I shake my head. It wasn’t his place to share the news of King Wylding’s death. He should have left that up to Valoria, when she deemed the time was right. When she and the rest of my friends were done cursing my name for leaving without saying goodbye.
“Who’s in charge of Karthia now?” a woman demands. “When will we meet them?”
“Why should we believe you? Show us proof!” a man bursts out.
“Who killed the king?” someone else asks. “Tell us what happened!”
They fire off questions like a volley of arrows, one on top of the other.
With a deep breath, I push down my anger. Kasmira will disembowel her loudmouthed sailor later, I’m sure—though in his defense, none of us ever discussed how we’d handle sharing everything that happened in Karthia recently. All we can do now is give these people a good first impression of our new queen, Valoria.
“Look,” I say slowly and clearly to the crowd that’s still trapping me against the wall. “Karthia is under new leadership, it’s true. But it’sstrongleadership, and our queen is already making preparations to help Karthia rejoin the world. You have nothing to fear from her. She’s smart, and kind, and interested in learning just about everything. I’m sure she’ll want to get to know Lyris very soon.”
“Didyoukill the king?” someone shouts in response. “Is that why you left Karthia?”
“Death to necromancers!” an ale-soaked voice adds.
So much for trying to have a conversation.
More tavern-goers rush to join those who have already formed a ring around us, trapping us a mere twenty paces from the door. The rancid odors of spilled ale and unwashed men claw their way down my throat, but I’ve smelled worse—the stench of death and the rotting flesh of Shades—too many times to count.
It seems every person here surrounds us now, with the exception of the old woman by the hearth and a pale young woman who sits with her arms folded, her scarred face half in shadow, watching the proceedings with a glimmer of interest as she twists a braid of white-blond hair through her fingers. She seems so out of place, sweating in her heavy-looking, fur-lined clothing. I can tell at once she’s not a Lyrian.
Kasmira nudges my shoulder, drawing my gaze away from the strange woman. I meet my friend’s deep gray eyes, which are bright with fury.
“I didn’t know, Sparrow.” Kasmira spits at the feet of the nearest sailor, who snaps something at her in his language. “Necromancers, illegal?” she continues, her voice taut, though she seems undaunted by the man’s threats. “Of all the stupid things I’ve heard in my nineteen years, this one pisses me off most.” She edges her way in front of me, her dagger clutched in her left hand, trying to shield me from the leering crowd.
I reach for the wrist of her free hand, trying to pull her back. “Kas, don’t—”
“I won’t let them touch you,” she growls, shrugging out of my grasp.
“Fine,” I say softly, “but you’d better not let them touchyou, either.”
Louder, I say to the barman, “You want me gone? I’d be thrilled to leave. Honestly. Just tell your friends to quit blocking the only exit.”
If he answers, I don’t hear it, because just then Meredy stumbles into me, shoved by a man who towers over her, his shaggy brown hair partially obscuring his green eyes.
“This fellow just called you something rude.Four times!” she says through gritted teeth, rubbing her shoulder and glaring at the bear of a man advancing on us. “I offered to clean out his mouth, but I don’t think he’s interested.”
“Forget calling a lawman. I’m gonna gut you wretches like fish and toss you out back with the rest of the rubbish,” the huge man grumbles. A pin of twin emeralds gleams on his leather vest—he’s a beast master, like Meredy, but apparently he’s not above shoving one of his own. His gaze lingering on me, he adds, “Unnatural creature.”
My face floods with heat. If someone insulted a necromancer like that in Karthia, they’d be the ones filleted and tossed in a rubbish heap—or at least, they would’ve been, before everything that happened with Hadrien. Maybe that’s not how things are anymore. Maybe necromancers aren’t going to be treated like royalty the way we used to be. Either way, I’m more bothered by this man putting his grimy hands on Meredy than I am by anything he’s said.
I level a glare at him. “I doubt you’re so brave without all your friends behind you,” I snarl. “Want to take this outside? One on one?”
“You’re a disgrace to the pin you wear,” Meredy adds hotly from beside me.
The man flexes his fingers, studying us coolly. “I don’t need to fight you. I know I’d win. That’s why you’re gonna bow to me here and now, corpse-loving scum.” He punches a fist into his open palm. A massive fist.
Thinking of the biting remarks Jax would throw at this man, I miss him with a sudden fierceness that hits me like a stomachache. Careful not to let the slightest sign of pain show on my face, I forcemyself to gaze into the man’s eyes as I finger the daggers on my belt. I’ve lived through being ripped open by a Shade, through being blinded and left for dead—far worse ordeals than a stranger’s insults. This is nothing to me.Heis nothing.
“I’m not corpse-loving scum,” I say as calmly as I can manage. “I’m Odessa of Grenwyr.” I tug both my daggers free of their sheaths, one for each hand. “And I bow to no man.”
He flinches, startled, but impresses me by not stepping back. He doesn’t appear to have a knife on him, but he reaches for one on the nearest table. Just my luck—it’s bigger than mine. I slowly lower the daggers. I don’t think I’ll get very far with them, not in this crowd, and much as I want to teach this ignorant man that hands aren’t for shoving, I know when I’m outmatched.
I hope Kasmira doesn’t try anything too crazy with her dagger, either. Cocky to the point of dangerous as she is, even she can see we’re far outnumbered despite most of her crew trying to make their way toward us.
The man in front of me lowers his big knife, still glaring. Meredy flicks her hand toward the ground, the Karthian gesture to indicate trash, and clearly it translates just fine to this armed and angry man. I groan. Good thing I haven’t put my daggers away yet.
