Harald waved his fork at Soren, gaze intent. “Not many wardens named Soren in our ranks. Even fewer jobs that handle contact with government bodies and heads of state to carry border reports back to the governor. You’re not supposed to be handed that position without earning it.”
An undercurrent of jealousy colored Harald’s tone. Soren set down what was left of his meat wrap, abruptly not hungry anymore and completely on guard. “I did earn it.”
“By lying on your back?”
The words weren’t said with malice, but the tight smile on Harald’s face made his opinion clear as the most expensive clarion crystal. Soren slid a hand off the table to reach for Raiah, wanting to assure himself she was within reach. If it put his hand closer to his pistol, well, so much the better. “We all follow orders from the governor.”
Harald shook his head before stabbing a piece of carrot and shoving it into his mouth. “Not to the degree you do.”
“How I guard the borders assigned to me isn’t any of your business.”
The whole of the wardens didn’t know about the crypt hidden beneath the Imperial palace in Calhames. They didn’t know about the royal dead and the sanctions prepared but not yet levied against Solaria for breaking the Poison Accords. They didn’t know about the death-defying machine and therionetkasand the mess of politics Soren had run from. They didn’t know, and wouldn’t, not until the wardens’ governor authorized the release of such information.
“Wardens talk, and the gossip columns in the broadsheets are worse, even in other countries,” Harald said.
Soren let Raiah go, resting his hand on his thigh, forearm pressed to the holster on his belt, well within easy reach of a draw. “I don’t know what you’ve read up here in Ashion, but I can say it isn’t true. The press likes to embellish things. I’m a warden, same as you. We know not to mess around with matters of state.”
“You’re fucking one.”
Soren supposed he should be glad they were discussing this in the trade tongue, Raiah oblivious to the words and the insult and the sudden pounding of Soren’s heart. He liked to think his closeness to Vanya wasn’t common knowledge, but he knew that was a lie, not with the Houses aware of how much Vanya favored him, even if they didn’t know about the vow he carried around his neck.
“I think you’re mistaken,” Soren said evenly.
Harald’s gaze never wavered. “Am I?”
Soren refused to answer that. He’d known for a while now that some wardens were resentful of his assigned duties. The extenuating circumstances couldn’t be explained, and Soren dealt with such judgmental opinions from his fellow wardens by not spending a lot of time around them. The less chance for questions, the better.
Soren stood and reached for Raiah, smoothing his hand over her hair. She looked up at him and smiled sweetly before yawning. She wasn’t finished with her meat pie, but he’d buy her another one later. “We’re leaving.”
Raiah set down her fork and slid off the chair, for once not arguing, which told him more than anything about how tired she must be. She hadn’t understood the conversation they’d just had, and for that, he was grateful.
Soren dug a money clip out of his pouch and tossed down several auron bills to cover the two meals. Harald watched him with a clear-eyed gaze for a moment before shrugging and turning back to his meal, ignoring their leaving.
Once outside, Soren swung Raiah up in his arms and carried her back to the resupply station. Coralie was at the counter and looked up at their arrival, giving him an absent nod hello. Soren approached her, gaze skimming over the wall behind her with all its many and varied supplies on offer.
“I need a full refill of ammunition and some chemicals, along with some safe food supplies. We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Soren said.
“I’ll get it packed up for you by tonight and have it ready at the counter.”
Soren went upstairs, weighing the risk of staying to get some rest over leaving to retain some semblance of safety. Harald hadn’t asked after Raiah, but his attention on the princess had left Soren feeling cold.
“We’ll leave tomorrow morning,” Soren said once they were inside the room and the door was locked behind them.
Raiah nodded against his shoulder and didn’t fuss when he put her down on the narrow bed, drawing the thin blanket over her. It was summer, and even with the window cracked open, the room felt stuffy. After years spent in Solaria, neither of them was bothered by the heat, but Soren found himself missing the airiness of the Imperial palace.
Raiah dropped off to sleep rather quickly. Soren spent a little time sorting through his gear to make room for what they’d be leaving with before bedding down on the floor, using his rucksack as a pillow, weapons close at hand. It was warm enough that he didn’t need a blanket or sheet, and he nodded off with the quickness of one who’d spent years in the poison fields snatching sleep in increments.
But even asleep, a warden’s instincts were typically on high alert. Soren woke hours later to Raiah still sleeping in the bed and the faint click of gears and tumblers in the door’s lock being undone by a lockpick.
Soren sat up and soundlessly rolled to his feet, glad he’d slept in his boots. He stayed kneeling, putting himself between whoever was breaking in and Raiah asleep in the bed behind him. He unholstered his pistol as quietly as he could.
In the dimness of the room, Soren watched the knob turn, the door creaking open on hinges that hadn’t been oiled in quite some time. The sound of it must have woken Raiah, for she stirred in the bed, smacking her lips together as she came out of sleep.
“Soren?” she mumbled.
He didn’t think, merely turned and yanked her out of the bed along with the sheet twisted around her little body. Soren hauled her into his arms and pitched them both away from the door as it slammed open. Harald stepped inside, pistol leading the way, and the muzzle flashed in the graying light of the room, bullets peppering the bed where Raiah had been.
She screamed, wrapping her arms around Soren’s neck, while starfire he didn’t cast erupted along every wall in the room.
