I inhale to lie—but it’ll be obvious. I am clearly prepared to leave the workshop. “I was heading to town.” I grit my teeth. “I’ll be back soon.”
“What do you need in town?”
“Food.”
I say it quickly. Too quickly, because his eyes narrow. “There’s food here.” He takes a bite of the meat pie.
For an instant, the air hangs with tension between us. I can’t run. He knows I can’t run.
But now I’ve been quiet for too long. It’s too late to lie.
When he makes a move, I’m ready for it. The bow comes over my head, my fingers finding the string with practiced ease. I have an arrow nocked.
He tackles me just as I release the string. A sound bursts from his throat, surprise mixed with pain.
Then we hit the floor. He’s heavy, and he lands on top of me. The wind rushes out of my lungs.
He punches me right in the face. It’s so quick and unexpected that my head snaps to the side.
Maybe next time we should work on how to block a punch instead of shooting arrows.Ah, yes. Next time, Lord Tycho. Next time.
There’s blood on my tongue. My arms are up, but he doesn’t hit me again.
Instead, he’s tugging at my satchel.
It takes too long for the implications of that to catch up with me. “No,” I cry. “No.”
He finds the bag of silver, and his eyes go so wide they look like they’re going to fall out of his head. “Oh, Jax. What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
He grabs hold of the straps across my chest and lifts me slightly to slam me back against the floorboards. “What are you doing?”
I’m bleeding. Aching. Failing.
He finds the note next and swears. “What’s this?” He leans down close, until I can smell his breath. It’s bad enough that I miss the ale. “What kind of misfortune are you bringing to me this time?”
My own breathing is hitching. I don’t feel strong anymore. I was stupid to think I could be anything more than what I was.
“Nothing,” I whisper.
“You’re damned right it’s nothing.” He smacks me on the side of the head and gets up. He’s got the dagger now, too. I didn’t even see him unearth that from the bag. For an instant, I think this is it. He’ll cut my throat or stab me in the chest, and I’ll die right here on the floor.
“Get up,” he snaps. “I’ve been gone for days. There’s work to do.”
CHAPTER 44
CALLYN
Jax is going to take the contents of the letter to Tycho.
I can’t decide if this is brilliant or if it’s the dumbest idea he’s ever had.
I haven’t seen any of Alek’s guards in the woods, but he’s told me before that he has people watching me. The message is tucked securely in my skirt pocket, fully sealed and ready for Lady Karyl. After I returned from the forge, I sent Nora out to fetch the eggs from the hens. When she crossed the barnyard, I watched the woods. A cold wind swept through the space, but I didn’t hear anyone. I didn’t see anyone.
Regardless of how I feel about magic, I don’t want to be a part of an assassination. If I’ve learned anything from interacting with Alek and Tycho, it’s that there are a lot of secrets being kept, and I don’t know the truth at all.
I am but a soldier for the cause.
