Vade pursed his lips but he responded. “I was told the ability is tied to the stone, somehow, and it’s the only type of seidr magic I can cast. It makes my life hells of a lot easier, as no one can see inside the ward, so I don’t have to worry about being attacked while asleep. Passerbys can’t see light or objects in here, and sound cannot leave this dome.”
A peek at his open pack revealed a glass orb sitting inside. “Not even trulights can be seen?”
Vade pointed at his orb. “I prefer the light of a fire so I rarely use that, but no, not even trulight can be seen from the outside.”
Orelia surveyed the magical dome. Pieces of visible sky had become a fuzzy purple, the stars like splashes of thick raindrops. “What if someone walks into it?” she asked.
Vade’s boots crunched on dry leaves as he approached the fire. “They can’t. The ward makes them choose another path. They don’t know why they’re pulled to walk in a different direction, but they stray away from it. Same for animals. You’re safe in here.”
“Safe, trapped inside a cage with an assassin . . .”
The comment earned her a small smile. “I’m not an assassin. Assassins kill for gain. Executioners kill for justice. Plus, assassins keep their identity hidden, and why would I want to rob anyone ofseeing my handsome face?” He gestured to himself, seeming proud of the conceited comment.
Orelia rolled her eyes.
Vade added more kindling to the fire, then pointed behind her. “You should move your bedroll over to that bed of moss. That patch of grass you’re on won’t be as comfortable.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Suit yourself. But don’t blame me when you’re sore in the morning.”
She didn’t bother heeding him. The thick tufts of grass would be far better than moss.
Vade finished fussing with the fire, sat back, and leaned against a tree. He began sharpening one of his smaller knives on a whetstone with smooth precision, a movement appearing as effortless as breathing for him. The steel gleamed in the firelight, and Orelia wondered how many throats that particular blade had seen.
As if sensing her watching him, he spoke, eyes never leaving his work. “Get your questions out of the way now so I don’t have to answer them for the next month.”
Orelia wrapped her arms around her knees and tucked her skirt underneath her. “Are you going to be this rude the whole time?”
“Is that really one of your questions?”
“Fine. How long have you been the king’s executioner?”
Another smooth swipe of his blade across the whetstone. “Nine years.”
Repulsive.“How old are you now?”
“Twenty-six.”
Fae had long life spans, and even though he was seven years her junior, he looked a few years older than her.
“And this job makes you . . .happy?”
His eyes slid to hers. “Very.”
Plenty of men in the brothel bragged about killing. They boasted about the great creatures they felled or mocked the pleading people whose lives they stole, as if they had the right to do so in the first place. There was bravado in their stories, but Vade seemed to draw his happiness from somewhere else, judging by the wickedness sparkling in his onyx eyes.
The eerie look could only come from a place deep within where the thrill of killing wasn’t because of male pride or the success of knowing you defeated another. No, his happiness came from killing for the sake of killing. Not to brag, but to relish in the pure enjoyment it brought him. It wasn’t a misguided sense of duty or a way to earn a living. He genuinely loved it.
Swallowing her contempt, Orelia continued. “If you’ve been doing this for nine years surely you’ve seen most of the world already, yes?”
He nodded and exchanged one knife for another, repeating the sharpening process.
“Which place is your favorite?”
“I don’t have a favorite. Though Ricaboro certainly has enough entertainment to keep a man busy until his pockets run dry.”
Ricaboro certainly had a reputation, but Millie’s innocent face jumped to the forefront. Perhaps he’d been with her before in the city’s luxury brothel. If not her, certainly many other women. A manof his wealth and looks wouldn’t spend his free time with only ale as a comfort.
