‘I’m sorry,’ Ezer whispered. ‘I only came to see the war eagles; I didn’t mean to?—’
‘I’m glad you did,’ he said.
And then she realized he hadn’t been going for the dagger on his hip. Rather, he was reaching for a flask in his inner cloak pocket. He lifted it, then took a long pull before he wiped his hand on his sleeve.
She didn’t realize the Sacred were permitted to drink outside of Absolution. Especially not the prince.
‘A tonic for the pain,’ he explained, noticing her shocked stare. ‘I’m sure you’ve heard the stories, about the war eagle that bested me a few years ago.’
She hadn’t, and she was surprised the Ehvermages hadn’t taken care of that for him, just like Arawn’s scar.
Perhaps, like her wounds from the shadow wolves, a wound from a war eagle couldn’t be healed by magic either.
But she nodded as if she did know of his accident,because she sensed he wasn’t the sort of person that liked to be overlooked or ignored.
‘Zey is a fine Minder, but Tyrn … the beast is unhinged. A terrible mount from the moment of his hatching, made worse by Zey’s rushed training of him. But of course, it’s because she knows thatone morefledgling broken before this upcoming Descent, and she’d break the record for most Eagles taken skyborne. Her ego would only soar higher. We can’t have that now, can we?’
Ezer shook her head. ‘No. Your Highness.’
‘Now, tell me the truth about what you’re doing here,’ Kinlear said as he screwed the cap back on his flask and returned it to his cloak, ‘and perhaps I won’t turn you in to my father.’
The King of Lordach.
The strongest Sacred to ever exist, who lived here in the Citadel … and had all the power in the world to behead her, should he discover her strangeties, unpillared as they were.
She could try lying again, but what purpose would that serve? The truth was better, in most circumstances. Especially when one was faced with a prince staring her down like she may or may not be an enemy.
‘I …’ Ezer sighed, her shoulders releasing all tension. ‘I wanted to see the war eagles. As someone who’s spent her entire life in the company of birds, you can imagine how fascinating I find them to be.’
He watched her for a moment, considering.
‘Do you swear it?’
‘I do,’ she said.
His hand gripped the lion handle of his cane tighter. ‘On the Five?’
His silver eyes were so cold, so searching. He’d probably discovered a thousand secrets in his life, for though he was her age, the prince felt older. Wiser.
Like he was a walking secret himself.
Her eyes went back to the strange vial on his neck.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I swear it on the Five.’
At that, he smiled. ‘Dangerous, to swear upon the gods, Ravenminder. One risks getting rebuked from the Ehver above.’
Her mouth was dry. It felt like she was swallowing rocks.
‘I am not afraid of the gods,’ she said. ‘They’ve been perfectly happy to ignore me all my life.’
He huffed out a laugh.
‘A sentiment I can agree with, for reasons of my own. And one that many others feel, but are afraid to speak aloud.’ He released a breath. ‘If you wanted to see the war eagles, Ravenminder … you needed only to ask.’
That was certainly a surprise. ‘I asked Arawn.’
Kinlear chuckled. ‘Ask therightperson, is what I should have said. You chose wrong, if you wanted someone who’s willing to bend a few rules now and then. There are ways around them if you’re clever enough, but my brother is perhaps the most pious Sacred I’ve ever met. Even more than our father, and that’s—’ He paused, mid-sentence, and began to cough. It was a terrible cough, wet and rasping, and for a moment, she wondered if it was ever going to stop.
