“Oh, this?” she asked. “Nothing.”It was definitely something.“Just some castle prick trying to run over a little kid because he can, I guess. No biggie.”Liar. No biggie? You almost lost your head.
“Hazel, don’t you know who that was?” he asked, looking over her shoulder in the direction the men had gone.
“The biggest, most pretentious asshole in all of Aeos?” She crossed her arms in defiance.
“Hazel, I’m serious.” He put his arm around her back and led her out of the road.
“So am I,Zeke. I seriously don’t care.”
He looked around as though worried someone would overhear, then grabbed her arm and pulled her close.
“Hey! Take it easy.” She yelped, pulling away.
“Look at me.” She did. “That was Slaide Elias.”
“Okay… and?” Hazel all but rolled her eyes.
“You really have no idea who that is, do you?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Clearly this was more serious than she thought.
“Nope, and as I’ve already said, I don’t care to.” Hazel made to pull away from his grip again, but he held tight.
“Hazel.” It was a command. “He’s a witch hunter for the High King. In fact, he’sthewitch hunter. The best of the best.”Fantastic. Hazel Grace, you have impeccable timing with men.
“Worst of the worst, you mean. He’s a brute.”Even if he had incredible amber eyes. Stop it. You literally just pissed off the kingdom’s most infamous witch hunter and you’re fawning over his gods-forsaken eyes? He would kill you in an instant if he found out. Get a grip.
Zeke sighed, realizing the conversation was going in circles. “Well, all I’m going to say is, it’s best not to get in his way. He’s not exactly forgiving. If rumors are to be believed, he’s done some questionable things for the High King. Things that usually stay off record.”
Well, consider her interest piqued for more reasons than one. “If it’s off record, then how do you know about it, exactly?”
“That’s why I was coming to find you, actually. I was promoted.” His look of concern faded into a half smile, althoughit was clear he was still worried about her encounter. His face was riddled with a combination of concerns and secrets.
“What? No way! So, you won’t be reporting to that dunce Carys anymore?” She asked hopefully.Finally, some good news.
“No, I won’t. And what’s even better is this promotion puts me in Collin’s garrison. He’s my immediate superior now.” He was proud. She could see it in his eyes. “So, yeah, that’s how I learned about some of the unsavory stuff going on. It’s kind of unsettling, Hazel. I’m not sure I even want to know some things I’ve learned recently. If I could unlearn them, I would.”
Her eyes rolled all the way back. “Spill the details then, Zeke. You sound like a little girl bragging about some boy she kissed withoutactuallytelling me anything.”
“That’s the thing. I can’t. Not right now. There’s some dark stuff going on in the background, but I promise if any of it concerned you or your family, I would let you know. It’s just safer for you not to know right now.”
Well, that’s the least you could do.She huffed. “Can you at least give me a hint of what it’s about?”
He hesitated but then whispered, “Witches.”
She leveled him with a bombastic side eye and almost scoffed, momentarily forgetting Zeke wasn’t aware of Agnes’s… talents. Of course he would find the topic groundbreaking.
“I made the same face when I was told. But apparently there are some folks in the Outskirts practicing magic again. Either they’re getting stronger, or the wards are weakening. And both are bad news for Aeos.”
“Bad news for Magnus, you mean,” Hazel quipped.
“Hazel.” He shushed her. “You do not know how serious this is.”
“No, I don’t. How can I when you’re keeping it a secret?”
“Trust me, please. It’s better you don’t know. Just trust me.”
“I do. You should know that by now. Butwitches? Really?” She thought about Agnes and what this might mean for her. Agnes was, after all, a green witch. She was harmless, as far as Hazel was aware, her practice primarily aiding her around her home and in the garden. The most extensive magic Hazel had ever seen her use was the warding around her land, the one thing keeping her safe from outsiders.
Zeke knew about Agnes, but he didn’tknowabout Agnes. Not in the ways that mattered. And despite trusting Zeke, she knew she could never really trust him with Agnes’s secrets, especially not while he belonged to the King’s army. As long as he took part in his duty as a man of fighting age, he was subject to her suspicions. If nothing else, he could be whipped or beaten for the information. And then what? No, it was better this way.
