“Who?” I say, when I can breathe.
He looks at me quizzically. “The tradesman. The blacksmith with the message.”
Oh. That one. “Jax.”
“Do you remember how to find his forge?” he asks.
I school my face to remain neutral, and it takes a lot more effort than it should. “Probably,” I say.
“We should stop. On the way back. Check it out.”
My heart skips in my chest, and it takes everything—everything— I have not to ask if he’d like to turn back right this very second.
But I know my duties, and if I’ve learned anything from Grey, it’s how to swallow emotion and stick to the matter at hand.
So I nod, then shrug, then reach for another biscuit. “As you say.”
CHAPTER 23
CALLYN
The world shifts into spring like it’s revealing a poorly kept secret: bitter winds and icy mornings yield to sunlit afternoons and bursts of greenery that appear overnight. I’m always glad when milder weather sneaks into Briarlock. My fingers don’t freeze to the bone while I’m trying to milk May, and Nora doesn’t give me as much trouble when I tell her to fetch the eggs. I’ve held two more messages for Lord Alek and Lady Karyl now, with forty more silvers to show for it. The coins are in a wooden box I keep hidden beneath my mattress, and I feel guilty about every single one.
I haven’t told Jax. I know where the coins are, and as soon as this is all done, I plan to give him his half. But every time I see him, which hasn’t been often, I think of our last meeting. He didn’t betray me, but disappointment and loss lurk in my thoughts anyway.
It doesn’t help that Jax has been keeping his distance, too.
Maybe it’s better this way. I can’t shake the memory of Lord Alek’s threats, and I worry that the nobleman is going to swoop down fromthe trees and wrap a rope around Jax’s neck if I dare to speak to my friend.
Or … maybe not. Alek’s visits have been brief, but not unkind. He always buys whatever the bakery hasn’t sold for the day, and while he’s arrogant, he’s never condescending. On his second visit, when Nora scurried up the steps upon seeing him again, Lord Alek called up the stairs after her. “Surely you have a bit of your sister’s bravery. You clearly share her beauty.”
“She shares my common sense, too,” I said to him, loudly enough for her to hear. “Which means she won’t fall for pretty words from bold men.”
He looked at me without a hint of humor. “Those aren’t pretty words.”
Nora poked her head down the steps. “I think they are,” she whispered loudly, and he smiled.
She didn’t run from him the next time.
Lady Karyl is more aloof, but she also buys a few sweetcakes when she comes for her messages, and on her second visit, she buys twice as many. She also comments sternly on Nora’s posture. “You are speaking to a lady from one of the Royal Houses, girl, and I understand your mother was an officer in the Queen’s Army. You should stand tall.” Then she took my sister’s shoulders in hand and made her stand up straight.
I expected Nora to mouth off—or to wither from embarrassment, like I was doing. But my sister nodded solemnly and said, “Yes, my lady.”
Later, when Lady Karyl was gone, Nora said, “She reminds me of Mother. I like her two-colored eyes, don’t you?” My sister has been standing more properly ever since.
I don’t want to like either of them, especially because I know how they treated Jax. It’s hard to reconcile the way they treatmewith thestories of how they treatedhim. But just when I start to think I should wash my hands of all of it, business for the bakery begins to flourish. I’ve never seen so many customers, ranging from the lowest commoners to wealthy nobles who flip silver onto my counter without thinking. Some are travelers, boasting about their intentions for the Royal Challenge, whispering about the queen’s new pregnancy. A new baby is always cause for celebration, but there are worries about the birth of another magesmith, and I hear them all. The bakery is a bit off the beaten path, so random travelers and gossip can’t account forallthis new business.
Then one morning I hear one well-coiffed woman mention to her companion, “Alek was right. These pastries aredivine. Well worth the journey.”
Her companion murmured back, “Did you hear him say her father was a part of the Uprising? Itoldmy husband that the Truthbringers would find more allies in these remote towns. I simply feel safer knowing we’re far from the king’s magic.”
I looked up in surprise when she saidthat, and the woman caught my eye and gave me a knowing smile, and then a nod.
For a frozen moment, I wasn’t sure what to do. But I knew what mymotherwould do.
I nodded back. “Yes, my lady,” I said quietly. “I do too.”
If I hate anything, it’s that I feel like I can’t trust my instincts about anyone lately. Tycho was so kind, and he clearly has the favor of the king. But he used his magic to heal Jax’s hand! Like it had never happened! Just because of a few rings? Who else has them? What else can they do? It’s terrifying to think that the king isn’t the only one who can wield such power. It’s not as if Tycho has only ever used it for benevolent reasons. I saw the burn to Lord Alek’s arm.
