as much time in any of Alex's office's lately as past me as I had, but I still had a seat that I preferred. And I was always welcome in Alex's office. 
"So, any guesses what this is about?" Seth asked again. 
"No," Alex answered stoically. 
"We're about to find out," I mumbled as the guard outside the tent announced that someone was entering. 
A blonde hair, 30-year-old man, walked in. He looked disheveled and tired, but relatively unharmed. 
"Cade!" I exclaimed in surprise as I rose to my feet. 
"Miss. Marks." The man reached out his hand for me to shake. 
"What happened?" I asked as our hands met. "Last I had heard, you were in Laymen." 
"Well, she came there. They officially have an alliance." He responded through gritted teeth. 
"Laymen?" Alex frowned. "But that's nowhere near us. It's on the other side of the continent. What would she want with them?" 
"She found out Lysolee is no longer fully under her command." 
"But that only happened a couple of weeks ago..." Seth protested. 
"And she knows," My voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "She always knows." 
"How?" Alex bit out. 
"If I had to guess, it's because she found me in Lysolee before the deal became official. I had my blocks up the whole time I was in her presence, but she can put two and two together. She knows what I was attempting. That's the only reason I would be there. To attempt to sway them. She knows exactly who King Louis is. He isn't the most strong-willed man. He'll go with whoever he thinks will win." 
"I thought we convinced him..." Alex muttered, running a hand through his curly dark hair. 
"We did... Until the next best offer comes along. Just like your parents." I tugged at the lose bun at my neck, forcing it to come loose, and ran a hand through it nervously before putting it back up. "Is there anything else, Cade?" 
"Yea," He sighed. "She thinks she knows where another Allasigh stone is." 
"And do you know where she's looking?" Alex interrogated, shifting in his seat slightly. 
"No." Cade responded, "It was just something I heard along the way." 
"Thanks Cade. You're dismissed," I said just as Annabeth walked in the room. 
"Oh, you're done already?" Annabeth pouted. 
But I barely heard her. I felt hollow inside. Like someone had reached inside me and ripped out my insides. Everything I had been working on was failing. Every behind-the-scenes string was unraveling into a bigger mess than it had started. 
"Lex?" I heard someone's concerned voice, but I couldn't even tell whose it was. 
"I need air." And I bolted out of the tent into the afternoon sun.