“I am—” I started, intending to tell him ofKleio, butValincut me off.
“Yes, Commander,” he answered with a bow.
I turned to him again, brow furrowing in confusion. Why hadn’t he defended himself? Why hadn’t he told the Commander the truth, that I was being trained in my abilities? It wasn’t his fault I hadn’t thought to use them, that I was proving a ratherdisappointing pupil where my Blessings were concerned. And yet he bore the blame for my ineptitude as well, bowing to this man and remaining silent about my training.
“You will take a leave from your duties, Captain,” the Commander ordered. “Castor will lead your forces for the next two weeks. You'll remain in your quarters, shamed, not participating in any training or expeditions. Perhaps, in that time, you can figure out how one of my brightest, oldest Captains managed to be outsmarted by the savages.”
“As you wish, Commander,”Valinsaid simply and then bowed once more before turning and walking from the room.
I nodded my head in submission before following after him.
Neither of us spoke as we made our way through the ornate halls of the massive estate which housed the military Commanders, keeping silent as we nodded to the guards we passed on our way to the exit. But once we were outside, back into the hot desert sun, I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said the moment we were out of earshot of anyone else. “It was an ambush. You couldn’t have possibly known—”
“I'm the Captain of my squad,” he told me, voice low and firm. “My men and the situations they find themselves in are my responsibility, regardless of what I could or could not have known. The results are what matter here, Viper, not the intent. And my result was the loss of five men.”
“But—”
“He’s my Commander. It’s his duty to punish me for the dishonor I bring him with my ineptitude. We lost aGeist. All things considered, my punishment is rather light.”
I frowned but didn’t seek to argue again. I knew there would be no use.
“Why didn’t you tell him about my training?” I asked.
Valinstopped walking, every muscle stiffening as he glanced around to ensure no one could overhear us.
“The time you spend withKleiois not something to discuss with anyone who’s not already aware of it,” he said and then turned to walk away again.
“Why?” I asked, following after him. “Is it a secret?”
“For now. You, me, Castor,Kleio, and the Council are the only ones who know of it.”
And the Lord of theGeist’ssister,I thought to myself but said nothing.
“Why?” I asked instead.
“I’m just following orders, Viper,”Valinreplied, obviously tired of the direction of this conversation. “I suggest you do too.”
Then he stalked away from me, on his way to his place in the barracks and his two weeks of ordered solitude. I watched him go, letting his words wash over me. Orders. So someone had commandedValinto keep my training withKleioa secret, even from our Commander. It must have been someone very important then. One of the council members themselves, perhaps? But why? It seemed it could only be a positive thing for my Commander and the men I fought beside to know I was learning to defend them better.
“There you are,” someone spoke suddenly.
I whirled to findKleiostanding in the dust a few feet away.I was so stunned to see him out of his cabin I nearly stumbled on the dry dirt.
“Kleio,” I said, unable to hide my surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to fetch my pupil,” he informed me, “seeing as he never showed up for his training.”
He raised a brow and I sighed.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “Valinand I had to meet with the Commander.”
“I heard about what happened,” he replied, lips slipping into a frown. “Come. We can speak of it inside.”
I followedKleioback to his cabin in silence. He didn’t say a word as he entered before me, waited for me to step inside, and locked the door at my back. I glanced around his organized chaos at the familiar scattered maps and papers and did my best to ignore the blood stains on the carpet he hadn’t quite managed to remove. My heart rate increased at the thought of another healing training session but was calmed somewhat by the lack of appearance of a certain Lord of theGeist’ssister.
“Phasing,”Kleiosaid simply, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “You’ve done it.”
