“I’m not afraid.” I pause, and I can feel my heart pounding again. Maybe it’s the mention of the king’s magic, but Iamafraid. For a heartbeat of time, I want to pull away, because I’m sure Tycho is going to force me, to show me how harmless it is. I hold my breath, waiting.
But he doesn’t.
I touch a hand to Mother’s pendant and let the breath ease out. “I’m the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t have pulled a knife on you.”
“You were defending your friend. It’s admirable. You shouldn’t apologize for that.”
“You’re welcome to take one,” I say without looking up. “I’m sure we’ve delayed you long enough, my lord.”
“I’m not delayed,” he says. “And please. Call me Tycho.”
I shake my head. “It wouldn’t be right.”
“I wasn’t born to the nobility,” he says quietly. “It wouldn’t be wrong.”
That makes me stop and look up at him. His eyes are warm and intent on mine. There’s no smile on his lips now.
“What were you born?” says Nora.
It jolts me out of my staring. “Nora!” My sister, I swear.
But Tycho doesn’t hesitate. “My mother was a seamstress. My father was a … well.” He shrugs, but there’s a weight to his voice now. “He wasn’t much of anything, as it turns out.” He casts a glance at Nora. “But I remember what it was like to have a little sister. Two, in fact.”
“You were so lucky,” I tease, trying to take some of the sudden weight out of the moment.
He smiles, but there’s a shadow inhisgaze all of a sudden. An uncertainty that reminds me a lot of how I felt a moment ago.
I’m not sure what this conversation has triggered in him, whether it’s sadness or nostalgia or something else entirely, but I do know my sister doesn’t need to keep butting her nose into his business. I fetch two small bags of muslin and begin to lay the apple tarts in each of them. “Nora, I want you to run up the lane and take a pouch of these to Jax.”
“Jax,” Tycho says, and a spark of dark intrigue slides into his voice. “How isJax?”
I bite at the edge of my lip, chagrined. “Well, it’s been several days since helastyelled at the King’s Courier, so …”
“So perhaps I’m due?”
“No!” My eyes flare wide. “That’s not what I meant at all.”
“I know.” He smiles, then gestures for the pouch. “Allow me.”
Dumbfounded, I hand it to him. “I just—he won’t—I didn’t—”
“I insist.” Tycho bows to my sister, teasing with great flourish, and she giggles. “My lady Nora,” he says, “I will save you the trip.”
CHAPTER 15
JAX
I hate how often my father is in the forge now.
It’s a bit ironic, because I spent months hating how much time he was spending facedown in a puddle of spirits. I was telling Callyn that it’s like he realized I was getting silver from somewhere, and now he doesn’t want to miss out. Our first payments are due to the tax collector tomorrow, but all that silver is safely stowed away in the bakery. If we do this for a few more weeks, we’ll be able to pay italloff.
It snowed overnight, so the ground outside the workshop is coated in a layer of white, though it’s turned to slush near the forge. Business is always a bit slower when it snows, and today is no different. My father seems irritated by that, but I can’t control the weather. When he vanished this morning. I was hopeful that he’d be gone until nightfall, but he reappeared a few hours later, reeking of ale and smoke. I’ve seen him nearly strike his hand three times.
Maybe he’ll grab onto the forge himself.
Good as new, right, Da?
I scowl and keep my head down. This would be the worst time to get into it with him, and I’m still a bit wary after everything that happened.
