“Then that’s where you should start,” Thoma said. “You have to figure out what you want, and once you do, then you should talk to Penny. Be honest with him. I get the feeling he’ll be happy to listen.” He smiled gently as he squeezed my arm. “And you can always talk to us. Though, I might recommend against taking advice from Reimond. He tends to brute force things instead of finessing them.”
“It worked on you, didn’t it?” Reimond said through a grin.
Thoma sighed and waved a hand at him. “You got lucky with me.”
“Sure did.”
Thoma’s cheeks darkened with a deep mahogany blush, clearly flustered.
It was impossible not to smile at their interaction, seeing so much of the dynamic I had with Penny in them. Someday, I hoped we could be as free in our affection as they were.
Both men stuck around until the forge was back in order, though our conversations veered more toward updates about the sheep, and the new colts in the stables, and plans for the second Oath. I was glad for the mindless chatter, so like Penny’s that it was a comfort. When they finally bid me goodbye and disappeared into the crowded market square, I was feeling far more cheerful than when they arrived.
Once they were gone, I retrieved the hidden sheath from the pocket of my apron and slid Penny’s knife inside. With that securely attached to my belt and a check to reassure myself that the sketchbook was safely in my pocket, I lit the forge and threw myself into several hours of focused work.
I quickly realized that, despite enjoying my solitude in my forge in Forstford, I hated being alone here. Time dragged without Penny’s company and commentary. He was just across town, but I missed him. And with Thoma’s questions rattling around in my head, it was hard not to dwell on how important my “recruit” had become to me.
I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling was simple attachment or true attraction. I’d never experienced the latter, and it had been a long time since I’d felt the former. They were both alien to me. It was maddening not to know the difference.
I kept working until the crowds in town thinned and the other shops and stalls closed to head home for dinner. I raked out the coals, and one last tidy put the forge back tothe state we’d left it in the night before and ready for work again the next morning. Hopefully it would be a less eventful day.
When I stepped into the street, I felt eyes on me as I headed for the Ossuary, but no one stopped me to ask questions about the raid or subsequent confrontation. Doubtless there would be gossip about what had happened. Between exhaustion and the frustration of trying to make sense of my feelings, I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
When I stepped inside the large stone building, the same pair as before were manning the front table.
“I’m here to speak with the Right Hand,” I said.
The woman gestured to the stairs. “He’s free and expecting you.”
I passed through the doorway and headed for the top floor. I half-expected to meet Merrick on the way, but the stairwell was deserted.
When I reached the upper landing, Levitt’s door on the right stood wide open. He was alone inside, seated in one of the chairs in front of the windows with his face drawn and troubled. Even though I’d had several hours for my rage to die back to a low simmer, I still couldn’t bring myself to feel bad for him. Not while I still felt betrayed by someone who called me a friend.
The hypocrisy of my anger in the face of the fact that I was using our friendship to sabotage the cult he was leading was not lost on me.
I hesitated in the doorway, dreading the coming conversation, until Levitt noticed me and waved me in.
“Please, come sit,” he said. “Close the door behind you.”
I did as I was told and settled in the chair beside his.Despite my attempt to keep my face impassive, I could feel a scowl pulling down the corners of my mouth.
Levitt sat forward in his seat, leaning his elbows on his knees and fixing me with an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” he said. “I tried to warn you last week that this kind of talk was happening, but I thought I’d quashed the accusations.”
I hardly counted his passing mention that Merrick said I was “quite the weaponsmith” as any sort of warning.
“You could have told me outright what he was saying.”
Levitt shifted in his seat, and his eyes darted away.
“…Unless you thought it was possible he was right, and you didn’t want me to have time to hide things.”
The ensuing silence and his refusal to meet my gaze was enough to tell me that his trust in me didn’t stretch as far as I expected. He played at picking up right back where we were before I left, and I’d bought into it more readily than I should have. I hadn’t given him credit for being as cunning as his sister, forgetting how understated his skills of perception were.
He was a man of few words, even when we were kids, and his affable nature often led to assumptions that he wasn’t as bright as Violette. But time and again he proved himself to be shrewd and exceptional at reading people. I should have expected he would read me, too, and catch on to the fact that I wasn’t telling him everything.
“I see,” I said, inexplicably hurt by his suspicions even though he was right to doubt my loyalties.
