For the past week, I've been busy doing all the trivial things the Royals asked me to do. At least, on the bright side, I can say I've earned Queen Durgani's trust.

The Lords and Royals of the other courts will be coming here in five days and to say everyone's in a rush is an understatement. The servants are running from one corner to another, and the royals have been occupied too. Everyone's busy preparing the Palace for all the important guests and long nights of parties. Thankfully, I didn't see Valoukai after our sparring session. Reese has been nowhere in sight either.

Now that I've gained numerous people's trust in this court, my confidence has grown. For the first time since I've arrived, I'm daring to venture to places I shouldn't go.

After a long day and night's work, over half of the staff is asleep as the night sky is slowly lightening to deep violet.

I check the daggers I've attached to my thighs one last time before donning on a robe, and tiptoeing out of my chambers.

I scan the hallway before setting down the path leading to the staircase. Ever since I've arrived, I've been itching to get to the part where my true purpose lays.

The hallways are dark as I head to the staircase, and I survey the area. Yesterday, King Cyrus sent off over half of his guards stationed inside the castle, though I couldn't figure where or even why.

With one deep breath, I hurry down the stairs, my footfalls are a light tapping sound against the marble until I reach the floor. Quickly glancing on either side of me, I exhale a breath of relief.

Seeing the coast is clear, I fasten my pace as I continue through the corridor on the left, hoping no one's stationed outside of the room I'm aiming to go.

As I near Cyrus' study, I slow down and hide behind a wall of the hallway leading to the room.

Two guards are stationed and I curse under my breath, nibbling my bottom lip. I can't go past them, nor can I wait much longer, soon the sun will rise and everyone will be up again.

I close my eyes for a moment, gathering my thoughts to choose the best option for distracting them.

At last, I opt to wait for a little while to see if someone walks past the other nearby halls.

I wait, nervously shuffling my feet, my fingers fidgeting of their own accord as I glance out of the window a few paces away from me every few beats.

Just as I'm about to give up and come up with another way, the sound of heavy footfalls grabs my attention.

Carefully, I move out of my hiding spot and go back to the corridor I came from, shielding myself behind a pillar at the outer edge. I peek over it and glimpse the guard, a bulky fae slowly making his way to the other wing of the castle.

I narrow my eyes as I assess the situation.

A spark of idea bursts in my head and I rush to the other side of the hallway, ensuring to keep my footsteps light to stay undetected.

My heart beats faster as I wave my hand in the guard's direction, sending a blow of air to him as I hide behind the other pillar. He slips, hitting the wall. My gaze flicks to the torches, and the one nearest to the guard crashes down with a loud clanking sound. To my surprise, the fire doesn't go out.

The shuffling footsteps from the direction of the study grow closer. A corner of my mouth lifts up as I send another blow, slightly harder than the previous one, to the guard and one gust of air to the nearest window, throwing it open.

The guard spins with wide eyes so fast he trips over his own feet and falls to the ground.

The two guards stationed at Cyrus's study come into view and I hide better. Just as they rush past the pillars on either side of the hallway, I gather my courage and run in the opposite direction.

I can't stop myself from glancing behind my shoulder with every other step as my heart wildly hammers in my chest.

Near the room, I fish out a lock pick from my dress' hidden pocket. I halt and bend in front of the door and as quickly as I can, I work on opening the lock of the door.

Even though I don't doubt my abilities, it's the first time I'm on field and if I'm caught, aside from dying within a few hours, the entire mission will be jeopardised.

My fingers tremble as I grow more anxious.

Every second counts.

With a part of my attention fixed on noting any footsteps coming in my direction, along with my raging heartbeat, fiddling and opening the door is getting harder.

Three more twists, the door clicks open and a rush of relief washes over me.

I step inside, lightly shutting the door behind me, and bringing flickers of fire to my fingertips to light up the room.

Unfortunately, the Commanding Lords couldn't enchant my sight so I'd be able to see clearly in the dark, and have a perfect vision like the full-blooded faes.

