“Grey has been here every few hours,” he says. “He’s been waiting for you to wake up. But he said you’d healed anything critical on your own.” He pauses. “He fixed the rest of it.”
I remember crawling in the dirt in front of Jax’s forge, wondering if I’d stay awake long enough to keep the magic working. Grey’s magic will flare and protect him even if he’s not consciously aware of it, but I don’t have that luxury.
“I saw your armor,” Noah says more slowly. “Who came after you?”
I look up—and hesitate.
“Should the answer to that wait for royal ears?” he says dryly. He rises from the cot. “Grey asked me to send word when you woke. I’ll call for breakfast, too. You’ve got to be starving.”
Breakfast. So it must be morning.
The king arrives before the food does, which takes me by surprise. His expression is tight and severe, and he’s fully armed, which means they called him in from the training fields. Just as I’m about to tell him that I’m fine, that he didn’t need to rush away from his soldiers, I realize that he’s trailed by others. Jake, whose expression is unusually fierce instead of jovial. General Solt, one of the most formidable commanding officers when I was a recruit, who’s no less intimidating now. Nolla Verin, sister and adviser to the queen, and also one of the most brutally powerful women I’ve ever met.
They’re so imposing that I shove myself to my feet and stand at attention before remembering that I’m not a soldier anymore.
Did Alek make accusations against me? Do I need to explain myself? A ribbon of fear tugs at my spine. Training and protocol are so drilled into me that I nearly salute. “Your Majesty,” I say to Grey.
“Who did this?” he demands. “You were still carrying silver, so it wasn’t common thieves. I only found the one letter from Rhen. Were there more?”
“What?” I don’t understand all the intensity, and it takes my thoughts a moment to catch up. “No. I wasn’t attacked for what I carry. I wasn’t—”
“Just tell us how many there were,” says Nolla Verin. She cracks her knuckles.
“And which direction we have to go to find them,” Jake adds darkly.
“It wasn’t one fight.” I stifle a grimace, because I’m responsible for both confrontations. “It was two, and the latter—”
“Two,” growls General Solt. “Tycho, where?”
They’re completely getting the wrong idea here. They look likethey’re ready to call up the whole army, and I just want to lie down and pretend nothing happened. “The latter was Lord Alek,” I say evenly. “So—”
“Alek!” Grey snaps.
“You don’t need to go after him,” I say.
“Oh, I don’t?” he says sharply. “Nolla Verin. Go. Deliver a summons. Bring him back.”
“Gladly.” She’s out of the doorway so quickly that I half expect her to drag Lord Alek back here in less than an hour—and that will lead nowhere good.
I stare at Grey. “Please do not rattle the Royal Houses on my behalf. I’m fine.”
“You’re lucky you made it to the gates. I saw you when they brought you in.”
“It was a misunderstanding,” I say. “We had—we had an altercation—”
“You found him in Briarlock again? Why did he attack you?”
“No—Grey, he didn’t—it wasn’t anattack.” I grit my teeth, remembering. As usual, Alek pushed, but I responded. “Notreally.”
“You were soaked in blood,” says Jake. He leans against the doorjamb. “Seems super friendly.”
“And your armor,” says Solt. “I haven’t seen damage to armor like that since we left that scraver in Emberfall.”
I scowl and inhale to protest, but there’s just too much. I’m not sure how to explain things like this, with all of them in my face. I know their intentions are good, but I wasn’t prepared to wake up and admit my failings to the most powerful people in the city.
“He just woke up,” Noah calls gently from where he’s sitting near his work bench. “Maybe you all could take it easy with the interrogation. He should probably sit down.”
That doesn’t help. “I’mfine,” I say.
