Ready to face the worst man she’d ever met, Semras strode toward the small tent.
The inquisitor and his knight were still inside; the flickering light of a lantern cast their shadows against the taut fabric. Lurking around, she waited patiently for her prey to be alone.
Most of the sword-bearers had gone to sleep, but a few were still chatting among themselves, shivering as the night progressively became colder. They made her nervous, but she knew Themas was watching over her and would intervene if any of the guards tried to corner her. The tingling feeling of his gaze on her nape had stuck to her after she returned from her midnight stroll. She smiled privately, grateful for his protective attention.
Within the tent, one shadow moved toward the tent’s entrance flap. Semras crept closer, waiting for Ulrech to leave.
She paused, frowning. Entering the inquisitor’s tent so late at night would probably look outrageous after what Themas had revealed to her. Chewing her lip, Semras glanced toward the young knight, unsure of what he’d make of her action.
But no one sat around the campfire.
Frown deepening, she searched for him. Some steps away from the fire, the young knight had rolled himself up inside his bedroll. He was sleeping soundly.
A cold sweat ran down her nape. She still felt watched, but if it wasn’t by him … then who? The witch darted her gaze around with growing anxiety.
Before she could find its source, the feeling dissipated.
Unsettled, Semras hurried to the inquisitor’s tent. Ulrech’s presence be damned; remaining alone in the darkness of night no longer felt safe.
The knight staggered out just as her hand brushed against the tent’s flap. “… hypocrite!” Ulrech said, glancing over his shoulder. “That is—that is different, Velten!” Alcohol slurred hisspeech. Even if it hadn’t, the smell of red wine emanating from the knight would have tipped Semras in.
Behind him, she heard Velten’s voice. “Var Hesser, for the hundredth time, you tell me nothing I have not told myself.”
“I ought to … to slap some sense into you instead of stitching you up,” the knight muttered, jerking out of the tent.
He stumbled into Semras, and she fell backward, eyes wide with surprise.
Sir Ulrech caught her by the elbow. “You,” he said, brow furrowed.
“Me, indeed. How kind of you to notice me, Ulrech. Care to let me go now?”
“It’sS-SirUlr—Oh, never mind. Where—where do you think you are going?”
Semras raised her eyebrow. “Does it matter when you cannot stop me?”
“Nobody listens to me. You’re both so … so damn stubborn!” His eyes dropped to her neck, where her velvet dress covered the bite on her skin, and his frown deepened. “You—you are going to start a bloody war.” Letting go of her arm, the knight stomped away.
Puzzled by his words, she watched him stagger through the trees.
A war?
Semrassteppedinsidetheinquisitor’s tent, ready for a fight. “You lied to me,” she declared.
Compared to the scraps of waxed canvas beneath which the Venator guards slept, the tent looked better—but barely so. Flasks of wine littered the tarp-covered floor. One small lantern, sitting near the central pole holding the tent fabric up, illuminated the area.
Elbows resting on his knees, Velten sat on a bedroll behind it. After barely sparing a glance at her, he stretched his arm, opened the lantern’s window, then killed the candle’s flame between his fingers.
Semras scoffed at his childish dismissal.
She stepped closer and waited until he acknowledged her presence. It took a minute, but he eventually gave in, eyes fixed on the ground between his knees. “Unsurprisingly, I hope,” he drawled. “It is nothing a little confession will not absolve me of. So, pray tell, which lie are you mad about? During my next confession, I will put extra emphasis on it just for you.”
“You thrive on being as abrasive as you can be, do you?”
“I always aim to provide what is expected of me,” Velten replied, arms spread wide open.
Cocky and insufferable—that was just like him.
“Well.” Semras plastered a fake smile on her face. “In that case, I expect courtesy and honesty from the inquisitors I travel with.”