I scan the library to the best of my abilities, hoping to find something valuable. But soon I give up and hurry to the gigantic mahogany desk placed at the far end of the room.

Maps, parchments, and quills are scattered around the surface but nothing seems to be of value.

Huffing, I try the drawers of the desk. They're all filled with unimportant lists, and trivial matters of the court, until I reach the last drawer, and it's locked.

My eyebrow quirks in intrigue as I kneel before it and attach my lock pick and start working on the lock.

I manage to unlock it faster, but just the clicking sound of the lock being opened comes, I catch the sound of footsteps coming closer.

I curse under my breath and take out the little flames dancing on my free hand's fingertips. The sound grows louder until it stops.

I hold my breath, as my heart pounds in my chest, and my palms become clammy.

"Should we inform the King?" one of them asks and my eyes widen in horror.

"It was odd, but if we disturb him, it might not end well for us," the other one answers in a hushed tone.

"What if it was someone trying to create division?"

I clutch the edge of the desk, my fingers ache from how hard I'm holding on as I stare with wide eyes at the doors across from me.

"I doubt anyone would be inside," the other one replies after a long pause.

I sigh and press my forehead to the ledge of the desk, briefly closing my eyes. Once my breathing turns normal, I straighten myself and as quietly as I can, I pull open the last drawer.

Bringing back a flicker of flame to the tip of my index finger, I scan the contents inside of it. Rolled up maps and parchments with messy handwriting. I manage to catch a few words in my quick scan, some of them being, 'shipment', 'equipment', 'push from the border' and at last the number of men guarding the borderlines of the Fire Court.

I take out the flame again and as silently as I can, I pull out the maps, papers, and parchments. I shrug off my night robe and lay it on the floor, before stacking up almost every important-looking item and tying the robe around it.

Carefully, I tie the sleeves and sling it on like a backpack over my shoulder. With one hand resting on it, I tiptoe to the window and survey outside. The guards I spot all have their backs facing the castle.

Even though my mouth has grown dry and my stomach twists with worry, I crack open the window, and slide outside, shutting the window behind me.

Thankfully, the study is on the first story, not much far from the ground, yet the height is making me queasy.

I stand on the narrow windowsill, my body trembling from head to toe. Regret floods me the second I glance at the ground. Bile rises to the back of my throat as everything spins around my head for a bit.

I shake my head and focus on not falling. It won't harm me, but the bushes underneath me will definitely give me away.

I clutch the outer edge of the window and slowly lower myself, until my fingers reach the ledge of the sill. In the process, I nearly lose my balance but my hands dart out and grab onto either side of the wall jutting out from the structure.

Being extra cautious I tightly grip the outer part of the windowsill and stretch my legs, hoping they'd reach the ground, behind the bushes, the small space between them and the castle wall.

Every once in a few seconds I glance up to ensure no one is watching as I lower myself, until my toes brush the ground.

Relief gives me the confidence to move more smoothly as I ease down, pressing my body to the wall until I can stand on the ground.

I wrap an arm around the robe holding all the maps and papers to my chest as I keep my back pressed to the wall and begin moving to get to the little opening between the bushes, allowing me to cross without making any noise.

Once I'm on the other side of the bushes I hurry around the palace and find my room's balcony. No guards are stationed around here. With ease, I command a small whirlwind to form around and beneath me, lifting me up to the balcony and gently putting me down. Again, I scan the area and no one seems to be alerted. At last, a true breath of relief escapes from me and I walk into my room.

I lock the door and lay everything I've found on the floor, behind the bed. If anyone with keys opens the door and barges in, at least the first thing they see won't be this stolen information.

I light up three candles and place them around me and get to work. Unrolling the maps and adjusting the papers to look through them faster.

The first parchment I read, in neat cursive is written, 'Best spots for attack', and underneath it is a list of small towns, all placed around the borderline of Demaqual.

Looks like I have found a valuable source after all.