Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 145704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“You beheaded the one with the answers. That did not make sense either.” Jarek stirs a heaping spoonful of honey into a mug of tea. It seems so out of character for a warrior whose diet has consisted solely of roasted meat, apples, and young women up until now.
I bite my tongue against the urge to make a joke—Abarrane’s liable to spear me for finding humor in anything—and take the seat at the end across from Gesine. “What about Isembert’s servants? Do they know anything?”
“His tributaries, I found in a cellar like pigeons, wallowing in their filth, kept there so they could not poison themselves and kill him. If they knew something, they would have sung the moment I unlocked the door.”
“What about a wife? Did he have one?”
“A wife and several mistresses. They welcomed his cock but not his secrets.” She sneers. “Fools, all of them. Even you have more sense than that.” She gets up and marches out the door.
“I think that was meant as a compliment?” I say to no one in particular.
Elisaf watches her go. “She would have handled this better had she found her men hanging from the gallows. It is this in-between she struggles with most.”
“She doesn’t like feeling helpless. None of us do.” Jarek’s focus drifts out the window. He hasn’t made eye contact with me yet, which is not normal. He’s usually thrown in at least one barbed insult by now.
Is Zander right and it’s his pride over being kept in the dark that has him so angry? Just as I am unhappy with being kept in the dark about something that undoubtedly involves me?
Or is Jarek plotting to kill me in the name of Islor?
“Here. It looks mildly edible.” Zander sets a bowl of oats in front of me.
“Thank you.” This may be the first time the king of Islor has ever served me. “Has anyone seen Pan?”
“He was here, looking for you. Abarrane scared him away.” Gesine adjusts her cloak to cover her gold collar before displaying a polite smile at the older couple who gawks from several tables over.
“Good. I was worried he might have run off after last night.”
“He is not going anywhere. He knows the safest place is with us.” Zander takes Abarrane’s spot, plucking the sausage link off her abandoned plate.
“And what of the other mortals?” Elisaf asks.
“Perhaps we can convince the barkeep to take some in to work here for room and board. He seems decent.”
“The barkeep whose servant did that to you?” I point to his neck.
“They will all be dead by the end of the week, along with the barkeep, if he attempts to help them,” Jarek’s tone is deadpan, factual. “Either by Isembert’s replacement, the keepers who wait for our departure so they can cleanse their town, or Lyndel’s army who will hunt them down when they sweep through. All you’ve done by marking them is set clear targets.”
Zander sighs with resignation. “Would it have been wiser to leave them unmarked so more of our kind would die?”
“Do not ask me what I think would be wise because I doubt you will like the answer.”
“You can’t kill them. They haven’t hurt anyone,” I hiss. Yet.
A vein in Jarek’s forehead throbs, but when he speaks, it’s to Zander, as if I’m not here. “Even the most principled of these keepers will eventually realize that protecting these mortals is far more trouble than it’s worth. All that was done to save them will be for naught the moment we turn our backs, and they will die with their pretty little marks on their hands. A mark that will become a symbol of certain death soon enough.”
“He’s right.” And maybe he’ll help convince Zander of my reasoning. “They don’t have Atticus’s protection, and fear is overshadowing compassion or reason. Look how easily Isembert strolled in here last night and took over. People like this barkeep mean well, but they won’t burn their lives to the ground for these mortals. We have to bring them with us.”
Jarek scowls. “That is not what I said.”
“I don’t hear you offering any other solutions.”
“We already have enough mortals to protect. They likely won’t survive in those caves,” Elisaf says more gently.
“They definitely won’t survive here, so give them a choice. Who knows? They might surprise you.”
“More surprises?” Jarek spears me with a steely look. “I think I’ve had enough.”
“Enough with the bickering. You two sound like children.” Zander pinches the bridge of his nose. “Romeria, eat before it gets cold.”
I dig into the gritty slop, pausing long enough to mumble, “He started it.” Now I sound like a child.
Gesine pushes my bowl forward. “It will help restore your power faster.”
My power is already returning, to my great relief. I intentionally left my ring off so I would feel when that persistent buzz returned. Ironic, really, that I was so quick to avoid feeling these affinities before, when I didn’t know what to do with them. But when I woke this morning and sensed the emptiness, I felt as if I’d lost something vital.