“You’re right.”
I turned and leaned my back against the rail. The ocean on the other side of the bridge was so beautiful.
Reynald leaned on the rail next to me, his profile a grim suggestion in the hood of his cloak, the humor gone. And just like that we were back to the deadly warrior vibes.
“Once when I was younger, the force I led was pinned down by the opposing army,” Reynald said. “They outnumbered us, and things looked bleak. I’d made some enemies among my peers. I didn’t expect reinforcements.”
His voice was calm and measured. Reynald wasn’t a bootlicker. With him, it was always mission first. Achieve the objective with the fewest casualties possible. He didn’t care to stroke people’s egos, and he wasn’t always liked by his commanders.
“Just when I thought we were done, another knight came to our aid with his troops.”
This wasn’t in the books. Reynald Karis was telling me something about himself that he probably kept private. He was trusting me with it.
“Nobody would’ve blamed this knight for not showing up. It was heavily suggested to him that he shouldn’t try so hard on my behalf. Yet he rendered aid anyway, because he had judged it right and that was the kind of man he was. He knew there would be consequences. People would make things difficult for him. When I brought it up, he looked me in the eye and said, ‘Fuck ‘em.’”
I blinked. “That’s really what he said?”
Reynald nodded.
“I had expected something more . . . profound.”
“So did I. But he was a soldier, Maggie. Not a sage. His superiors wanted him to let other soldiers die to settle a grudge. He held them in contempt. He didn’t worry. He didn’t waver. He felt nothing but disdain and a distinct lack of fear.”
His expression turned harsh.
“Fuck the kind of people who would sacrifice eighty souls to further their ambitions. You can’t bear responsibility for their actions. I’ve lost people before. Trust me when I say this: The weight of knowing you could’ve saved eighty lives and didn’t is too heavy to live with. If you want to save the mercenaries, do it. I will stand with you. The powers behind it will do what they will do, and we’ll deal with that, too.”
“You will back me up?”
“I will.”
I could’ve hugged him. Instead, I nodded, pushed away from the rail, and we walked side by side back the way we came.
“We can steal the barrel,” Reynald said, his expression thoughtful. “Just one question.”
Anxiety nipped at me. “What kind of question?”
He looked at me, his expression deadly serious. “Will it be fresh enough, Maggie?”
Damn it. “I know that salt is a mineral. I wanted to find out when the next shipment was coming in.”
Reynald laughed. It was such an unexpected sound. When he smiled, his whole face lit up, his eyes turned bright and green, and I wanted to smile back at him, but when he laughed, it was on a whole other level.
“It’s not funny,” I told him.
“You’re wrong. It’s hilarious. You’re hilarious.”
We reached the staircase.
“Hold my arm, Maggie. I don’t want you tumbling down the stairs.”
“I can walk on my own, thank you very much.”
He laughed again.
I picked up the hem of my gown and concentrated on not falling.
CHAPTER14
